| Abstract [eng] |
Rasa Pociene. Adolescent health, physical activity, and sleep quality during distance education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Master's Thesis in Health Psychology / Academic advisor Prof. dr. Roma Jusienė. Keywords: adolescent health, adolescent physical activity, sleep quality, COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire form of education was changed from direct to remote after the quarantine. Distance education and concomitant quarantine may have had a negative impact on adolescents’physical and mental health (Jusienė et al., 2021; Davis et al., 2020; Dabkowska et al., 2021; Margaritis et al., 2020). Changes in adolescents daily routine during the quarantine period and limited socio-social activities may also have affected adolescents’ sleep quality (Becker et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020; Moore et al., 2020). The aim of this study is to find out how distance learning has been linked to the health of adolescents aged 11-14, that is, the severity of their somatic symptoms and behavioral and emotional difficulties, and the importance of physical activity and sleep quality to their health. In this study was used a questionnaire on the child's use of IT devices, social environment and behavior, developed by a group of researchers who carried out the project: "Long-term effects of screens on children's physical and mental health". Also the Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The results of the study revealed that in 70 percent of the adolescents‘ physical activity in our sample was insufficient, i.e. less than an hour a day. No statistically significant differences in physical activity were observed according gender and age. Adolescents had adequate sleep duration, with just over three percent of the sample were sleeping less than eight hours a day. Slightly less than half (40.3%) of the adolescents felt asleep during the day, and a third of the adolescents in the sample experienced various sleep difficulties. Adolescent‘s sleep quality varied significantly across age: older adolescents had poorer sleep quality. In terms of gender, girls were found to sleep significantly more hours per day than boys, and girls had a longer falling asleep duration than boys. Correlations between physical activity, sleep quality, and somatic symptoms were also found. Lower physical activity and poorer sleep quality indicate more frequent somatic symptoms. The results also revealed that shorter sleep duration was related to more frequent behavioral and emotional difficulties. Daytime sleepiness, sleep difficulties, and physical activity predicted the development of somatic symptoms. Meanwhile, sleep duration and adolescent‘s age predicted adolescent‘s behavioral and emotional difficulties. |
