Nikola Medic

Gender, age, and sport differences in relative age effects among US Masters swimming and track and field athletes

Abstract A relative age effect has been identified in Masters sports (Medic, Starkes, & Young, 2007). Since gender, age, and type of sport have been found to influence the relative age effect in youth sports (Musch & Grondin, 2001), we examined how these three variables influenced possible relative age effects among Masters swimmers and track and field athletes. Using archived data between 1996 and 2006, frequency of participation entries and record-setting performances at the US Masters championships were examined as a function of an individuals constituent year within any 5-year age category. Study 1 investigated the frequency of Master athletes who participated; Study 2 examined the frequency of performance records that were set across constituent years within an age category, while accounting for the distribution of participation frequencies. Results showed that a participation-related relative age effect in Masters sports is stronger for males, that it becomes progressively stronger with each successive decade of life, and that it does not differ across track and field and swimming. In addition, a performance-related relative age effect in Masters sport seems to be stronger for swimming than track and field, but it does not differ across gender and decades of life.

Examining relationships between passion types, conflict and negative outcomes in masters athletes

This study examined the Dualistic Model of Passion [Vallerand, R. J., Blanchard, C. M., Mageau, G. A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C. F., Léonard, M., … Marsolais, J. (2003). Les passions de l’âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 85, 756–767. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756] among a sample of 121 (M age = 53.4, SD = 11.3) international-level masters track and field athletes. Using cross-sectional survey responses, we tested relationships between obsessive passion (OP) and harmonious passion (HP) types and negative sport outcomes. Using indirect effect testing as well as tests for simple mediation effects, we further examined how conflict intervened in the manifestation of negative outcomes, for OP and HP, separately. Results showed that OP and HP had opposite relationships with conflict, and with negative outcomes. OP was directly associated with self-pressure, and indirectly associated with negative emotions, amotivation and intent to reduce involvement through its association with higher conflict. HP was inversely and directly associated with negative emotions, amotivation and intent to reduce involvement; however, no indirect associations via conflict were apparent. The findings illustrate the dualistic nature of passion in a competitive adult sport sample, and suggest that the negative impacts of OP may depend on whether a passionate sport activity is conflictually internalised to ones identity.

A process-oriented measure of habit strength for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

Purpose: Habitual action is an important aspect of health behaviour, but the relevance of various habit strength indicators continues to be debated. This study focused specifically on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and evaluated the construct validity of a framework emphasizing patterned action, stimulus-response bonding, automaticity, and negative consequences for nonperformance as indicators of habit strength for this form of exercise. Methods: Upper-level undergraduates (N = 124) provided demographic information and responded to questionnaire items assessing historical MVPA involvement, current MVPA involvement, and the four proposed habit strength dimensions. Factor analyses were used to examine the latent structure of the habit strength indicators, and the models construct validity was evaluated via an examination of relationships with repetition history and current behaviour. Results: At a measurement level, findings indicated that the proposed four-component model possessed psychometric integrity as a coherent set of factors. Criterion-related validity was also demonstrated via significant changes in three of the four factors as a function of past involvement in MVPA and significant correlations with the frequency, duration, and intensity of current MVPA. Conclusions: These findings support the construct validity of this exercise habit strength model and suggest that it could provide a template for future research on how MVPA habits are developed and maintained.

Outcomes of the Rope Skipping ‘STAR’ Programme for Schoolchildren

Abstract Physical activity in children and adolescents is on a decline trend. To this end, we conducted a matched-pair randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a 4-week STAR (School-based; Train-the-trainer; Accessibility of resources; Recreational) skipping programme. 1,386 schoolchildren from 20 primary and secondary schools were recruited. Schools were randomized into the experimental or wait-list control group. Participants self-reported their health-related quality of life using the KIDSCREEN-27. Accelerometers were used to measure the time a subgroup of participants (n = 480) spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school hours on five consecutive days. Measures were taken at pre- and post-test. At post-test, students in the experimental group, compared to those in the control group, engaged in less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during school hours. Health-related quality of life from two groups of students was similar, but the experimental group reported higher levels of autonomy and parent relationships. Results suggested that although the intervention did not increase students’ physical activity levels, it slightly improved their health-related quality of life. Future studies should explore personal factors that might mediate the effect of the intervention.

What discriminates elite and sub-elite youth field hockey players

To investigate in young (mean age 13.4, s=0.35) and older players (mean age 17.1, s=0.70) which combination of measures best predicts if a talented field hockey player is considered youth elite or youth sub-elite, 224 talented field hockey players (n=63 youth elite; n=161 youth sub-elite) completed a multidimensional test battery with measures for training, anthropometric and physiological characteristics, technical skill, self-reported cognitive skills in tactical decisions, and psychological characteristics. Discriminant analyses with Z-scores explained 40% of variance in young and 51% in older players, with correct prediction of group membership of 70.1% and 78.7%, respectively. Specific training and field hockey skill best discriminated between elite and sub-elite players. It is recommended that in talent identification, attention is paid to the combination of several multidimensional performance characteristics, whereas in talent development accumulated sport-specific training in particular seems to increase levels of performance.