Lydia J. Burak

College Women and Breast Cancer: Knowledge, Behavior, and Beliefs Regarding Risk Reduction

Abstract Background: Although breast cancer prevention should begin in youth, many young women are not aware of the modifiable lifestyle risk factors for the disease. Purpose: The purposes of this study were to examine the breast cancerrelated knowledge, behaviors, and beliefs of young women; to determine whether knowledge about lifestyle risks was related to risk-reducing behaviors; and to determine whether value expectancy constructs could predict risk-reducing behaviors. Method: Surveys assessing knowledge, behaviors, beliefs, and demographics were administered to 522 college women. Results: The majority of the participants lacked knowledge about the lifestyle risk factors for breast cancer, and knowledge and beliefs were unrelated to their behaviors. Discussion: The results of the study have implications for health educators, health care providers, and researchers who provide young women with the information and skills to engage in behaviors that may protect them against breast cancer. Translation to Health Education Practice: Young women need to understand that engaging in certain behaviors can lower their risk of breast cancer. Health educators need to incorporate breast cancer risk reduction into their educational efforts with young women.

Alternatives to Using Exercise as Punishment.

JOPERD • Volume 81 No. 5 • May/June 2010 T he boys’ varsity volleyball team reluctantly gathers around their coach, Ms. Hicks, after dropping their third match of the season (7-3) to the (2-7) Panthers. Ms. Hicks barks at them to “drop and give me 20 push-ups, run three laps, do a cool down stretch, and come to practice tomorrow ready to run.” They are going to run “all day long” for making too many mistakes and losing to the Panthers. At the start of a middle school physical education class, students line up in their squads to listen to Mr. Thomson’s instructions about the warm-up activity. Caitlyn has already been asked once to “open her ears” yet she continues to talk with her friends while Mr. Thomson is addressing the class. When he can no longer ignore Caitlyn’s disruptions, he stops what he is saying and orders Caitlyn and her friends to take a lap on the track and return to their squad when they are ready to listen, while the rest of the class waits for them. What are these athletes learning about their sports, their teams, and about physical activity when their coach or teacher uses exercise as a punishment? Why do Ms. Hicks and Mr. Thomson use exercise as punishment to manage their teams and classes? Teachers and coaches may use exercise as punishment because it helps, in the short term, to refocus students’ attention and stop bad behavior or attitudes. Although this practice seems common in sport and physical education, it has not been systematically examined and warrants a closer look. Individuals in positions of authority might benefit from reflecting on the intended and unintended consequences of using exercise as punishment or behavior management. Burak, Rosenthal, and Richardson (2010) explored the use of exercise as punishment or behavior management in a recent survey of 273 undergraduate physical education majors and 65 nonmajors, many of whom have multiple career goals including coaching (68.8 %), teaching physical education (42.4 %), or becoming a fitness professional (71.1 %). The participants included 31 first-year students, 57 sophomores, 91 juniors, 138 seniors, and 21 post-baccalaureate students. Females made up 42.5 percent and males made up 57.5 percent of the participants. The majority of students (96%) reported being athletes, 68.4 percent of them had participated in sports for more than 10 years. More than half of all the students reported that they would likely use exercise as punishment in their teaching, coaching, or fitness careers. The survey instrument was developed according to the theory-of-reasoned-action guidelines (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) to determine the predictors of intentions to use exercise as punishment. According to the theory, a person’s beliefs determine his or her attitudes and norms, which in turn predict intentions and behaviors. Beliefs about the outcomes or consequences of behavior are, therefore, foundational in the development of attitudes and intentions. To develop the belief-based survey items, Burak et al. (2010) asked 10 individuAlternatives to Using Exercise as Punishment

College Women's Reported Behaviors and Beliefs Regarding Fish and Folic Acid and Their Roles in Birth Defects

The purpose of the current study was to examine college womens beliefs and behaviors regarding birth defect prevention via folic acid intake and avoidance of fish with high mercury levels. We surveyed 313 college women and found that the majority of them reported eating fish despite their awareness that certain types of fish contained levels of mercury that are dangerous for women of childbearing age. We also found that the majority of the women did not comply with dietary guidelines for vegetable and legume consumption, and more than half of them did not take vitamin supplements that provide folic acid.

Smokeless Tobacco Education for College Athletes

he use of smokeless tobacco has increased over the past few T decades. Approximately 121 million pounds are consumed annually in the United States (Shoplands, 1997). Yet smokeless tobacco is a hazardous substance: used as either chewing tobacco or as snuff, it can lead to periodontal disease and aesthetic problems including loss of tooth structure, staining, bad breath, and gum recession (Spangler & Salisbury, 1995; Wilkinson, Wagner, & Woody, 1995). Smokeless tobacco use also increases the risks of oral cancer and leukoplakia, an abnormal condition in which thickened white patches of tissue occur on the mucous membranes (Kaugers, Brandt, Chan, & Carcaise-Edinboro, 1991; Wray & McGuirt, 1993). Chewing tobacco and taking snuff are common practices among college athletes despite the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ban on the use of smokeless tobacco products. An NCAA (1997) study found that 22.5 percent of all college athletes use smokeless tobacco. The same study found that use among male athletes playing specific sports is alarmingly higher. For example, more than 30 percent of male soccer, hockey, and football players, and more than 40 percent of male lacrosse and baseball players, wrestlers, and skiers report using smokeless tobacco products. In attempts to increase smokeless tobacco consumption by college students, the tobacco industry recently began running ads for such products in 200 college newspapers, thereby ending its self-imposed ban on advertising in the college press (Wolper, 1998). Concerned about a perceived Lmokeless tobacco problem at their own nstitution, students attending a rural rJew England college developed and mplemented a smokeless tobacco edu:ation program for the institution’s athetes. Undergraduate students in the iealth, physical education, and recred o n (HPER) department designed md carried out a multiple-strategy in:ervention thatwas integrated into their zoursework. The remainder of this article offers a detailed description of the student program.

Professional Development Through Planning for and/or Participating in an Accreditation/Approval Review

The quality of delivery of health education services is connected to landmark events in the history of health education. Quality assurance is one type of professional development in which practicing health education specialists engage. This article presents the steps of an accreditation/approval process, brief overviews of the major accreditation/approval systems, and the opportunities within the accreditation/approval process for professional development.

Sports participation and disordered eating behaviors and beliefs of middle school girls

Abstract The purposes of this study were to examine and describe the disordered eating behaviors and beliefs of middle school female athletes and to determine whether a relationship exists between the number and type of sports participation and disordered eating behavior among the young athletes. Two hundred twenty-six girls in five schools completed surveys that addressed sports participation and behaviors and beliefs related to eating disorders. The students participated in a mean of 4.6 sports, and reported an average of 2.1 weight dissatisfied beliefs and restrictive or disordered eating behaviors. No relationships were found between the number of sports the girls played and their disordered beliefs and behaviors.

Weight control beliefs and behaviors of middle school athletes

ABSTRACT The current study examined the weight control practices and beliefs of 371 middle school athletes. The participants in the study participated in an average of 4.4 sports. More than 36% of the athletes indicated that they wanted to lose weight and more than 44% declared that they looked fat. While significant numbers of the students reported using their sports participation to lose and to maintain weight, fewer athletes engaged in fasting, vomiting, and taking pills. The girls participating in the study were significantly more likely than boys to engage in all forms weight control behaviors and to endorse weight dissatisfaction beliefs. Weight dissatisfaction and weight control behaviors are broken down by sport.