Hazel Baldwin
My name is Hazel Baldwin. I am a first year student at Wesleyan University majoring in Sociology and Government. I am from New York City, my favorite colors are light pink and dark green.
Live Poster Session: Zoom Link
Abstract: This project examines the relationship between physical activity and mental health among U.S. high school students using data from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES). Physical activity was measured primarily as the number of days students were physically active for at least 60 minutes, while mental health was measured using a suicide risk count based on sadness/hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and suicide planning. The analysis also considered school social connectedness as an additional factor in order to better understand the broader context of the relationship between activity and mental health. Results showed that physical activity days were significantly and negatively associated with suicide risk count, meaning that students who were active on more days tended to report lower suicide risk. At the same time, school social connectedness was also important, as students with lower connectedness generally showed higher predicted suicide risk across activity levels. Overall, the findings suggest that greater physical activity is associated with better mental health outcomes, but that this relationship is shaped in part by students’ social environment at school.
QAC-201-Poster-Hazel-Baldwin