Erin J. Reifsteck

A transition program to help student-athletes move on to lifetime physical activity

ABSTRACT Maintaining healthy levels of physical activity after competitive sports careers end can be challenging. Evidence-based programs are needed to prepare athletes for the transition from highly structured, competitive athletics to lifetime physical activity. In this article, we describe the development of our Moving On! program, which is designed to help student-athletes make healthy transitions to life after college sports. By outlining our experiences with this program, we offer a blueprint that may serve as a useful guide for sport and exercise psychology practitioners who wish to implement sport transition programs that foster the long-term health and well-being of student-athletes.

Quality of Life Assessment for Physical Activity and Health Promotion: Further Psychometrics and Comparison of Measures

Despite the clear relationship between physical activity and quality of life, few sound, relevant quality of life measures exist. Gill and colleagues developed a 32-item quality of life survey, and provided initial psychometric evidence. This study further examined that quality of life survey in comparison with the widely used short form (SF-36) health survey. Participants (n = 446) completed the quality of life survey, short form (36) health survey, World Health Organization quality of life measure, satisfaction with life scale, and the Godin physical activity measure. All quality of life survey scales (emotional, social, spiritual, physical, activities of daily living, cognitive, integrated) were internally consistent (alpha .79–.95) and test–retest correlations ranged from .68 to .82. The SF-36 had similar internal consistency, slightly lower test–retest correlations, and weaker relationships with satisfaction with life scale. Quality of life survey scales correlated with matching SF-36 and World Health Organization quality of life measure subscales supporting convergent validity. The quality of life survey reflects positive health models better than the SF-36, and is more appropriate for research and programs that focus on physical activity and health promotion.

Feminist Scholarship: Cross-Disciplinary Connections for Cultivating a Critical Perspective in Kinesiology

Kinesiology has not been a particularly inviting space for feminist critical analysis. In this article, as a graduate student in the field, I argue that feminist scholarship from women and gender studies can be applied to kinesiology issues to promote a critical perspective that is often missing in kinesiology. I draw connections between feminist scholarship and issues related to gender, race, sexuality, and their intersections within sport and physical activity space, which is a central focus of kinesiology research and practice. These interdisciplinary connections can move kinesiology toward developing a critical approach to sport studies and kinesiology-related scholarship.

Moving Beyond College Sports: Participants’ Views of the Moving On! Transition Program

ABSTRACT The transition out of college sports can impact the health and well-being of former student-athletes who may face challenges with maintaining a physically active lifestyle beyond the structured environment of competitive athletics. Moving On! is an evidence-based, theory-driven transition program designed to help student-athletes plan for lifetime physical activity after college. The program incorporates tenets of identity theory and self-determination theory and includes group discussion activities along with introductory experiences in varied lifetime physical activities. To investigate the perspectives of program participants, senior student-athletes provided feedback on their experiences in the program through focus group interviews. Findings suggested that participants viewed the program as a valuable and positive experience, anchored by a change in consciousness that reflected expanded understandings of identity and its impact on physical activity. Participants cited helpful program elements including hands-on physical activity experiences, a program workbook, and goal-setting strategies for integrating physical activity into their future lives. Results from this study may inform other kinesiology and higher education professionals interested in implementing health-promoting college transition programs.