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Individual and Household Predictors of Adolescents’ Adherence to a Web-Based Intervention

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Adherence to e-health obesity interventions is a significant challenge.

Purpose

We examined the individual and household predictors of adolescents’ adherence to a Web-based lifestyle intervention.

Methods

One hundred sixty overweight/obese adolescents and one of their parents enrolled in the 8-month e-health intervention. Structural equation modeling was used to examine individual factors from the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory and household factors (food/soda availability, parenting, environment) that predict adolescents’ adherence to components of the intervention.

Results

We explained 10.8 to 36.9 % of the total variance in adherence to components of the intervention. Intrinsic motivation and parenting practices and styles directly predicted adherence. Relatedness and autonomy support indirectly predicted adherence via intrinsic motivation. Finally, household income modulated these effects.

Conclusion

Taking a self-regulatory perspective (i.e., accounting for intrinsic motivation) contributes to our understanding of intervention adherence, but the household environment may play a greater role in facilitating adolescent behavior change.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Maria Valente for overseeing the data collection of this study and for Dr. Judith Fitzgerald de Niet for her help in data collection. The authors would like to acknowledge Arlene Crystall and Dr. Mary Hinchliffe from the BC Children Centre for Healthy Weight for providing input into this study and helping with recruitment strategies. In addition, the authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Kevin Patrick at the University of California at San Diego for consulting on this study and reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript. Everyone who has contributed significantly to this work has been acknowledged. This work has been presented, in part, as an oral presentation at the Canadian Obesity Summit, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 1–4, 2013 and as a poster presentation at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, San Diego, CA May 21-24, 2014.

Funding

LCM was funded through salary support provided by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (CIHR), the Child and Family Research Institute, and the Sunny Hill foundation. AWW received stipend support from a CIHR Doctoral Research Award in partnership with the Danone Institute of Canada and from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the CIHR Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention: A Pan-Canadian Program (Grant #53893). AWT received stipend support from a CIHR Doctoral Research Award. This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes and the Health Research Foundation agreement number 00789-000.

Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards

Louise C. Mâsse, Allison W. Watts, Susan I. Barr, Andrew W. Tu, Constadina Panagiotopoulos, Josie Geller, and Jean-Pierre Chanoine declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The study procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo ethics boards and were approved by these two universities. Both the University of British Columbia and the University of Waterloo follow the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Family Research Institute and School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, F508-4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3V4, Canada

    Louise C. Mâsse Ph.D., Allison W. Watts M.Sc. & Andrew W. Tu M.Sc.

  2. Food Nutrition & Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Susan I. Barr Ph.D.

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Constadina Panagiotopoulos M.D. & Jean-Pierre Chanoine M.D.

  4. Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Josie Geller Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Louise C. Mâsse Ph.D.
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  2. Allison W. Watts M.Sc.
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  3. Susan I. Barr Ph.D.
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  6. Josie Geller Ph.D.
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  7. Jean-Pierre Chanoine M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Louise C. Mâsse Ph.D..

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Mâsse, L.C., Watts, A.W., Barr, S.I. et al. Individual and Household Predictors of Adolescents’ Adherence to a Web-Based Intervention. ann. behav. med. 49, 371–383 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9658-z

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