Testing the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP) in Brazilian Adolescents

Testing the Conceptual Diagram of the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP) Using Cross-sectional Data From Brazilian Adolescents

This cross-sectional observational study aims to test the original conceptual diagram of the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP) in Brazilian adolescents. The study evaluates the relationships among predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing correlates described in the YPAP framework and investigates how these correlates interact with one another according to the pathways proposed by the model. A convenience sample of adolescents aged 10 to 13 years will be recruited through broad public dissemination as part of a larger experimental intervention project. Data will be collected at a single time point. Instead of traditional linear analytical strategies, the study will adopt complex, flexible, and non-linear methods such as network analysis to examine how correlates interconnect and influence physical activity behavior. Secondary analyses will explore whether the structure and strength of associations differ across demographic subgroups such as sex and socioeconomic level.

The Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (YPAP) conceptualizes physical activity behavior in youth as influenced by interacting correlates organized within predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing domains. These domains interact dynamically and collectively shape physical activity, forming a structured diagram originally proposed by Welk and colleagues. This study aims to test this conceptual diagram using data from Brazilian adolescents aged 10-13 years. The objective is to evaluate whether the empirical relationships among correlates follow the directional pathways and interactions proposed by the original YPAP model. This study will analyze baseline data collected as part of a broader experimental intervention, although no intervention or exposure occurs for the purpose of this cross-sectional analysis. Recruitment will occur through broad public dissemination linked to the host project and community outreach strategies. Given the complexity of the model and the expected multilevel interdependencies among correlates, the analysis strategy will rely on flexible, non-linear methods-most prominently network analysis-to explore how variables cluster, how correlates influence one another, and how these structures relate to normative patterns expected from the original YPAP framework. Secondary aims include testing whether observed associations vary by key demographic moderators described in the model (sex, socioeconomic level).

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 10-13 years;
• medical clearance for physical activity.

Exclusion Criteria:

• presence of any clinical diagnosis that may interfere the performance of assessments (including musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular, pulmonary, or cardiac disorders).