Optimism and the socioeconomic status gradient in adolescent adiposity. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • PURPOSE: To assess whether dispositional optimism is associated with adiposity and to explore whether dispositional optimism mediates the relationship between parent education and adiposity (body mass index [BMI] z-score). METHODS: Multivariate regression analyses of data were collected from 1,298 non-Hispanic black and white adolescents aged 12-19 years from a single Midwestern public school district. RESULTS: Less optimistic adolescents had higher BMI z-scores (r = -.09, p < .001). Addition of dispositional optimism to the regression model caused an approximately 10% attenuation of the parent education and BMI z-score relationship. Sobel tests confirmed that this attenuation indicated partial mediation. CONCLUSION: Lower dispositional optimism is associated with higher adiposity and this association accounts for some of the influence of parent education on adolescent adiposity.

publication date

  • June 8, 2011

Research

keywords

  • Adiposity
  • Adolescent Behavior
  • Black People
  • Obesity
  • White People

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC3202293

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 80055000177

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.04.003

PubMed ID

  • 22018574

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 49

issue

  • 5