Adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study of mothers’ perspectives

Background Socio-behavioural adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic may have significantly affected adolescents’ lifestyle. This study aimed to explore possible reasons affecting changes in physical activity and sedentary behaviour in Indonesian adolescents during the pandemic based on mothers’ perspectives. Methods We recruited parents (n = 20) from the Yogyakarta region of Indonesia (July–August 2020) using purposive and snowball sampling. Individual interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and anonymised. Data were imported into NVivo software for a reflexive thematic analysis. Results The interviews lasted between 38 and 113 min (M = 65 min). Participants’ age ranged between 36 and 54 years (M = 42.6 years). Participants’ children ranged in age from 12 to 15 years (M = 13.7 years, female: 9, male: 11). Themes related to changes in physical activity during the pandemic were 1) self-determination and enjoyment, 2) supports from others, and 3) physical activity facilities and equipment. Themes related to changes in sedentary behaviour during the pandemic included 1) educational demands, 2) psychological effects due to the pandemic, 3) devices and internet availability, 4) parental control, and 5) social facilitators. Conclusions During the pandemic, mothers perceived their children to be less active and using more screen-based devices, either for educational or recreational purposes, compared to before. The present themes might be useful when developing interventions and policies promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in adolescents. Interventions could, for example, consider increasing parents’ and adolescents’ awareness on current activity guidelines, providing education on healthier recreational screen time, and involving parents, peers, and teachers. Increasing the accessibility of physical activity facilities and equipment, making use of adolescents’ favourite program and social media for interventions, and providing activities that are fun and enjoyable may also important.

Handlers’ Expectations and Perceived Compatibility Regarding the Partnership with Their First Guide Dogs

The main function of a guide dog is as a mobility aid, but they can also fulfill psychosocial roles as companions, social facilitators, and objects/providers of affection. This study examined the outcome of 50 peoples’ (handlers) partnerships with their first guide dog. Overall compatibility and the fulfilment of the handlers’ expectations regarding mobility and social factors related to guide dog usage were measured, and relationships between putative risk factors and the outcome of matching success were identified. The findings demonstrate that the dogs are generally exceeding expectations. The high average ratings of compatibility were notable, particularly with respect to the emotional compatibility between handler and dog. Comparing responses of those who felt the handler-dog pairing was a good match with those who felt it was a mismatch revealed it was the working aspects of the relationship that differentiated the two groups. However, the many aspects of life with a guide dog, beyond the complexities of the working relationship, suggest that a more nuanced compatibility measure accommodating both positive and negative aspects of the relationship could assist with matching, training and follow up of the handler-dog team to maximize success.

Hair salons and stylist–client social relationships as facilitators of community-based contraceptive uptake in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a qualitative analysis

Background South Africa faces a high burden of unmet contraceptive need, particularly among adolescent girls and young women. Providing contraception in community-based venues may overcome barriers to contraceptive access. Our objective was to explore the potential impact of the social environment and stylist–client interactions on perceived accessibility of contraceptives within hair salons. Methods We conducted 42 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with salon clients (100% identified as female, 100% identified as Black, median age 27.1 years) and 6 focus groups with 43 stylists (95% identified as female, 98% identified as Black, median age 29.6 years) in and around Umlazi Township, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal to explore perspectives on offering contraceptive services in hair salons. We used an inductive and deductive approach to generate the codebook, identified themes in the data, and then organized findings according to Rogers’ Individual Adoption Model as applied to community-based health prevention programs. Twenty-five percent of transcripts were coded by two independent coders to ensure reliability. Results We identified elements of the salon environment and stylist–client relationships as facilitators of and barriers to acceptability of salon-based contraceptive care. Factors that may facilitate perceived contraceptive accessibility in salons include: the anonymous, young, female-centered nature of salons; high trust and kinship within stylist–client interactions; and mutual investment of time. Stylists may further help clients build comprehension about contraceptives through training. Stylists and clients believe salon-based contraceptive delivery may be more accessible due to contraceptive need facilitating client buy-in for the program, as well as a salon environment in which clients may encourage other clients by voluntarily sharing their own contraceptive decisions. The non-judgmental nature of stylist–client relationships can empower clients to make contraceptive decisions, and stylists seek to support clients’ continued use of contraceptives through various adherence and support strategies. Some stylists and clients identified existing social barriers (e.g. confidentiality concerns) and made recommendations to strengthen potential contraceptive delivery in salons. Conclusion Stylists and clients were highly receptive to contraceptive delivery in salons and identified several social facilitators as well as barriers within this setting. Hair salons are community venues with a social environment that may uniquely mitigate barriers to contraceptive access in South Africa.

HAMBATAN KOMUNIKASI PENDAMPING SOSIAL

The role of social assistant is very urgent in the implementation of social assistance programs, social security and social assistance. Citizen assistance is carried out through the Family Capability Improvement Program (P2K2), the activity is called Family Development Session (FDS). This article focuses on the problems that occur in these social assistance activities, especially in the communication barriers between social facilitators and citizens as Beneficiary Families (KPM). The study was conducted based on relevant literature. It was found that active and efficient communication became the determining factor in the implementation of community assistance. An affective strategy needs to be prepared in the assistance of beneficiary citizens so that the program is effective smoothly and efficiently.

Behavioral Asymmetries of Pectoral Fin Use During Social Interactions of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The preference for utilizing certain appendages (handedness) has been explored in human and nonhuman primates. Similarly to primates, dolphins possess hemispheres that allow an individual to present behaviorally dominant features as well as appendages (i.e., pectoral fins) that are utilized both as social facilitators as well as means to interact with objects. Thus, the possibility of handedness in a captive population of 27 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) was explored. Dolphins in a mother-offspring relationship made significantly more pectoral fin contacts than in the absence of this relationship (p < 0.001). No significant difference was observed between maternal siblings and non-maternal siblings in overall pectoral fin contact. Handedness indexes were calculated for 26 individuals that initiated pectoral fin contact with both conspecifics and flora (i.e., seagrass) in their habitat. No significant differences were observed between the sexes in handedness indexes, however calves displayed a significant right-fin handedness compared to both sub-adults and adults (p < 0.05). Both sub-adults and adults showed a left-fin handedness indexes, but no significant difference in the strength of this relationship among these two age classes was observed. Individual variation in handedness indexes was noted. These results suggest that handedness may be present in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins with regards to social contact, and a larger and more diverse sample size may provide a better understanding in why handedness may change across development.

Take care of well-being: how facilitators and engagement predict performance of university students

<p>The interest in developing a high quality educational system requires constant research of the variables involved in the teaching-learning process. Among these variables, social and academic facilitators are important because there is empirical evidence about their positive relationship with engagement, commitment, self-efficacy, happiness and satisfaction in the academic context. Moreover, the psychological well-being of university students (i.e., engagement) showed to positively affect future academic success. In line, the aim of this study is twofold. First, the relevance of social and university academic facilitators was analyzed depending on the faculty of belonging. Second, the effect of social (e.g., Good relationship with classmates) and academic facilitators (e.g., Updated website with new information and easily accessible) as well as academic engagement on academic performance (i.e., GPA) was tested. The sample consisted of 965 University students. The ANOVAs’ results showed the existence of statistically significant differences in social and university academic facilitators among the different faculties. Regression analyses demonstrated that social (but not university’s) facilitators and academic engagement were positively related to academic performance. Additionally, the interaction between social facilitators and academic engagement was positively related to academic performance. The effect was also significant when controlling for gender and faculty. The identification of different facilitators allows to develop different activities depending on the faculty, as well as leading to the optimization of teaching-learning process. Moreover, academic facilitators do not affect academic performance. From a practical view, it means that specific interventions can be implemented during the course so that students’ social facilitators and engagement increase.</p>