Jasminka Blažević1, Mateo Blazevic2, Damir Sekulic3
1Design, Graphics and Sustainable Civil Engineering School, Split, Croatia
2School for Civil Engineering and Land Surveying, Split, Croatia
3University of Split, Faculty of Kinesiology, Split, Croatia
Is There a Meaningful Association Between Physical Literacy and Health Literacy? A Cross- Sectional Study in Older Adolescents
Sport Mont 2024, 22(2), 85-91 | DOI: 10.26773/smj.240712
Abstract
Health literacy (HL) is hypothesized to be associated with physical literacy (PL), but studies have rarely examined this association in adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the possible relationships between PL and physical activity levels (PAL), with HL in high-school adolescents. The participants in this cross-sectional study were high school students (n=204; 100 females; 16 to 19 years of age). Variables included evaluation of the HL, PL, and PAL. The Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents was used for analysis of the PAL. PL was assessed by the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy, and the Physical Literacy Assessment of Youth (PLAYself). HL was evaluated using the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate correlations were calculated for the total sample and stratified by gender. Boys had greater PAL than girls (t test =6.76, p<0.001), but no significant gender differences were found in PL and HL. The results showed no significant association between PL and HL in boys. PL was significantly associated with HL in girls (17% of the explained variance, p<0.001), with PLAYself being a significant partial regressor (Beta =0.38, p<0.001). Due to the established gender-specific associations between HL and PL, in developing and implementing educational strategies aimed at improving PL and HL in adolescents, a gender-specific approach is warranted.
Keywords
physical activity levels, physical literacy assessment, health literacy survey, adolescents, physical education
View full article
(PDF – 146KB)
References
Brown, S. L., Teufel, J. A., & Birch, D. A. (2007). Early adolescents' perceptions of health and health literacy. Journal of School Health, 77(1), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2007.00156.x
Carl, J., Bryant, A. S., Edwards, L. C., Bartle, G., Birch, J. E., Christodoulides, E., ... & Elsborg, P. (2023). Physical literacy in Europe: The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, 21(1), 165-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2022.12.003
Choudhury, S., Blakemore, S.-J., & Charman, T. (2006). Social cognitive development during adolescence. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1(3), 165. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsl024
Cohen, R. Y., Brownell, K. D., & Felix, M. R. (1990). Age and sex differences in health habits and beliefs of schoolchildren. Health Psychology, 9(2), 208. https://doi.org/10.1037//0278-6133.9.2.208
de Buhr, E., & Tannen, A. (2020). Parental health literacy and health knowledge, behaviors and outcomes in children: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health, 20, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08881-5
Fleary, S. A., & Ettienne, R. (2019). Social disparities in health literacy in the United States. HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice, 3(1), e47-e52. https://doi.org/10.3928/24748307-20190131-01
Forte, P., Pugliese, E., Ambretti, A., & D’Anna, C. (2023). Physical Education and Embodied Learning: A Review. Sport Mont, 21(3). https://doi.org/10.26773/smj.231020
Francis-Oliviero, F., Loubieres, C., Grove, C., Marinucci, A., Shankland, R., Salamon, R., ... & Montagni, I. (2023). Improving Children's Mental Health Literacy Through the Cocreation of an Intervention and Scale Validation: Protocol for the CHILD-Mental Health Literacy Research Study. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e51096. https://doi.org/10.2196/51096
Geets-Kesić, M., Maras, N., & Gilić, B. (2023). Analysis of the Association Between Health Literacy, Physical Literacy, and Scholastic Achievement; A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study Among High-School Students From Southern Croatia. Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.26773/mjssm.230301
Gilic, B., Zenic, N., Separovic, V., Jurcev Savicevic, A., & Sekulic, D. (2021). Evidencing the influence of prepandemic sports participation and substance misuse on physical activity during the COVID‑19 lockdown: a prospective analysis among older adolescents. International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 34(2), 151-163. https://doi.org/10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01733
Gray, N. J., Klein, J. D., Noyce, P. R., Sesselberg, T. S., & Cantrill, J. A. (2005). Health information-seeking behavior in adolescence: the place of the internet. Social Science & Medicine, 60(7), 1467-1478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.010
Hidayatullaili, N. A., Musthofa, S. B., & Margawati, A. (2023). Media Health Literacy on Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Adolescents (Systematic Review). Jurnal Promkes: The Indonesian Journal of Health Promotion and Health Education, 11(2), 229-236. http://dx.doi.org/10.20473/jpk.V11.I2.2023.229-236
Hrg, K., Lončar, P., Zelanto, W. H., Novak, D., & Podnar, H. (2023). Attainment of the Health Outcomes by Implementing Educational Videos During the Final Part of the Physical Education Lesson. Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.26773/mjssm.230902
Karimi, N., Saadat-Gharin, S., Tol, A., Sadeghi, R., Yaseri, M., & Mohebbi, B. (2019). A problem-based learning health literacy intervention program on improving health-promoting behaviors among girl students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8(1), 251. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_476_19
Kesic, M. G., Peric, M., Gilic, B., Manojlovic, M., Drid, P., Modric, T., ... & Pajtler, A. (2022). Are Health Literacy and Physical Literacy Independent Concepts? A Gender-Stratified Analysis in Medical School Students from Croatia. Children, 9(8), 1231. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9081231
Kesic, M. G., Savicevic, A. J., Peric, M., Gilic, B., & Zenic, N. (2022). Specificity of the Associations between Indices of Cardiovascular Health with Health Literacy and Physical Literacy; A Cross-Sectional Study in Older Adolescents. Medicina, 58(10), 1316. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101316
Litt, D. M., Iannotti, R. J., & Wang, J. (2011). Motivations for adolescent physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 8(2), 220-226. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.8.2.220
Niven, A., Fawkner, S., Knowles, A.-M., Henretty, J., & Stephenson, C. (2009). Social physique anxiety and physical activity in early adolescent girls: The influence of maturation and physical activity motives. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(3), 299-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410802578164
Okan, O., Pinheiro, P., Zamora, P., & Bauer, U. (2015). Health literacy in childhood and adolescence: An overview and current state of research. Bundesgesundheitsblatt-Gesundheitsforschung-Gesundheitsschutz, 58, 930-941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-015-2199-1
Olyani, S., & Peyman, N. (2021). Health literacy and health outcomes in Iranian adolescents: A systematic review. Journal of Health Literacy, 6(3), 78-85. https://doi.org/10.22038/jhl.2021.56218.1155
Rutkauskaitė, R., & Kuusinen, K. (2019). Links between adolescents’ health literacy and their physical activity and body mass index. Baltic Journal of Sport and Health Sciences, 3(114). https://doi.org/10.33607/bjshs.v3i114.805
Schulenkorf, T., Krah, V., Dadaczynski, K., & Okan, O. (2021). Addressing Health Literacy in Schools in Germany: Concept Analysis of the Mandatory Digital and Media Literacy School Curriculum. Front Public Health, 9, 687389. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.687389
Sorensen, K., Van den Broucke, S., Fullam, J., Doyle, G., Pelikan, J., Slonska, Z., ... & Consortium Health Literacy Project, E. (2012 ). Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health, 12, 80. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-80
Sunda, M., Gilic, B., Sekulic, D., Matic, R., Drid, P., Alexe, D. I., ... & Lupu, G. S. (2022). Out-of-School Sports Participation Is Positively Associated with Physical Literacy, but What about Physical Education? A Cross-Sectional Gender-Stratified Analysis during the COVID-19 Pandemic among High-School Adolescents. Children (Basel), 9(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/children905075