Sociocultural Influences on Exercise Behaviors and Attitudes in Adolescence

Research to date has identified a relationship between exercise in adolescence and 4 sociocultural influences: peers, family, media, and technology. Less is known, however, about the role that these sociocultural influences play in driving adolescents' exercise behaviors and attitudes, particularly social media and fitness tracking technology use. This study aimed to investigate how and why sociocultural factors are linked to exercise behaviors and attitudes in adolescent boys and girls.

Eight focus groups were conducted in UK secondary schools with fifty-five 12- to 16-year-old adolescents (M = 14.11; SD = 1.49; n = 27 females). Following transcription and thematic analysis, 2 key themes were identified: (1) exercise pressures and (2) modeling exercise behaviors and attitudes.

Exercise pressures were reported to stem from parental and peer expectations around exercise, and from feeling pressure to meet externally prescribed fitness tracking technology goals. Adolescents also reported modeling the exercise behaviors of their parents or peers for social affiliation and as a means to achieve socially endorsed "ideal" body types.

These findings highlight the need for exercise interventions to consider the importance of exercise-related messages from others and tendencies toward conformity as a result of sociocultural expectations around exercise in adolescents.