Pete Coffee

The transcending benefits of physical activity for individuals with schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-ethnography

A systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis exploring the experiences of people with schizophrenia and healthcare professionals (HCPs) towards physical activity was undertaken. Major electronic databases were searched from inception until January 2014. Studies were eligible if they considered the experiences and perceptions of people with schizophrenia or the perceptions of HCPs towards physical activity. All included studies were synthesised within a meta-ethnographic approach, including completing a methodological quality assessment. The search strategy identified 106 articles, 11 of which were included in the final analysis. Eight articles considered patients׳ experiences and perceptions, and three articles considered the experiences and perceptions of HCPs. A total of 108 patients and 65 HCPs were included. Three main themes were identified: (1) the influence of identity, culture and the environment on physical activity engagement, (2) access and barriers to participation in physical activity, and (3) the benefits of engaging in physical activity. Aspects within the built, social and political environment as well as aspects of social cognition and perceptual biases influence participation in physical activity for individuals with schizophrenia. Specific recommendations for HCPs are given to help promote physical activity in this population group.

A Social Identity Approach to Sport Psychology: Principles, Practice, and Prospects

Drawing on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, we outline an approach to sport psychology that understands groups not simply as features of sporting contexts but rather as elements that can be, and often are, incorporated into a person’s sense of self and, through this, become powerful determinants of their sport-related behavior. The underpinnings of this social identity approach are outlined, and four key lessons for sport that are indicative of the analytical and practical power of the approach are presented. These suggest that social identity is the basis for sports group (1) behavior, (2) formation and development, (3) support and stress appraisal, and (4) leadership. Building on recent developments within sport science, we outline an agenda for future research by identifying a range of topics to which the social identity approach could fruitfully contribute.

Manipulating cardiovascular indices of challenge and threat using resource appraisals.

Challenge and threat reflect two distinct psychophysiological approaches to motivated performance situations. Challenge is related to superior performance in a range of tasks compared to threat, thus methods to promote challenge are valuable. In this paper we manipulate challenge and threat cardiovascular reactivity using only resource appraisals, without altering perceived task demands between challenge and threat conditions. Study 1 used a competitive throwing task and Study 2 used a physically demanding climbing task. In both studies challenge task instructions led to challenge cardiovascular reactivity and threat task instructions led to threat cardiovascular reactivity. In Study 1, participants who received challenge instructions performed better than participants who received threat instructions. In Study 2, attendance at the climbing task did not differ across groups. The findings have implications for stress management in terms of focusing on manipulating appraisals of upcoming tasks by promoting self-efficacy and perceived control and focusing on approach goals. Future research could more reliably assess the influence of similar task instructions on performance.

A systematic review of social support in youth sport

The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic review of studies concerning social support in youth sport from 1990 to 2013. A total of 73 studies were evaluated and are reported in four sections: sample characteristics; research designs; social support provider type; and key correlates relating to social support. Samples ranged from 1 to 564. Studies examined a wide range of sports, ages (10–22 years) and competition levels. Studies used qualitative (23%), quantitative (75%) and mixed-model (2%) designs. The main conclusion is that recent advances in the conceptualization of social support have generated a more diverse set of methods to examine the quantity and satisfaction of social support in a sports context. Coaches were identified as the most prevalent provider of social support through offering participants unique forms of tangible, informational, emotional and esteem support. Furthermore, coach, parent and peer support plays a significant role in shaping youth sport experiences both from a positive (athlete motivation levels, elite sport participation) and negative (drop-out) perspective. The discussion focuses on the current status of the research area, limitations, suggested practical implications (e.g., providing proactive support) and future research directions (e.g., examining optimal support matching).

Leading for gold: social identity leadership processes at the London 2012 Olympic Games

This paper adopted a social identity approach to explore the media data of leadership figures at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Media data in the form of interviews, speeches/team announcements, and blog posts from leaders integral to the London 2012 Olympic Games were analysed from 100 days prior to, during, and for 30 days following, the Olympic Games. Leaders included Lord Seb Coe, Andy Hunt, and performance directors of TeamGB athletics (Charles van Commenee), cycling (Sir David Brailsford), rowing (David Tanner) and swimming (Michael Scott). An inductive and deductive thematic analysis identified five higher order themes: creation of team identities, team values, team vision, performance consequences and ‘we’ achieved. The analysis makes a contribution to extant leadership literature by highlighting novel contextually relevant themes surrounding leadership at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Thus, opportunities for future research and application are outlined.

Promoting shared meanings in group memberships: a social identity approach to leadership in sport

The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the applicability of a social identity approach to leadership in sporting contexts. A social identity approach to leadership contends that leaders and group members are connected through feeling a sense of belonging and emotional attachment to their group. The present review (1) outlines the theoretical underpinnings of social identity theory, (2) reflects on the four principles of social identity leadership and applies them to sport, (3) contrasts social identity leadership with current leadership theories, and (4) provides suggestions for future research investigating a social identity approach to leadership in sport. Accordingly, the review illustrates how an appreciation of the social context and group members’ values allow leaders to mobilise – enlist the motivation and abilities of – athletes to achieve the leader’s vision. A social identity approach to leadership has the potential to extend understanding of leadership in sport by emphasising the role of groups and context in leadership.

Considering how athletic identity assists adjustment to spinal cord injury: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES To establish how sport, and access to an athletic identity, has been used when adjusting to a spinal cord injury. DESIGN Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. SETTING Private athletic club. PARTICIPANTS Eight (six males and two females) athletes from a wheelchair badminton club participated in the study. The individuals had finished rehabilitation, and were aged between 20 and 50 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A single semi-structured interview was undertaken with each participant. RESULTS Following the thematic analysis, two final themes were presented: (1) adjustment and paradox of chronic illness; and (2) the role and value of an athletic identity. CONCLUSIONS Badminton provided participants with an opportunity to continue and develop a positive athletic identity. Identity may be used as a factor that can promote recovery, and is considered as a way to encourage and maintain positive long-term adjustment to disability.

A Social Identity Approach to Understanding and Promoting Physical Activity

Against the backdrop of a global physical inactivity crisis, attempts to both understand and positively influence physical activity behaviours are characterized by a focus on individual-level factors (e.g. cognitions, attitudes, motivation). We outline a new perspective, drawn from an emerging body of work exploring the applicability of social identity and self-categorization theories to domains of sport and health, from which to understand and address this pervasive problem. This social identity approach suggests that the groups to which people belong can be, and often are, incorporated into their sense of self and, through this, are powerful determinants of physical activity-related behaviour. We start by reviewing the current state of physical activity research and highlighting the potential for the social identity approach to help understand how social factors influence these behaviours. Next, we outline the theoretical underpinnings of the social identity approach and provide three key examples that speak to the analytical and practical value of the social identity approach in physical activity settings. Specifically, we argue that social identity (1) can be harnessed to promote engagement in physical activity, (2) underpins exercise group behaviour, and (3) underpins effective leadership in exercise settings. We conclude by identifying prospects for a range of theory-informed research developments.

The Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48: A Re-examination of Factorial Validity

The Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 (MTQ48; Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002) is the most utilised instrument to measure Mental Toughness in sport (Gucciardi, Hanton, & Mallett, 2012). To date, preliminary research (Gucciardi et al., 2012; Perry et al., 2013) examining the factorial validity of the MTQ48 in athlete samples has yielded equivocal findings. The aim of this paper was to re-examine the factorial validity of the four- and six-factor models of the MTQ48 in moderate (n = 480) and large (n = 1206) independent student athlete samples. Using confirmatory factor analyses, findings revealed little support for the hypothesised models of the MTQ48 in both samples. The results support those found by Gucciardi et al. and Perry et al. and suggest that, in its current form, the MTQ48 may not be a valid measure of the 4/6Cs model of mental toughness when using student athletes.

A psycho-educational curriculum for sport career transition practitioners: Development and evaluation

ABSTRACT Research question: This paper is an integration of three studies. Study 1 investigates sport career transition organisational intervention programmes for high-performance athletes and training and development programmes for sport career transition practitioners in order to find a research gap with regard to sport career transition supporting services. A psycho-educational curriculum was developed for sport career transition practitioner in Study 2 to fill the research gap. In Study 3, the curriculum was examined to see if the curriculum contributed to enhancing practitioners’ confidence in key competences. Research methods: A range of methods were applied to the studies including One Group Pre- and Post-test design, Case Study, Focus Group, Semi-Structured Interview, two-round Delphi-Method, and Questionnaires. The data for Study 1 collected from 19 countries worldwide and total 16 participants based in seven different countries were invited to development and evaluation of the curriculum. Results and Findings: A novel psycho-educational curriculum for sport career transition practitioner was developed and evaluated concerning four competences as a form of curriculum package. The findings revealed that the curriculum package increased the participants’ confidence in key competences concerning sport career transition. Implications: The findings deepen the knowledge of sport career transition in the areas of organisational intervention programmes focusing on high-performance athletes and sport career transition practitioners. These findings contribute to modifying the Conceptual Model of Adaptation to Career Transition [Lavallee, D., Park, S., & Taylor, J. (2014). Career transition among athletes: Is there life after sports? In J. Williams & V. Krane (Eds.), Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (pp. 490–509). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill] by strengthening the organisational intervention perspective and applied work in respect of sporting organisation management strategies.