Evangelos Bebetsos

Psychological Skills of Greek Badminton Athletes

The purpose was to examine age and sex differences in psychological skills among Greek badminton players. 85 badminton players completed a Greek version of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 by Smith, Schutz, Smoll, and Ptacek, during the 2002 Greek Mens and Womens National Badminton Championship Tournament. Analysis yielded differences between age groups on two factors (adversity and coachability) but no statistically significant differences between sexes. Older athletes were better prepared to cope with the psychological distress involved in the game of badminton and reported better emotional self-control. Overall, results could help badminton athletes and coaches become more familiar with the sport-specific psychological skills involved in badminton.

University students' attitudes and behaviours towards smoking and exercise.

This study investigated the validity of Planned Behaviour Theory in the smoking and exercise behavioural domains and whether positive attitudes towards exercise were negatively related to attitudes to smoking. The study also examined whether role identity, attitude strength, knowledge and information would explain variance in smoking and exercise intentions additional to that already explained by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Gender differences were also examined. The sample consisted of 324 university students, 114 men and 210 women, aged 18–22 years (Mean=20.17 years) who responded to questionnaires related to smoking and exercise behaviours. The questionnaire was constructed based on Planned Behaviour Theory. The results indicated that positive attitudes and behaviours towards exercise were associated with negative attitudes and behaviours towards weekly and monthly smoking. In line with Planned Behaviour Theory, attitudes and perceived behavioural control were significant predictors of intentions, but role identity was also found to contribute significantly to the explanation of intentions. Women had stronger attitudes towards exercise but a very small percentage of them exercised. It was shown that exercise could be used as a behaviour that will help people avoid smoking. Physical education could play a significant role if smoking prevention is combined with the promotion of exercise in a health‐related physical education programme.

The effects of an outdoor exercise program on mood states among the elderly.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of a 12-week outdoor recreational exercise program on the mood state of 45 sedentary elderly people aged 60 to 75. The variables comprising mood state were positive engagement, revitalization, tranquillity and physical exhaustion. Subjects were allocated to an exercise group (n=30) and a control group (n=15). Exercise was performed for one hour, two times a week, by the experimental group whereas the control group did not participate in any kind of exercise. Subjects were pre- and post-tested for the selected variables. The results show that the elderly who participated in the outdoor exercise program had significantly more positive mood profiles than non-exercisers, and the improvements in both positive and negative affect directly corresponded to their participation in the program. The findings are discussed in terms of possible future design and measurement improvements, and the need to focus research efforts on the multiple components of fitness in relation to mood state in the elderly.

Evaluating the emotions of patients with chronic low back pain. A preliminary examination

The Emotions Scale (EMS) was developed to assess responses of patients with CLBP to pain in terms of positive and negative emotions. Such an evaluation may be able to provide an insight into the effectiveness of a rehabilitation programme in patients with CLBP. To determine the final number of factors, an initial principal component analysis without rotation was conducted. The EMS developed and validated in the present study for patients with CLBP is a tool that can be applied by all specialists and in all medical or rehabilitation settings because it is short and concise. At the same time it includes most of the main emotions affected by CLBP, so that with one tool, many assessments can be performed. The EMS may be used in controlled trials, or in observational and survey studies. The results revealed that two factors explained 56.31% of the total variance. Cronbach α coefficients were: 0.92 for factor “negative emotions” (12 items, e.g. “weak”) and 0.90 for factor “positive emotions” (8 items, e.g. “cheer”). Importantly, the component correlation matrix of the specific analysis showed a negative correlation between these two factors.

Interdisciplinary Greek Traditional Dance Course: Impact on Student Satisfaction and Anxiety

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an interdisciplinary program of Greek folk dance music and sociology on 8th grade Middle school student satisfaction and anxiety level. To evaluate students’ anxiety and satisfaction the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and Duda and Nicholls’ Satisfaction questionnaire were used respectively. The reliability analysis showed that indicators of internal cohesion of subscales in both instruments were at satisfactory levels. The results showed that the experimental group enhanced significantly the levels of satisfaction, and selfconfidence and decreased significantly the levels of somatic and cognitive anxiety. The satisfaction of students was positively related to self-confidence and negatively related to cognitive anxiety. The improvement observed in the experimental group concerned both boys and girls. In conclusion, we can say that an interdisciplinary program of traditional Greek dance reduces the rates of somatic and cognitive anxiety while simultaneously increasing students’ satisfaction and self-confidence.

Can An Intervention Program Affect Students’ Attitudes Toward Inclusive Physical Education? An Application of the “Theory of Planned Behavior”

The aim of this study was to to examine if an intervention program would change students’ attitudes and intention(s) towards inclusion of disable students in a mainstream physical education class. The participants, 180 children without disabilities (Mage=11.15, SD=0.70), completed the revised version of the Theory of Planned Behavior Theory questionnaire (TPB), twice (pre and post-test). After the implementation of the intervention program, results revealed significant statistical differences in almost all factors between control and experimental groups. These findings could assist PE teachers in educating students to understand, develop and perform appropriate behaviors towards their peers in order to facilitate their co-existence, and their mutual development and learning, within a PE class.