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Updated: Jun 14, 2025

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Published on: July 27, 2022
Identification of distinct physical activity profiles through adolescence: a longitudinal qualitative description
Mathieu Bélanger1,2,3, Julie Goguen2, Jacinthe Beauchamp1,2
1Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Introduction:
We aimed to better understand longitudinal physical activity experiences among initially active adolescents and to identify and describe distinct physical activity profiles.
Methods:
A sample of 23 physically active participants [52% female; mean age = 12.2 (0.6) years at study inception] were selected from the MATCH study to take part in this nested qualitative descriptive study. Participants were interviewed once a year for six years. Following individual-level analyses, profiles were identified based on similarity of longitudinal experiences.
Results:
Four profiles captured participants' experiences: Independents (those who progressively seek activities that cater to their pursuit of autonomy); Multitaskers (those who participate in many different sports as an integral part of their lifestyle); Specialists (those who are dedicated to becoming the best they can be at one sport); Undecided (those who take part in physical activity to occupy time).
Discussion:
The exploration of longitudinal physical activity experiences led to the identification of distinct profiles that could be targets for tailored interventions, theory development, and participation models.
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