Lifestyle mediates the relationship between self-esteem and health-related quality of life in Chilean schoolchildren

Psychol Health Med. 2022 Mar;27(3):638-648. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2021.1934496. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Abstract

A healthy lifestyle, including food habits, physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST), is an important factor for well-being. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the association between lifestyle (i.e., PA, ST and food habits), self-esteem and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A second objective was to determine the association between self-esteem with HRQoL, considering the mediating effect of lifestyle. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was performed, involving both girls (n = 282, 11.86 ± 0.82 years) and boys (n = 352, 12.02 ± 0.87 years). Lifestyle, self-esteem, HRQoL and anthropometrics parameters were evaluated. The study reported that self-esteem (β; 0.04, P = 0.49) and PA (β; 1.15, P < 0.001) had positive association with HRQoL. By contrast,ST was linked in an inverse way to HRQoL (β; -1.82,, P < 0.001). According to the second objective, self-esteem had a significant association with HRQoL (total effect = 0.48, p < 0.01), and ST mediated this association negatively, instead, PA and food habits positively mediated this association. In conclusion, self-esteem presented association with HRQoL and lifestyle mediates this relationship positively (PA, MD adherence) and negatively (ST). Therefore, promoting healthy lifestyle among children should be a target of community- and school-based interventions to promote well-being.

Keywords: Health-related quality of life; Mediterranean diet; physical activity; schoolchildren; screen time; self-esteem.

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Chile / epidemiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Life Style*
  • Male
  • Quality of Life*
  • Self Concept