Abstract

FORMIGA, Nilton S. et al. The subjective well-being measure in physically Active and non-active adolescents. Salud & Sociedad [online]. 2014, vol.5, n.1, pp. 54-64. ISSN 0718-7475.

Modern society's technological and social dynamics have brought with them a need in many scientific areas for research on personal development so that as people live longer, they may do so with better quality of life. One factor of well-being which has received much attention is the impact of physical activity and the frequency thereof on people's daily lives. The objective of the current study is therefore to determine the factorial structure of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) in physically active and non-active Brazilian adolescents. Subjects were 1864 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 30. All resided in the northern state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. They answered the subjective well-being inventory which included questions regarding the practice and frequency of physical activity and socio-demographic data. These data were analyzed by a confirmatory factor analysis using the statistical software package AMOS. The analysis found that the adjustment indicators of the factorial structure of the scale were similar to those applied in the structural modeling literature. The conclusion is that MUNSH demonstrates robustness of the factorial structure in adolescents who engage in physical activity and those who do so with greater frequency per week.

Keywords : Physical activities; well-being; adolescents.

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