Jeannine Ohlert

Kohäsionsfragebogen für Individual- und Teamsport - Leistungssport (KIT-L): A German-language instrument for measuring group cohesion in individual and team sports

No German language questionnaire exists that is able to measure group cohesion in all types of interactive and coactive sports. On this note, a translation and adaptation of the Group Environment Questionnaire by Carron and colleagues was conducted. The first stage included a translation of all items, bilingual tests, and interviews regarding comprehensibility. In the second stage, the external validity of the questionnaire was assessed with mood state as external criterion. Reliability analysis showed satisfactory internal consistency. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the underlying four-factor model of cohesion as proposed by Carron and colleagues. Analyses for the second stage revealed medium size correlations between factors of mood state and cohesion. The final questionnaire named “Kohäsionsfragebogen für Individual- und Teamsport - Leistungssport” (KIT-L) is a psychometrically sound questionnaire that is able to measure group cohesion in the German language independent of the type of sport.

Sexual Violence by Juveniles in Institutions: A Descriptive Study on Prevalence and Circumstances:

Adolescents in institutionalized care are at a particularly high risk of exhibiting sexually aggressive behavior including sexual harassment. So far, however, studies about the prevalence of sexually aggressive behavior in institutions are lacking. In this survey, 322 adolescents (43% female, average age 16.7 years) from 32 residential care facilities and boarding schools across Germany were asked about sexually aggressive behavior via a standardized questionnaire. Overall, 23.5% of the participants engaged in some form of sexually aggressive behavior in their lives, and 4.6% reported having committed a sexual assault with (actual or attempted) penetration. A closer look at the circumstances of those offenses shows that the victims were in most cases acquainted with and of the same age as the offenders, that threats and violence were used in some cases, and especially in the case of actual or attempted penetration, and that only a minority of offenders suffered any consequences for their acts. The implementation of protective measures for institutions and the treatment of adolescents in institutions will be discussed.

Kindheitserlebnisse von Jugendlichen in Internaten. Ein Vergleich mit Jugendlichen aus Jugendhilfeeinrichtungen und der Allgemeinbevölkerung

Childhood Experiences of Adolescents in Boarding Schools. A Comparison with Adolescents in Residential Care and with the General Population Various studies indicate that students in boarding schools experience a lot of violence during their accommodation. However, it is not proved whether adolescents in boarding schools are also a burdensome group regarding early childhood experiences such as neglect and abuse. The aim of the study was to find out more about the experiences of adolescents in boarding schools and to determine whether there are differences between adolescents in residential care and between the general population. Furthermore, it should be examined whether boys and girls differ in their experiences. In the study, adolescents of boarding schools and of residential care all over Germany, starting at the age of 15 (n = 322), were asked regarding physical and emotional neglect/abuse, light/severe parent violence, negative/positive educational behavior of the parents. The results show that students in boarding schools were less likely to be affected by childhood maltreatment and more likely to have experienced positive parental behavior compared to children in residential care. Compared to the general population, students in boarding schools were more often and more severely affected by parental violence. Moreover, girls had experienced parental violence more often than boys. The results indicate that in boarding schools there is a need for support offers for adolescents with a history of violent experiences and that the risk group should be identified directly at the admission to the school.

Comparison of Psychopathological Symptoms in Adolescents Who Experienced Sexual Violence as a Victim and/or as a Perpetrator

ABSTRACT Research on sexual violence victims and perpetrators indicates that victims in general are found to report higher levels of psychopathological symptoms, especially internalizing behavior, whereas perpetrators often show externalizing behavior. Little is known, however, about the psychopathology of perpetrators of sexual violence who have also experienced sexual victimization (victim-perpetrators). Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine this group within a sample of adolescents living in residential care or federal boarding schools. Participants reported their lifetime experience with sexual violence (both as victim and perpetrator) and completed the Youth Self Report. Results indicate that all three groups of adolescents with sexual violence experience report higher total problem scores than adolescents without this experience. Victim-perpetrators show results more similar to those of perpetrators only than those of victims only. The discussion deals with the implications of our findings for the treatment of victims of sexual violence.

Developmental tasks and well-being in adolescent elite athletes in comparison with recreational/non-athletes

Abstract Young elite athletes (EA) have to solve the same developmental tasks (DTs) as non-athletes, even though they spend a lot of time with their sports and have to solve certain sports-related DTs in addition [Ohlert & Kleinert (2014). Entwicklungsaufgaben jugendlicher Elite-Handballerinnen und –Handballer [Developmental tasks in adolescent elite handball players]. Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie, 21(4), 161–172. doi:10.1026/1612-5010/a000129]. The aim of this study was to find out if this situation leads to a shortfall in certain DTs and, furthermore, to a reduced well-being in adolescent EA. In total, 185 EA participated in the survey together with 166 recreational/non-athletes (RA). Participants were between 16 and 19 years old (69% female) and answered questions regarding the relevance of different DTs, their actual progression, satisfaction with their actual progression, and the WHO-5 measure for well-being. Compared to the RA group, the EA group reported a different relevance for some DTs. No significant differences were found between the two groups in progression or satisfaction with progression. The stepwise multiple regression resulted in two significant predictors for well-being in EA: satisfaction with progression in the DTs “to find oneself” and “circle of friends”. For RA, the analysis revealed only satisfaction with progression in “circle of friends” as a significant predictor. Implications are that, at least for this age group, problems with DTs were not detected for the adolescent EA. However, if satisfaction with the own progression in certain DTs is low, well-being will also be reduced.

Theory-Based Team Diagnostics and Interventions

Various sports teams conduct team interventions throughout the season. In most cases, however, the effect of these interventions is only very small. Within this abstract, we argue in favor of a theory-based methodology when planning and conducting team diagnostics and interventions: (1) getting an overview of those group processes or team factors with theoretical and empirical relevance for team performance; (2) selecting valid instruments for a team diagnostics; (3) conducting the team diagnostic to detect factors that are in need of improvement; (4) based on the results of the diagnostics, selecting intervention methods that show empirical evidence regarding a specific effect on the respective factors, and that can easily be implemented into daily training; (5) conducting the intervention with a duration of several weeks; and (6) evaluating the effects of the intervention. The different steps of this methodology as well as perspectives and limitations are discussed.