Harald Seelig

Correlates of reduced exercise behaviour in depression: The role of motivational and volitional deficits

Objective: The study aimed at uncovering the correlates of reduced exercise in depressive patients. On the basis of the Health Action Process Approach (Schwarzer, 2011), we hypothesised that reduced exercise in depressive patients can be explained by motivational deficits and volitional deficits. Design: A longitudinal sample of 56 clinically depressive outpatients was compared to a sample of 56 parallelised non-depressive controls. Main outcome measures: Self-reported intention, exercise, and motivational and volitional HAPA variables were measured with self-report questionnaires at baseline and four-week follow-up. Results: Depressive patients showed a motivational deficit: they had significantly reduced intentions to exercise compared to non-depressive participants, and they suffered from reduced self-efficacy and increased negative outcome expectations. No differences were found with regard to positive outcome expectations. Depressive patients also showed a volitional deficit: depressive high-intenders were less capable of transforming their intention into action than non-depressive high-intenders. They produced less action plans, had less maintenance self-efficacy and were more easily distracted by barriers. Conclusion: The lower level of exercise among depressive patients is partly due to motivational, partly to volitional deficits. Interventions should be stage-matched and should focus on pessimistic beliefs (negative outcome expectations, self-efficacy) and planning deficits in depression.

Two-Year Follow-Up of an Interdisciplinary Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Program for Obese Adults

ABSTRACT Intervention programs for treating adiposity which focus on dietary change and physical exercise often do not lead to the desired long-term reduction in weight. This article reports on the effectiveness of M.O.B.I.L.I.S., a standardized theory-driven intervention program. Participants are taught cognitive-behavioral strategies of goal setting, action planning, barrier management, and self-monitoring. Persons with obesity (N = 316) responded to a public advertisement to participate in the intervention program (IG) or comparison group (CG; quasi-experimental design). Assessments were conducted at four time points, with the last assessment being conducted two years after baseline. At the 24-month follow-up, the IG showed weight loss of 5.57%, whereas the CG lost 1.12% of their weight (t1–t4, p < .01). The results yielded significant interaction terms (group × time), indicating that the intervention had a substantial effect on food choice and level of physical exercise (p < .01). The IG showed significantly enhanced self-efficacy, stronger goal intentions, and more detailed implementation intentions than the CG at follow-ups. The intervention program has the potential to evoke enduring changes in the cognitions we hypothesized to be responsible for inducing obese adults to begin and continue regular exercise and healthy eating behavior, resulting in substantial weight loss.

Messung der sport- und bewegungsbezogenen Selbstkonkordanz

Zusammenfassung. Dieser Beitrag stellt die Konstruktion und testtheoretische Uberprufung eines deutschsprachigen Instruments zur Erfassung der sport- und bewegungsbezogenen Selbstkonkordanz (SSK-Skala) vor. Theoretische Grundlage dieser Skala ist die Selbstdeterminationstheorie von Deci und Ryan (1985) sowie das darauf aufbauende Selbstkonkordanz-Modell von Sheldon und Elliot (1999). Selbstkonkordanz wird definiert als ein Merkmal der Zielintention, in dem zum Ausdruck kommt, wie stark diese Zielintention mit den sonstigen personlichen Interessen und Werten der Person ubereinstimmt („IchNahe“). Ausgehend von diesem Begriffsverstandnis dient die neu konstruierte Skala zur Messung der Ich-Nahe einer sportund bewegungsbezogenen Zielintention. Die psychometrische Uberprufung des neuen Messinstruments erfolgte in zwei unabhangigen Studien. Im Mittelpunkt von Studie 1 (N = 284; Studierende) stand die faktorenanalytische Konstruktion der Endfassung der SSK-Skala mit insgesamt 12 Items, die sich vier Subskalen zu je drei Items zuordnen lassen. Diese vier Subskalen messen den so genannten intrinsischen, identifizierten, introjizierten und extrinsischen Motivationsmodus. In Studie 2 (N = 337; Normalbevolkerung) konnte die faktorielle Struktur der SSK-Skala bestatigt werden. Reliabilitats- und Validitatsuberprufungen mit den Daten beider Studien lassen den Schluss zu, dass mit der SSK-Skala ein konzeptionell und methodisch brauchbares Instrument zur Erfassung der sport- und bewegungsbezogenen Selbstkonkordanz vorliegt. Schlusselworter: Selbstkonkordanz, Selbstdetermination, Motivation, Volition, Sport und Bewegung Measuring sport- and movement-related self concordance

Cognitive mediation of intervention effects on physical exercise: Causal models for the adoption and maintenance stage

Objective: To investigate how the effects of a group-based intervention program (MoVo-LISA) on exercise behaviour were mediated by cognitive variables. Different causal models mapping the short-term (adoption) and long-term (maintenance) intervention effects were tested using path analyses. Design: N = 220 in-patients of a rehabilitation clinic were assigned to an usual care or intervention group (quasi-experimental design). Questionnaire-based assessment was conducted at baseline; discharge; and at six weeks, six months and 12 months post discharge. Measures: The potential mediator variables were outcome expectations, self-efficacy, strength of goal intention (intention strength), self-concordance, action planning and barrier management. Results: Observed intervention effects on exercise behaviour (p < 0.05) were mediated by intention strength at the adoption and maintenance stages, by action planning only at the adoption, and by barrier management only at the maintenance stage. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations were only indirectly involved in these mediations by affecting intention strength and self-concordance. Conclusion: This is the first study to track the cognitive mediation processes of intervention effects on exercise behaviour over a long time-period by differentiating the adoption and maintenance stages of behaviour change. The findings emphasise the importance of deconstructing intervention effects (modifiability vs. predictive power of a mediator) to develop more effective interventions.

Development and Validation of a Test Instrument for the Assessment of Basic Motor Competencies in Primary School

A central aim of Physical Education (PE) is the promotion of basic motor competencies (“Motorische Basiskompetenzen” [MOBAK]). These are the necessary prerequisites for developing a physically active lifestyle. Valid test instruments are needed for the evaluation of the effect of PE. For this purpose, we developed a test instrument for the assessment of basic motor competencies in first graders. We empirically investigated the construct validity of this MOBAK test instrument in a study (N = 317, M = 7.0 years, girls: n = 173, boys: n = 144). The exploratory factor analysis shows a two factorial structure (locomotion, object control), which is confirmed in a confirmatory factor analysis (CFI = .96, RMSEA = .036, WRMR = .65). In subsequent analyses, we were able to demonstrate that the calculation of a factor sum value for each factor is statistically valid, the factorial structure is the same for boys and girls (χ2 [6] = 6.95, p = .33), and no differential item functioning exists. The MOBAK test instrument is sufficient for the test-theoretical requirements and is thus suitable for the evaluation of the effect of PE.

Case Matching and Relative Clause Attachment

Two accounts of relative clause attachment will be discussed, the case-matching hypothesis proposed by Sauerland and Gibson (1998) and the attachment-binding dualism (Hemforth et al., in press a, b). While the case-matching hypothesis predicts that relative clauses are preferentially attached to NPs whose case matches that of the relative pronoun, attachment binding predicts that NPs are preferentially attached to the most salient host, that is NP1 in constructions with two NPs. We conducted two off-line studies, one sentence completion task and one magnitude estimation experiment using subject (nominative pronoun) and object (accusative pronoun) relative clauses that can be attached to either of the two nouns in a complex subject (NP1 = nominative, NP2 = genitive) or object NP (NP1 = accusative, NP2 = genitive). While attachment binding predicts an across-the-board NP1 preference, the case-matching hypothesis predicts an NP1 prefence only in the case of subject (object) NPs followed by subject (object) relative clauses. The results of both experiments provide evidence for attachment binding and against case matching.

Associations between selective attention and soil-transmitted helminth infections, socioeconomic status, and physical fitness in disadvantaged children in Port Elizabeth, South Africa: An observational study

Background Socioeconomically deprived children are at increased risk of ill-health associated with sedentary behavior, malnutrition, and helminth infection. The resulting reduced physical fitness, growth retardation, and impaired cognitive abilities may impede children’s capacity to pay attention. The present study examines how socioeconomic status (SES), parasitic worm infections, stunting, food insecurity, and physical fitness are associated with selective attention and academic achievement in school-aged children. Methodology The study cohort included 835 children, aged 8–12 years, from eight primary schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The d2-test was utilized to assess selective attention. This is a paper and pencil letter-cancellation test consisting of randomly mixed letters d and p with one to four single and/or double quotation marks either over and/or under each letter. Children were invited to mark only the letters d that have double quotation marks. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed via the 20 m shuttle run test and muscle strength using the grip strength test. The Kato-Katz thick smear technique was employed to detect helminth eggs in stool samples. SES and food insecurity were determined with a pre-tested questionnaire, while end of year school results were used as an indicator of academic achievement. Principal findings Children infected with soil-transmitted helminths had lower selective attention, lower school grades (academic achievement scores), and lower grip strength (all p<0.05). In a multiple regression model, low selective attention was associated with soil-transmitted helminth infection (p<0.05) and low shuttle run performance (p<0.001), whereas higher academic achievement was observed in children without soil-transmitted helminth infection (p<0.001) and with higher shuttle run performance (p<0.05). Conclusions/Significance Soil-transmitted helminth infections and low physical fitness appear to hamper children’s capacity to pay attention and thereby impede their academic performance. Poor academic achievement will make it difficult for children to realize their full potential, perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and poor health. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ISRCTN68411960

Selbstkonkordanz und Sportteilnahme

Zusammenfassung. Untersucht werden zwei Fragestellungen: Wie lasst sich die kontinuierliche Aufrechterhaltung einer Sportaktivitat konzipieren? Und welche Rolle spielt dabei die Ziel-Selbstkonkordanz? In einer 13-Wochen-Langsschnittstudie mit Teilnehmern des Hochschulsports (N = 255) wurden die Skalen “Selbstbestimmung“ und “Introjektionsneigung“ (Selbststeuerungsinventar; Kuhl & Fuhrmann) eingesetzt. Sie messen die Neigung zur Auswahl selbstkonkordanter Ziele. Das Kursteilnahmeverhalten wurde wochentliche protokolliert (13 Messzeitpunkte). Clusteranalysen identifizierten vier Teilnehmergruppen: Dabeibleiber, Fluktuierer, Fruh-Abbrecher und Spat-Abbrecher. Diese Gruppen unterscheiden sich hinsichtlich der Selbststeuerungsinventar-Skalen systematisch: Dabeibleiber weisen hohere Selbstbestimmung und niedrigere Introjektionsneigung auf als Spat-Abbrecher. Bei Fruh-Abbrechern ist die psychologische Situation anders: Sie haben eine hohe Selbstbestimmung und niedrige Introjektionsneigung. Dropout ist hier wenig...

Construct and correlates of basic motor competencies in primary school-aged children

Background A central aim of physical education is the promotion of basic motor competencies (in German: Motorische Basiskompetenzen; MOBAK), which are prerequisites for childrens active participation in sports culture. This article introduces the MOBAK-1 test instrument for 6- to 8-year-old children and determines the construct validity of this test instrument. In addition, the relationship between MOBAK and motor ability (i.e., strength) as well as body mass index (BMI), sex, and age is investigated. Methods We analyzed data of 923 first and second graders (422 girls, 501 boys, age = 6.80 ± 0.44 years). The childrens basic motor competencies were assessed by the MOBAK-1 test instrument. Besides analyses of frequency, correlation, and variance, 3 confirmatory factor analyses with covariates were performed. Results We found 2 MOBAK factors consisting of 4 items each. The first factor, locomotion, included the items balancing, rolling, jumping, and side stepping; the second factor, object control, included the items throwing, catching, bouncing, and dribbling. The motor ability strength had a significant influence on the factors locomotion (β = 0.60) and object control (β = 0.50). Older pupils achieved better results than younger pupils on object control (β = 0.29). Boys performed better on object control (β = −0.44), whereas girls achieved better results in locomotion (β = 0.07). Pupils with a high BMI achieved lower performance only on the factor locomotion (β = −0.28). Conclusion The MOBAK-1 test instrument developed for this study meets psychometric validity demands and is suitable to evaluate effects of sports and physical education.

Structure and Profiles of Basic Motor Competencies in the Third Grade—Validation of the Test Instrument MOBAK-3

Basic motor competencies are defined as motor performance dispositions that evolve from specific requirements in sports and exercise. After validating the MOBAK-1 instrument for first graders, we developed the MOBAK-3 for the assessment of basic motor competencies in third graders. We investigated the factorial and diagnostic validity of this instrument in a sample of 323 children (age: M = 9.2 years, SD = .39; sex: boys, n = 158, girls, n = 165). A confirmatory factor analysis verified the theoretical structure with the two factors Locomotion and Object Control. By means of latent class analysis, we identified five latent classes that were connected with external criteria. We concluded that the MOBAK-3 effectively evaluates the basic motor competencies of 8- to 10-year-old students.