Resilience of adolescents in physical activity during the covid-19 pandemic: a preliminary case study in France

Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine how adolescents' physical activity (PA) changed during the COVID-19 crisis according to level of intensity and whether there are typologies of resilience based on individual and environmental characteristics. Methods: A longitudinal follow-up study of PA in a representative sample of French adolescents (n=808, 16.32±1.01 years old) was carried out. Two online surveys collecting reported data on amounts of PA were completed the week before and during the first week of the lockdown. Data related to individual and environmental characteristics were collected. A principal component method with qualitative and quantitative data (FAMD) for cluster analysis was performed to identify adolescent’s profiles according to their individual, interpersonal and environmental determinants. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA and a Bonferroni Post-Hoc test were performed to detect any significant effects of adolescents’ clusters on time and each intensity level of PA. Results: Three clusters were identified and characterized by a multifactorial process: active, studious and rural adolescents (37%) reported a significant increase in their MVPA (+707 Mets·week-1, p<0.05), inactive, underachieving and rural adolescents (32%) reported a stability in their MVPA (0 Mets·week-1, NS) and urban adolescents (31%) reported a significant decrease of MVPA (-237 Mets·week-1, p<0.05). Conclusion: This study investigated the multifactorial and temporal complexity of PA resilience according to a socio-ecological anchoring, suggesting that factors of resilience in PA are linked to availability of rural and green environments (environmental determinants), good pedagogical follow up (interpersonal determinant) and high initial involvement in PA (individual determinant).