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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1413268

Health Enhancing Behaviours in Early Adolescence: An Investigation of Nutrition, Sleep, Physical Activity, Mindfulness and Social Connectedness and their association with Psychological Distress and Wellbeing

Provisionally accepted
Kassie Bromley Kassie Bromley 1*Dashiell D. Sacks Dashiell D. Sacks 2Amanda Boyes Amanda Boyes 1Christina Driver Christina Driver 1Daniel F. Hermens Daniel F. Hermens 1
  • 1 Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, Australia
  • 2 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Nutrition, sleep and physical activity are termed the “big three” health enhancing behaviours (HEB) associated with psychological distress and wellbeing. This study sought to understand differential associations between an expanded group of HEB (nutrition, sleep, physical activity, mindfulness, social connectedness) and psychological distress/wellbeing in early adolescents. Methods: Correlational and regression analyses were conducted in N=103 (51% females) adolescents (12.6  0.3 years of age) recruited from the Longitudinal Adolescent Brain Study. Results: Higher scores on sleep, social connectedness and mindfulness scales were significantly associated with lower psychological distress scores. While higher scores on social connectedness and mindfulness scales were significantly associated with higher wellbeing scores. When adjusting for sex, nutrition, sleep, social connectedness and mindfulness accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the psychological distress model whereas physical activity and social connectedness accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in the wellbeing model. Discussion: Overall findings make a strong case for expansion of the “big three” HEB to include mindfulness and social connectedness, especially given social connectedness emerged as the strongest predictor of both psychological distress and wellbeing. In addition, this research suggests that early adolescent nutrition, sleep quality, and mindfulness should be prioritised in efforts to reduce risk of difficulties, and physical activity prioritised as a protective factor for wellbeing in this population. Findings have implications for interventions, emphasising the importance of addressing HEB factors comprehensively and tailoring strategies to the unique needs of early adolescents to foster positive mental health outcomes.

    Keywords: Sleep, adolescence, psychological distress, wellbeing, nutrition, Exercise, mindfulness, social connectedness

    Received: 07 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Bromley, Sacks, Boyes, Driver and Hermens. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kassie Bromley, Sunshine Coast Mind and Neuroscience Thompson Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.