Janice Causgrove Dunn

Examining the relationship between perfectionism and trait anger in competitive sport

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between athletes’ perfectionist orientations and their dispositional tendencies to experience anger in sport. A sample of 138 male teenage high‐performance Canadian Football players (M age = 18.27 years, SD = .71) completed multidimensional domain‐specific measures of perfectionism and anger in sport. Canonical correlation (R C) results revealed a profile of maladaptive perfectionism (i.e., high personal standards combined with high concern over mistakes and high perceived coach pressure) that was significantly correlated with competitive trait anger (R C = .56) and the tendency to experience anger when playing poorly (R C = .47). That is, as athletes’ levels on three perfectionism dimensions increased (i.e., personal standards, concern over mistakes, and perceived coach pressure), so did their dispositional tendencies to experience anger in sport. The benefits of conceptualizing perfectionism as a domain‐specific construct, and the importance of considering all dimensions of perfectionism simultaneously when examining the functional nature of the construct in sport are discussed

Thinking ethically about inclusive recreational sport: A narrative of lost dignity

Through narrative reflections of Jack’s story of inclusive recreational sport, the meaning of dignity in professional practice is explored. Jack’s story is one of respect, strong humiliation and embarrassment, and vulnerability. Through the lens of relational ethics, the aggression of a stranger illustrates how the lack of mutual respect, compassion and knowledge creates experiences of indignity. Jack’s story highlights how relationships can shape, constrain and enable lives. Understanding that which constitutes a dignified recreational sport context for instructors and participants opens opportunities for authentic social relationships based upon respect of oneself, as well as others to emerge. Jack’s narrative further reinforces the need to create pedagogical spaces for discussions of various forms of dignity and ethical professional practice in inclusive recreational sport contexts.

A Documentary Analysis of Abstracts Presented in European Congresses on Adapted Physical Activity

The purpose of the study was to identify trends in research abstracts published in the books of abstracts of the European Congress of Adapted Physical Activity from 2004 to 2012. A documentary analysis of the contents of 459 abstracts was completed. Data were coded based on subcategories used in a previous study by Zhang, deLisle, and Chen (2006) and by Porretta and Sherrill (2005): number of authors, data source, sample size, type of disability, data analyses, type of study, and focus of study. Descriptive statistics calculated for each subcategory revealed an overall picture of the state and trends of scientific inquiry in adapted physical activity research in Europe.

Revisiting Our Research Assumptions 20 Years On: The Role of Interdisciplinarity

The purpose of this documentary analysis was to examine trends in research published in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) over a 10-yr span. A total of 181 research articles published from 2004 to 2013 were coded and analyzed using the following categories: first-author country affiliation, theoretical framework, intervention, research methods, disability categories, and topical focus. Results indicate high frequencies of nonintervention and group-design studies, as well as a low frequency of studies that describe a theoretical or conceptual framework. Trends in disability of participants and topical focus reflect current interests of researchers publishing in APAQ. While some scholars have suggested that changes in research on adapted physical activity would occur, the results of this analysis suggest that many of these categories remain largely unchanged for research published in APAQ. This study calls attention to similarities between the results of the current analysis and previous ones

Self-concept research in cerebral palsy: development of a population-specific measure

Though self-concept is an important influence on children’s development, functioning, participation, and quality of life, understanding of self-concept in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is lacking. To date, research on this topic has been undermined by the lack of appropriate selfconcept measures for use with children with CP. Cheong et al. take an important step toward addressing this situation. Their paper provides preliminary validity and reliability evidence for the myTREEHOUSE SelfConcept Assessment (myTREEHOUSE), a measure of self-concept for children with CP aged 8 years to 12 years. A particular strength of Cheong et al.’s paper is the development of a strong rationale for this new populationspecific self-concept measure. The authors make a compelling argument that children with CP have different life experiences than typically developing children and, as a result, it cannot be assumed that measures of self-concept developed for use with typically developing children will adequately or appropriately assess self-concept of children with CP. If the experiences (i.e. person–situation interactions) that contribute to the development of self-concept of children with CP are not accounted for, then the content relevance and representativeness of the measure for children with CP will likely be undermined. In support of this, findings of an earlier Delphi consensus survey by the same authors involving three groups of content experts (children with CP, parents, professionals) revealed that the self-concept assessment of children with CP should contain additional domains (and items) not found in traditional measures developed for typically developing children. myTREEHOUSE incorporates a common set of five self-concept domains relevant to both children with CP and typically developing children (Physical Appearance, Learning Abilities, Social Skills, Emotional Regulation, and General Self), as well as three population-specific domains (Physical Abilities, Personal Agency, and Ability to Participate) identified in the earlier Delphi study. Other noteworthy aspects of this new population-specific self-concept measure include the choice of two administration methods and the use of importance ratings to compute a ‘concern score’. myTREEHOUSE can be administered using either a typical questionnaire format or a game format. The game format specifically targets younger children and those with lower reading skills. Items in the game format are presented both verbally and visually (i.e. picture card) and children indicate their response by placing the card on the game board in the location that corresponds to the appropriate rating level. As well, children provide an importance rating for each myTREEHOUSE item that is used to compute a ‘personal concern score’ which enables clinicians to identify self-concept domains warranting particular attention. Cheong et al.’s results reveal promising initial evidence for the content validity (content relevance and representativeness) and reliability (internal consistency, test–retest) for the use of myTREEHOUSE to assess the self-concept of preadolescent children with CP. However, construct validation is a never-ending process and further psychometric analyses are required. Studies are necessary to examine the latent dimensionality of the measure, as well as its ability to differentiate between children with different levels of self-concept. Are there other populations whose life experiences are sufficiently similar to children with CP to support the generalizability of this measure of self-concept? Or does the measure’s specificity narrow its applicability solely to preadolescent children with CP? Does myTREEHOUSE lead to more accurate measurement of self-concept of children with CP than traditional measures of self-concept and does this lead to improved interventions and/or the design or selection of environments more supportive of positive self-concept in children with CP? The answers to these questions will be invaluable to researchers and clinicians alike.

Introduction: Reflexions on Interdisciplinarity in Adapted Physical Activity

ABSTRACT The articles included in this special issue of Quest emerged from a research workshop entitled Thinking About Our Thinking in Adapted Physical Activity, held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, from June 18–19, 2013. The aim of the workshop was to examine different worldviews that contribute to the adapted physical activity research literature, to identify key disciplinary assumptions, and to outline their consequences for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the field. A lack of understanding of the basic assumptions held by researchers often impedes communication between the disciplines. Hence, a sub-theme of this special issue is communication across disciplines. These conversations are, of course, essential to interdisciplinary inquiry.

Perspectives on the Contribution of Social Science to Adapted Physical Activity: Looking Forward, Looking Back

ABSTRACT In this article, we reflect on the contributions of the social sciences to the field of adapted physical activity by examining the theories and methods that have been adopted from the social science disciplines. To broaden our perspective on adapted physical activity and provide new avenues for theoretical and empirical exploration, we discuss and evaluate broad ideas/tensions arising from the social science literature—the individual versus social/ecological, and social science of adapted physical activity versus social science in adapted physical activity. We intentionally focus discussion on the application of specific lines of inquiry in the social sciences that have not yet emerged (or have done so only in limited applications) in the field of adapted physical activity. Such untapped areas of scholarship in the social sciences can lead to broader understanding, innovations, and new lines of inquiry when applied to an adapted physical activity context.