Marc Lochbaum

Aerobic Physical Activity Effects on Psychological Well-Being in Low-Income Hispanic Children

Psychological well-being has been generally associated with vigorous aerobic activity and structured aerobic activity in adolescents and children. Low-income children are at greater risk than the general population for experiencing high environmental stress and increased mental health problems. This study investigated the effects of a structured physical fitness program on psychological well-being in low-income Hispanic children. A total of 66, 33 girls, 33 boys, in Grade 4 were randomly assigned to either an Aerobic intensity (n = 34) or a Control intensity physical activity program (n = 32) for 6 wk. Psychological well-being was defined as scores on trait anxiety, depression, and self-esteem, measured, respectively, by the Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. Analysis showed the children in the Aerobic intensity program significantly (p< .05) improved their cardiovascular fitness as measured by the PWC170 test. After the program was over, the children in this Aerobic group reported significantly (p< .05) less depression. The main effect for self-esteem reflected the Aerobic groups greater self-reported self-esteem. No differences were found on trait anxiety. The effects on depression and self-esteem may only be attributed to the cardiovascular improvement given the higher intensity physical activity program because causation was not assessed here.

Sport Ability Beliefs, 2 x 2 Achievement Goals, and Intrinsic Motivation: The Moderating Role of Perceived Competence in Sport and Exercise

We examined whether perceived competence moderated the relationships between implicit theories, 2 x 2 achievement goals, and intrinsic motivation for sports and physical activity. We placed 309 university students into high and moderate perceived competence groups. When perceived competence was high, entity beliefs did not predict the performance-avoidance goal; yet when perceived competence was moderately low, entity beliefs did predict this goal. The mastery-avoidance goal had no relationship with intrinsic motivation when perceived competence was high, but had a significant negative relationship when perceived competence was moderately low. Our findings highlight the importance of reexamining the role of perceived competence when studying implicit beliefs and the 2 x 2 achievement goals.

Need Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Perceived Return-to-Sport Outcomes Among Injured Athletes

The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether components of psychological well-being (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, self-esteem, and vitality) mediated the relationship between self-determination theory (SDT) basic needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and perceived return-to-sport outcomes. Competitive athletes (n = 204) from Australia, Canada, and the United States completed an injury need satisfaction scale, psychological well-being inventories, and a measure of perceived return-to-sport outcomes. Mediation analysis (Baron & Kenny, 1986) revealed that positive affect partially mediated the relationship between competence and autonomy need satisfaction and a renewed perspective on sport, while negative affect, self-esteem, and vitality fully mediated the relationship between relatedness need satisfaction and return concerns. Interpretation of the findings suggests the importance of components of well-being in mediating relatedness need satisfaction on “return concerns” in a sport injury context. Prospective longitudinal designs using an SDT framework are discussed to further research in this area.

Perceived Stress and Health Complaints: An Examination of the Moderating Roles of Personality and Physical Activity

275 undergraduate university students were asked to complete a battery concerning their health complaints, perceived stress, strenuous physical activity, and personality (“Big Five” traits). An hierarchical regression showed that Stress and Strenuous Physical Activity Participation, but not Personality, predicted the Number of Health Complaints in this sample. Also, there was a significant interaction for Stress by Strenuous Activity indicating individuals who did not frequently engage in strenuous leisure-time physical activity reported more health complaints than those who did. This finding corroborates the notion that physical activity (or fitness) may serve to attenuate the relation between stress and health complaints.

Schoolyard Shade and Sun Exposure: Assessment of Personal Monitoring During Children's Physical Activity

Childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major risk factor for the development of melanoma later in life. However, it is challenging to accurately determine personal outdoor exposure to UVR, specifically erythemally weighted UVR (UVEry), due to technological constraints, variable time–activity patterns, and the influence of outdoor environmental design. To address this challenge, this study utilized mobile and stationary techniques to examine the UVEry exposures of 14 children in a schoolyard in Lubbock, TX, in spring 2016. The aims of the study were to examine the influence of artificial shade on personal UVEry exposures and to assess full sun exposure ratios (ERs) within the same playground microenvironment. On average, personal wrist dosimeters worn during play in the sun measured 18% of the total onsite UVEry measured by a stationary UV pyranometer. Shade was found to significantly reduce the personal UVEry exposures by 55%, UVB280–315 nm exposures by 91%, and the overall solar radiation by 84%. Substantial benefits can be garnered through focused design of childrens recreational space to utilize shade—both natural and artificial—to reduce UVR exposures during play, and to extend safe outdoor stays. Finally, although the wrist is a practical location for a dosimeter, it often underestimates full exposures, particularly during physical activity.

A meta-analytic review of Elliot's (1999) Hierarchical Model of Approach and Avoidance Motivation in the sport, physical activity, and physical education literature

Purpose The purpose of this quantitative review was to summarize the state of Elliots Hierarchical Model of Approach and Avoidance Motivation, specifically the antecedents of the 2 × 2 achievement goals in the sport, physical activity, and physical education literature. In addition, the intercorrelations amongst the 2 × 2 goals were also examined. Methods A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Meta-analytic procedures were used with the mean weighted sample correlation (rw) as the effect size metric. The antecedents were coded by Elliots (1999) antecedent categories. A number of moderators were coded a priori. Results Based on a fixed effects model from 47 published studies (total unique n = 15,413) that met inclusion criteria, the 2 × 2 achievement goals were significantly correlated amongst each other ranging from small to medium to large in meaningfulness. Concerning the antecedents, overall they were theoretically correct in associations, but only a few of the relationships were medium in meaningfulness. Most relationships were small in meaningfulness. Heterogeneity was present for the interrcorrelation and antecedent analyses. Conclusion Future research is encouraged to grow and enrich the understanding of achievement goals within Elliots complete Hierarchical Model of Approach and Avoidance Motivation to include both antecedents and outcomes simultaneously to improve upon the understanding of achievement motivation in sport, exercise, and physical activity settings.

Physical Activity, Screen-Based Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep Duration in Adolescents: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2011-2013.

This study examined the concurrent associations of physical activity and screen-based sedentary behavior with sleep duration among adolescents by using data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011–2013. Using latent class analysis, we identified 4 latent subgroups of adolescents with various levels of physical activity and screen-based sedentary behavior. The subgroup with high levels of physical activity and low levels of sedentary behavior generally showed greater odds of having sufficient sleep (≥8 hours/night) than the other subgroups. Findings imply that concurrent achievement of a high level of physical activity and low level of screen-based sedentary behavior is necessary to promote sufficient sleep among adolescents.

Promoting physical activity using a wearable activity tracker in college students: A cluster randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of utilizing a wearable activity tracker in a credit-based physical activity instructional program (PAIP) for promoting physical activity (PA) in college students. Fourteen PAIP courses in a large public university were randomly assigned into intervention (k = 7; n = 101) and control (k = 7; n = 86) groups. All courses focused on a core curriculum that covers basic exercise and behavioral science contents through lectures and activity sessions. A Misfit Flash activity tracker was provided to students in the intervention group. Objective PA assessments occurred at baseline, mid-, and end-of-semester during a 15-week academic semester. The control group showed a significant reduction in moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) minutes from baseline to the end-of-semester (P <.05), whereas the intervention group showed no changes in MVPA minutes over time. However, the intervention group also showed increased sedentary time and decreased time spent in light-intensity PA during the intervention period. Taken together, the present study found null effects of utilizing the wearable activity tracker in promoting PA in college students suggesting that intervention of primary using the wearable activity tracker as a behavior change strategy may not be effective to increase in PA in this setting.

Post-LDAC Reflections of ROTC Cadets: Relationship to Leadership and Performance

In the United States Reserve Officer Training Program, cadets attend a month-long camp, where they are evaluated on leadership ability. The purpose of this study was to assess the experiences of cadets upon their return. Through semistructured interviews, with 25 cadets, 3 distinct higher order themes emerged: (a) perceived difficulty of the Leadership Development and Assessment Course, (b) psychological skills required for success, and (c) social climate experienced. Furthermore, upon completion of general inductive analysis, cadets’ responses were compared to their leadership score, thereby highlighting how salient aspects of leadership manifest themselves through cadets’ behaviors and performances.

Flourishing, Affect, and Relative Autonomy in Adult Exercisers: A Within-Person Basic Psychological Need Fulfillment Perspective

Flourishing is a construct used to understand human growth. Exercise psychology research is scant concerning this valuable construct. Hence, our purpose was to examine different levels of flourishing and related constructs within a large group of self-reported exercisers from a basic psychological need profile perspective. Participants were 389 female and 387 male adults attending fitness centers. Hierarchical cluster analyses revealed the presence of three clusters with significantly different psychological need profiles across the three basic needs. Separate multivariate analyses of variance were used for the analyses for our demographic variables and psychological variables. Follow-up post hoc tests showed that these clusters differed significantly and were low to moderate in meaningfulness regarding exercise min/week and sports experience. The clusters differed significantly, with moderate to large meaningfulness, in flourishing, positive affect, and relative autonomy. Self-reported exercise and sports participation were not the important cluster characteristics. Our results indicated that self-reported levels of flourishing, positive affect, and autonomy differ even within a large group of self-reported exercisers attending fitness centers that on average exceeded the weekly-recommended number of moderate-to-vigorous activity minutes. Thus, our results suggest the importance of fitness centers in meeting their participants’ three basic needs.