The relationships among spirituality, self-esteem, and participation in physical activity in late adolescent and young adult females

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among spirituality, self-esteem and participation in physical activity among late adolescent and young adult females. Pender’s (2015) Health Promotion Model served as the theoretical framework from which four hypotheses were derived: 1) Spirituality will have a positive relationship to participation in physical activity among late adolescent and young adult female respondents; 2) Spirituality will have a positive relationship to self-esteem among late adolescent and young adult female respondents; 3) Self-esteem will have a positive relationship to participation in physical activity among late adolescent and young adult female respondents; 4) Self-esteem will intervene on the relationship between spirituality and participation in physical activity among late adolescent and young adult female respondents. Secondary analysis of publically available data from Wave III of The National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) was conducted. Tobit regression was used to test each of the hypotheses. Hypotheses one and four were supported. A statistically significant inverse relationship was found between spirituality and self-esteem, this was the opposite of the direction indicated by hypothesis two. While an inverse relationship was indicated between self-esteem and participation in physical activity, the finding was not statistically significant. The findings of this study support the inclusion of mental health measures such as self-esteem when exploring the relationship between spirituality and physical activity. Further, this study reflects the complexities of the relationships among spirituality, self-esteem, and participation in physical activity. Finally, these findings may be used to support multifaceted, collaborative, and holistic interventions to increase physical activity rates among late adolescent and young adult females.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Ann L. Fournie