ABSTRACT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SEDENTARY BEHAVIORS AND BMI IN US ADOLESCENTS: ANALYSIS OF THE 2015 YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY By SARAH SADRUDDIN KABANI April 27, 2017 INTRODUCTION: Research has shown a strong link between sedentary behaviors and obesity among adolescents. AIM: This study aims: 1) To determine sedentary behaviors in US high school adolescent nationally 2) To determine the association between sedentary behaviors and BMI after controlling for demographics, recreational behaviors, diet, and physical activity 3) To examine the association between engaging in more than one sedentary behavior and BMI after controlling for demographics, recreational behaviors, diet, and physical activity METHODS: The Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS) 2015 data was utilized in this study by using weighted percentages to determine the association between sedentary behaviors and BMI while controlling for demographics such as age, sex, race, and grade, recreational behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, diet such as fruit, vegetable, and soda consumption, and physical activity. Univariate logistic regressions and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to determine the association between sedentary behaviors and BMI. Adjusted and unadjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were calculated. RESULTS: 81.6% of adolescents watched TV during a school day, while 18.4% did not watch TV during a school day. For video games/computer usage/social media (PG) usage, 82.6% engaged in PG usage during a school day, while 17.4% did not engage in PG usage during a school day. When stratifying by BMI, overweight adolescents and obese adolescents have significantly different sex distribution (p=<0.0001), race/ethnicity distribution (p=0.047), TV usage during a school day (p=0.04), PG usage during a school day (p=0.047), and TV & PG usage during a school day (p=<0.02). For TV & PG usage during the school days, adolescents who watch TV and PG, were at higher odds of being obese [AOR =1.3 (1.04, 1.6), p = 0.02] when comparing to adolescents who did not watch TV and PG. DISCUSSION: This study concludes that there is an association between obesity and adolescents who watch TV and use video games/computer/social media during a school day. Sociodemographic factors such as some races, age, and gender are also responsible for obesity among adolescents.

Media use may have the potential to influence romantic relationships, depending on the context of media use. For example, pathological media use, which includes symptoms of addiction such as relapse, withdrawal, and conflict with family and friends over media use, may be particularly damaging to romantic relationships. Additionally, research shows that pathological video game use can negatively influence factors of mental health, including depression. The current study includes 183 heterosexual couples from the Eastern United States. Both members of each couple completed online surveys answering questions regarding pathological media use, depression, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed that male pathological video game use was not associated with female romantic relationship satisfaction. Additionally, male pathological video game use was associated with increased levels of male depression, and male depression was associated with increased levels of female relationship satisfaction. However, male depression did not mediate the relation between male pathological video game use and female relationship satisfaction. Discussion focuses on the implications of pathological video game use on mental health, as well as problems within the sample, measurement, and short-term longitudinal study design.

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is included in the DSM-5 as a condition warranting more clinical research. Problematic gaming may increase when substance use is present (e.g. cigarette smoking, alcohol use; Raiff et al., 2012; Wartberg & Kammerl, 2020). However, little is known about the relation between cannabis use (CU) and IGD. Thus, the current study hypothesized that individuals engaging in increased CU will exhibit higher rates of IGD. Participants (N=114) were recruited from a rural southeastern university (M age=20.27, SD=4.15). Frequency of CU was measured as past month days with use, IGD was measured by the Video Game Dependency Scale (VGDS; Rehbein et al., 2010). Eleven percent of the sample met criteria for probable IGD. The average frequency of past month CU was 7.26 days (SD=10.88). An independent samples t-test compared frequency of past-month CU among individuals with or without probable IGD. Individuals with probable IGD had decreased CU (M =2.25, SD=5.72). Those without probable IGD had increased CU (M=7.70, SD=2.25), t(107)=2.72, p=.012, d= 0.246. Our results are contrary to previous study findings on the co-occurrence of IGD and substance use. Frequent video gaming may act as a protective factor against increased frequency of CU. Future research should expand on this understudied area and further investigate whether IGD is in fact a protective factor or if the relation found here is accounted for by another unmeasurable variable.

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This study examines whether the single or shared leisure activity of video gaming or a report of it as a problem is negatively related to couple attachment behaviors (accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement). The model suggests that individual frequency of violent video game use, individual frequency of nonviolent video game use, and couple video game use frequency predict negative couple attachment behaviors. In addition, video game playing that is perceived as a problem in the relationship serves as a mediator variable in the model. Data were collected using the Relationship Evaluation questionnaire (RELATE). The sample includes 2,112 couples who reported seriously dating, engagement, or marriage. The measures include assessing couple attachment behaviors and questions assessing video game use rates. Results indicated that male's violent video game use predicted the female's attachment behaviors, while the female's nonviolent video game use predicted the male's attachment behaviors. The male's violent video game use and the female's nonviolent video game use predicted his/her perception and their partner's perception that video games were a problem in the relationship, and their perception predicted less attachment behaviors, which was a fully mediated relationship for both. The female's view that video games were a problem negatively predicted both her and her partner's attachment behaviors, while the male's view only predicted his attachment behaviors. Future research directions and clinical implications for couples are discussed.