Author(s): YIP, K., CASTELLI, D., Institution: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, Country: UNITED STATES, Abstract-ID: 2706

INTRODUCTION:
Research indicates that physical activity (PA) mitigates the effects of psychosocial stress on mental health. However, parents face unique stressors, such as sleep deprivation, parenting demands, and discrimination. Additionally, parenthood is associated with reduced PA due to family responsibilities, time constraints, and lack of support, with PA often becoming necessity-driven and embedded with children’s activities. The relationship between PA and mental health remains understudied in this population. This study examined the associations between PA, sleep quality, anxiety, and discrimination experiences, and tested whether PA moderates stress-mental health relationships.
METHODS:
This cross-sectional analysis used data from Whole Communities, Whole Health, a longitudinal study of families in Central Texas. Parents/caregivers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire, and Everyday Discrimination Scale. PA was assessed via Fitbit Charge step counts. Pearson correlations and multiple regression models examined relationships, with interaction terms testing PA as a moderator. Age and gender were covariates in all models.
RESULTS:
The final sample included 70 parents (Mage 33.4±6.2 years; 90% female; 67 primary and 3 secondary/tertiary caregivers). The age of their youngest child ranged from 0-10 years. Parents averaged 6,477 (±2,352) steps/day. Poorer sleep quality (r=0.50, p<0.001) and greater discrimination types (gender, racial, age, etc.) (r=0.45, p<0.001) were correlated with general distress and anxiety (GDA). Greater discrimination frequency (reverse-coded; lower scores indicate more frequent experiences) was inversely associated with GDA (r=-0.51, p<0.001). In multiple regression models, discrimination frequency (β=-0.33, p=0.004) and sleep quality (β=0.90, p=0.002) independently predicted GDA, explaining 35% of variance (R²=0.335, p<0.001). Daily steps did not predict GDA (R²=0.02, p=0.86) and did not moderate discrimination-GDA or sleep-GDA relationships. Significant interactions emerged between child age and steps in predicting parental anxious arousal (interaction β=0.0011, p<.001, R²=0.30). Simple slopes analysis revealed that among highly active parents (+1 SD), older child age predicted significantly higher anxiety (β=2.98, p<0.001), whereas among less active parents (-1 SD), older child age showed a non-significant lower anxiety (β =-2.57, p=0.06).
CONCLUSION:
Contrary to exercise interventions in general populations, PA operated independently of mental health and demonstrated minimal health-protective benefits against sleep- and discrimination-related distress. These findings challenge assumptions that exercise interventions universally improve mental health. The significant moderation effect where active parents of older children showed elevated anxiety suggests fundamentally different developmental experiences depending on parental activity level. Ultimately, this highlights the need for more parent-specific approaches.