Using Technology to Assess Bidirectionality between Daily Pain and Physical Activity: The Role of Marginalization during Emerging Adulthood

Emerging adulthood is often overlooked as a developmental time period critical to shaping future health outcomes. Recurrent pain is a commonly experienced health concern within this age group, particularly headaches and low back pain, and early experiences of recurrent pain are related to subsequent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children (Basel) 2021-08, Vol.8 (9), p.756
Main Authors: Bedree, Helen, Miller, Steven A., Buscemi, Joanna, Greenley, Rachel Neff, Tran, Susan T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ActiGraph
Adults
Back pain
Chronic illnesses
College students
Data collection
Diaries
emerging adults
Ethnicity
Exercise
Gender
Health behavior
Health disparities
Hispanic Americans
longitudinal
marginalized status
pain symptoms
Pediatrics
physical activity
Physical fitness
Population
Social exclusion
Socioeconomic factors
Structural equation modeling
Young adults
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Summary:Emerging adulthood is often overlooked as a developmental time period critical to shaping future health outcomes. Recurrent pain is a commonly experienced health concern within this age group, particularly headaches and low back pain, and early experiences of recurrent pain are related to subsequent chronic pain and disability. Furthermore, adults from marginalized populations report more frequent and severe recurrent pain. Many studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effect of physical activity on pain relief; however, others have demonstrated that physical activity can also exacerbate pain symptoms. Therefore, the current study aimed to (1) assess a bidirectional relationship between reported pain and engagement in physical activity among an emerging adult sample (N = 265) and (2) determine whether sociodemographic factors moderate this relationship. Using longitudinal daily reported pain and ActiGraph monitor data collected over two weeks, a novel dynamic structural equation modeling approach was employed. Results indicated no significant cross-lagged relationships between pain and physical activity, and no significant moderation effects. These findings suggest that a bidirectional relationship does not exist among a diverse college sample of emerging adults even after considering sociodemographic moderators. Excellent retention and few missing data suggest that using accelerometers and daily diaries are feasible methods to collect data in this population. Sample considerations and future analytical approaches are discussed.
ISSN:2227-9067
2227-9067
DOI:10.3390/children8090756