A longitudinal study on the bidirectional relationship between adolescents’ physical activity and life satisfaction
Download this article Yoongu Lee *, Hojun Sung ** and Heetae Cho ***
(*) Division of Sports Science, Sun Moon University, Asan, Republic of Korea
(**) Division of Health & Kinesiology, Incheon National University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
(***) Department of Sport Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
Citation
Lee, Y., Sung, H., Cho, H. (2024). A longitudinal study on the bidirectional relationship between adolescents’ physical activity and life satisfaction. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 55(4), 313-333. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2024.55.313
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between physical activity and life satisfaction in adolescents. We used Autoregressive Cross-lagged Model (ACLM) to investigate the longitudinal relationship and utilized four years of data (N = 1,897) from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, which was conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute. Results showed that physical activity and life satisfaction were found to be s over time. In addition, we found that physical activity at a previous time point had a significant and consistent impact on life satisfaction at subsequent time points. Conversely, life satisfaction at a previous time point was found to have a consistent effect on physical activity at the subsequent time point. This study demonstrates that physical activity and life satisfaction mutually influence and impact each other, indicating that they have a reciprocal relationship. In conclusion, it is noteworthy that life satisfaction has a strong influence in predicting physical activity, and that it needs to be considered as a priority and acts as a motivational factor for specific behaviors.
Keywords: Adolescent, Physical activity, life satisfaction, Autoregressive cross-lagged model