University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
Memorial Day
Our office will be closed Monday, May 30th in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen at regular business hours on Tuesday, May 31st.Research Study Abstract
- Home /
- Research Database /
- Research Study Abstract
Is African-American Girls’ Perception of their Mother-Daughter Relationship Associated to Psychosocial and Physical Activity Variables?
- Presented on May 28, 2014
Background: It has been reported that mother-daughter relationship can influence psychosocial variables such as physical activity (PA) self-efficacy in Caucasian girls. Currently, there is very little data on the impact of African-American girls’ perception of their relationship with their mother and psychosocial variables.
Purpose: To examine the association between mother-daughter relationship, PA self-efficacy and PA levels in African-American girls.
Methods: Baseline data from mothers (n=28; age=37.0±6.7 years; BMI=33.5±10.6 kg/m2) and daughters (n=32; age=9.0±1.2 years; BMI=20.4±5.7 kg/m2, 90th percentile) participating in an afterschool mother-daughter PA study was used in this analysis. PA was measured for 7 continuous days using accelerometers. Parental Responsiveness (PR) and Adolescent Openness to Parental Socialization scales were used to assess mother-daughter relationship. Daughters’ self-esteem and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) scale and Child Depression Inventory (CDI), respectively. Participants’ PA self efficacy (PA-SE) was assessed with validated questionnaires. Spearman correlations were used to examine associations between mother-daughter relationship, psychosocial variables, and PA levels. Daughters’ scores for the PR scale were divided into tertiles. Between group (high versus low perception of mother-daughter relationship) differences in psychosocial variables and PA were assessed with t-tests.
Results: Daughters’ perception of their mother-daughter relationship was positively correlated with RSE (r=0.36, p=0.04). Daughters’ percent time spent in MVPA was negatively correlated with CDI (r= -0.42, p=0.03) and positively correlated with their mothers’ PA-SE (r=0.44, p=0.04). With respect to daughters’ PR scale, signifi cant differences in RSE score (HIGH=23.82±4.33; LOW 18.20±4.87, p=0.01) and percent time spent in sedentary activity (HIGH=27.83±32.31; LOW=57.41±20.93, p=0.02) were observed between the highest and lowest tertiles.
Conclusion: African-American girls’ perception of their relationship with their mother seems to be associated with their self-esteem, depressive symptoms and sedentary pursuits. Thus, future studies should target interventions that also improve mother-daughter relationship.
Author(s)
- Sarah Burkart
- Brett Winner
- Cory Greever
- Sofiya Alhassan, FACSM
Institution(s)
Presented at
ACSM 2014 Annual Meeting