Kwok Ng

Towards a conceptual understanding of acute cultural adaptation: a preliminary examination of ACA in female swimming

This paper considers a novel approach to researching adaptation in transnational athletes. The first part introduces a conceptualisation of acute cultural adaptation (ACA), which extends the current literature in sport psychology by offering original insights into mechanisms underpinning adaptive processes to a new cultural site during an interim relocation. Rereading a self-determination theory through the lens of cultural epistemology, the proposed theorisation suggests that ACA is realised in everyday practices drawing on a range of material and symbolic cultural resources to satisfy basic psychological needs. The second part of the paper engages the conceptualisation of ACA to make sense of the adaptive processes as experienced by female swimmers from Finland during their training camp in Australia. The study’s findings highlight relatedness as a discursive cultural space, offering a starting point for examining the role of culture in psychological functions during short-term relocation.

Ownership and Use of Commercial Physical Activity Trackers Among Finnish Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Study

Background Mobile phone apps for monitoring and promoting physical activity (PA) are extremely popular among adults. Devices, such as heart rate monitors or sports watches (HRMs/SWs) that work with these apps are at sufficiently low costs to be available through the commercial markets. Studies have reported an increase in PA levels among adults with devices; however, it is unknown whether the phenomena are similar during early adolescence. At a time when adolescents start to develop their own sense of independence and build friendship, the ease of smartphone availability in developed countries needs to be investigated in important health promoting behaviors such as PA. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the ownership and usage of PA trackers (apps and HRM/SW) among adolescents in a national representative sample and to examine the association between use of devices and PA levels. Methods The Finnish school-aged physical activity (SPA) study consisted of 4575 adolescents, aged 11-, 13-, and 15-years, who took part in a web-based questionnaire during school time about PA behaviors between April and May 2016. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to test the associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and devices, after controlling for gender, age, disability, and family affluence. Results PA tracking devices have been categorized into two types, which are accessible to adolescents: (1) apps and (2) HRM/SW. Half the adolescents (2351/4467; 52.63%) own apps for monitoring PA, yet 16.12% (720/4467) report using apps. Fewer adolescents (782/4413; 17.72%) own HRM/SW and 9.25% (408/4413) use HRM/SW. In this study, users of HRM/SW were 2.09 times (95% CI 1.64-2.67), whereas users of apps were 1.4 times (95% CI 1.15-1.74) more likely to meet PA recommendations of daily MVPA for at least 60 min compared with adolescents without HRM/SW or without apps. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study that describes the situation in Finland with adolescents using PA trackers and its association with PA levels. Implications of the use of apps and HRM/SW by adolescents are discussed.

Do adolescents with long-term illnesses and disabilities have increased risks of sports related injuries?

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to examine the rates of sports related injuries in adolescents based on the severity of their long-term illnesses or disabilities (LTID). Few injury prevention strategies in sports and health promotion have explored disaggregation by disability.MethodsData obtained from the 2014 Finnish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey (n = 3716, mean age = 14.8, SD = 1.03) were grouped into adolescents with and without LTID. A further indicator or severity was determined when adolescents reported their LTID affected their participation (affected LTID). Odds ratio (95% CI) were used to determine the associations between sports related injuries and LTID, daily moderate to vigorous physical activities (MVPA), being a sports club member, physical competence, and family encouragement, after controlling for age, gender and family affluence.ResultsOne in four adolescents (25%) reported to have LTID and one in eight adolescents (12.5%) reported sports injuries. The odds for adolescents with chronic conditions, functional and learning difficulties was the highest (OR 3.55, CI = 2.3–5.4) for overall injuries, when compared with adolescents without LTID. Adolescents with affected LTID (OR = 2.08, CI = 1.5–2.9) were more likely to report medically attended injuries than adolescents without LTID. Sports-related injuries (OR = 0.33, CI = 0.1–0.8) were lower in adolescents with affected LTID than those without LTID after adjusting for personal and environmental factors.ConclusionsTaking part in sport clubs increases the risk of sports related injuries in adolescents with and without LTID, but not with affected LTID. Few adolescents with affected LTID participate in sports clubs and were less likely to report the most serious type of injury to be from sports. These results could be used for devising sports based injury prevention and health promotion strategies for children with LTID.

Organized Sport Participation and Physical Activity Levels among Adolescents with Functional Limitations

Sufficient and regular physical activity is considered a protective factor, reducing the onset of secondary disability conditions in adolescents with chronic diseases and functional limitations. The aim of this study was to explore whether participation in organized sport may be associated to higher levels of physical activity in adolescents with functional limitations, based on a national representative sample. Data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study collected in Finland from two data collection rounds (2002 and 2010) were conducted and pooled from adolescents aged between 13 and 15 years old with functional limitations (n = 1041). Differences in self-reported physical activity over the past week and participation in organized sport activity were analysed for each function. Overall, four in ten (n = 413) participated in organized sport and were significantly (p < 0.001) more physically active (mean = 4.92 days, SD = 1.81) than their non-participating (mean = 3.29, SD = 1.86) peers with functional limitations. Despite low population prevalence, adolescents with epilepsy or visual impairments were the least active if they were not participating in organized sport, yet were the most active if they were involved in organized sport. Participating in organized sport appears to be an important factor promoting resources for maintaining recommended levels of physical activity in Finnish adolescents with functional limitations.

Activity Involvement and Spiritual Health in Children with ADHD and Learning Disabilities

ABSTRACT Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LDs) represent two of the most prevalent disabilities experienced by adolescents. Despite the benefits of spiritual health in relation to happiness and overall well-being, there has been limited examination of spiritual health among adolescents with disabilities. Sports and other activities can act as protective factors that mediate the relationship between low spiritual health and negative outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was threefold: to explore the differences in spiritual health (a) among adolescents with ADHD, LDs, or without disabilities; (b) by activity type; and (c) after taking into account the interaction between disabilities and activities. Adolescents included in the 2014 (Canadian cycle 7) Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 17,407, Mage = 14.08 years, SD = 1.46 years) reported their disability status and involvement in organized activities and completed a shortened version of Fishers Spiritual Well-being scale. Overall spiritual health (analysis of covariance) and its dimensions (multivariate analysis of covariance) were compared by disabilities and activities with gender, age, and family affluence as covariates. Lower levels of engagement in both sports and nonsport activities were associated with diagnoses of ADHD (38.4%) and LDs (50.5%) compared with peers without disabilities (53.8%). Involvement in either sports or nonsport activities was associated with positive spiritual health outcomes (F = 228.7, p < .001), with the highest levels of spiritual health reported by children involved in both types of activities (F = 7.8, p < .001). The protective effect of activity involvement was stronger for children with ADHD or LDs than for children without disabilities. Diversity of activities including both sports and nonsport activities among adolescents with ADHD or LDs mitigates overall spiritual health when compared with peers without disabilities.

Comparisons in Screen-Time Behaviours among Adolescents with and without Long-Term Illnesses or Disabilities: Results from 2013/14 HBSC Study

Reducing sedentary behaviours can help prevent non-communicable diseases, particularly among young adolescents with long term illnesses or disabilities (LTID). Much of young people’s voluntary sedentary time is related to screen-time behaviours (STBs) such as TV viewing, playing computer games, and using the computer for other activities. Although public health data on adolescents’ STB is growing, information about adolescents with LTID is currently lacking in a European context. The purpose of this study is to compare time on STBs between adolescents with and without LTID in European Countries through the HBSC 2013/14 study. Young adolescents (n = 61,329; boys 47.8%) from 15 European countries reported the time spent on TV viewing, playing computer games, and using the computer for other purposes on weekdays and the weekend. STBs were dichotomised based on international recommendations of less than 2 h per day, and Chi-square tests of independence were performed to investigate differences. STB time was combined to produce a sum score as dependent variable in multiple analysis of covariance with age and family affluence as covariates. There were statistically significant differences in computer gaming among boys and other computer use among girls for both weekdays and weekends, whereby adolescents with LTID reported higher use. In addition, both boys and girls with LTID spent more time on STBs than their same sex peers without LTID (Boys, F = 28.17, p < 0.001; Girls, F = 9.60, p = 0.002). The results of this study indicate a need for preventive strategies to address high levels of STB among young adolescents with LTID and reduce the risk of poor health outcomes associated with higher levels of sedentary behaviour.

Prevalence of self-reported chronic pain among adolescents: Evidence from 42 countries and regions

Reports of the overall chronic pain prevalence and its associated demographic characteristics among adolescents vary greatly across existing studies. Using internationally comparable data, this study investigates age, sex and country‐level effects in the prevalence of chronic single‐site and multi‐site pain among adolescents during the last six months preceding the survey.

Device-based physical activity levels among Finnish adolescents with functional limitations

BACKGROUND Monitoring physical activity among young adolescents with disabilities is a top academic priority. People with disabilities are a diverse group with various abilities in different human functioning. Therefore, we used a novel approach through functional limitations as a marker for disabilities and examined physical activity levels. OBJECTIVE To investigate the levels and differences in light (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA) intensity physical activity between young adolescents with and without functional limitations. METHODS The study included young adolescents (n = 1436) aged 11-15 years olds who attended general schools that were part of the 2016 Finnish School-aged Physical Activity (FSPA) study. PA levels were measured by hip-worn accelerometers during seven consecutive days. The data were disaggregated by the following functions related to; seeing, hearing, speaking, moving, breathing, and remembering or concentrating. Multiple general linear regression models were run to test the differences in amount of time of LPA and MVPA. RESULTS One in six young adolescents had disabilities. Young adolescents with functional limitations had 7 min.day-1 less LPA (p = 0.021) and 8 min.day-1 less MVPA (p = 0.011) than their peers without functional limitations. After controlling for gender, age, and device wear time, the differences in LPA among young adolescents with and without functional limitations were the same, however MVPA was no longer significantly less. Results varied according to different functional limitations. CONCLUSIONS There were significant variations in physical activity behaviours by functional limitations and activity intensity. As such, tailored approaches to physical activity promotion may be dependent on understanding functional limitations as an indicator to disabilities.

The Quantified Athlete: Associations of Wearables for High School Athletes

The adoption of wearable technology in competitive sports can be an advantage to performance and training. Athletes who use personalised data to quantify their performances with the possibilities of sharing with others may use wearables to reinforce the athletic identity. Despite these changes, few studies have actually examined the associations between wearables and developing athletes in their quest for professional sports. Student athletes (n = 437, age = 17y) still in high schools completed a web-based survey about their professional aspirations, athletic identity, and the association with wearables. Wearables were measured by ownership and usage of apps, fitness trackers, or sports watches. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Most high school athletes had apps (64.3%) or fitness trackers (65.2%) and over half of the athletes (58%) had aspirations for professional sport. Athletic identity was positively associated with ownership and usage of apps and fitness trackers. The OR was greater for professional sport aspiration with fitness trackers owners (OR = 2.60, CI = 1.44-4.73) and users (OR = 4.04, CI = 2.09-7.81) than athletes without fitness trackers. Wearables were common among high school athletes and it was part of their athletic identity. For professional aspiring athletes, wearables have the potential to help provide data to support suitable training and competition schedules at a time when students may be overloaded with academic pressures.

Trends in Medically Attended Injuries in Czech Adolescents

OBJECTIVE Due to the importance of surveillance of injuries and accidents in the Czech Republic, the purpose of this study was to report the temporal trends of injuries of Czech adolescents between 2002 and 2014. METHODS Adolescents (N=20,038) from the Czech Republic, that took part in the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 HBSC study, reported the frequency of medically attended injuries in the past 12 months. Repeated binary logistic regressions with different years as reference categories were performed. RESULTS Less than half (44.7%) of all Czech adolescents reported they had experienced at least one medically attended injuries in the past 12 months, with boys experiencing more injuries than girls (p<0.001), and the injuries were more common in older adolescents. Fewer boys reported injury in 2014 when compared to 2002 (OR, CI: 0.81, 0.72-0.90), there was also a significant decrease in injuries among girls between 2014 and 2006 (OR, CI: 0.77, 0.69-0.86). CONCLUSIONS The trend was not linear amongst boys. Along with improved safety promotion education, the rate of injuries decreased among adolescents between the years 2002 and 2014.