Tara-Leigh F. McHugh

The Role of Self-compassion in Women's Self-determined Motives to Exercise and Exercise-related Outcomes

Self-compassion is emerging in the literature as a healthy conceptualization of the self (Neff, 2003a). This study explored how self-compassion is related to, and explains unique variance beyond self-esteem on, womens motives to exercise and exercise-related outcomes. Participants were 252 women exercisers. Self-compassion was positively related to intrinsic motivation and negatively related to external and introjected motivation, ego goal orientation, social physique anxiety, and obligatory exercise behavior. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that self-compassion contributed unique variance beyond self-esteem on introjected motivation, ego goal orientation, social physique anxiety, and obligatory exercise. This study provides evidence that self-compassion is related to well-being in the exercise context, raising the possibility that the development of self-compassion may be important for women who exercise.

An exploration of the meanings of sport to urban Aboriginal youth: a photovoice approach

The meaning of sport to Aboriginal youth is not well understood, and this lack of understanding limits the potential to enhance their sport opportunities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of sport to Aboriginal youth living in Edmonton, Alberta. Photovoice was employed as it is recognised as a decolonising and participatory research approach. Fifteen Aboriginal youth, between 12 and 15 years, participated in a sport sampler event, whereby they were provided with disposable cameras and asked to photograph objects, events, places, or people that represent their meaning of sport. Participants spoke about their photographs in talking circles, which took place two weeks after the sport sampler event. Two talking circles (one with eight and one with seven participants) were facilitated. Cultural practices (e.g. offering of tobacco to traditional knowledge keeper) were integrated into the talking circles. Talking circles were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were analysed using a general 6-step qualitative analysis approach described by Creswell. Four themes were developed; participants described sport as: (1) activities I’ve grown up playing, (2) having fun, (3) being with nature and others, and (4) believing in yourself. The information-rich pictures and related stories shared by participants provide insight into their meanings of sport. This research is a practical example of how Aboriginal youth can be actively engaged in sport research through participatory approaches.

‘A new view of body image’: A school-based participatory action research project with young Aboriginal women

The body image experiences of young Aboriginal women are very complex and influence health in a variety of ways; subsequently, young Aboriginal women have voiced the need for action. The purpose of our research was to engage in a collaborative, school-based participatory action research (PAR) project in partnership with a local high school to provide young women, primarily young Aboriginal women, with an opportunity to manage their body image experiences in an effective manner. Students, teachers, and staff of Nutana Collegiate in Saskatchewan, Canada participated in this project, which took place from September 2006 to June 2007. The two primary phases of this PAR project were focused on building relationships and collaboratively developing action initiatives. The development and implementation of action at the individual, school, provincial, and national levels was the most significant outcome of this research. Findings suggest that universities and local high schools can and should work together to develop school-based body image programs for young Aboriginal women. As well, and maybe most importantly, this research highlights the strength of using PAR methodologies when engaging young Aboriginal women in body image research.

Physical activity of children and youth in Nova Scotia from 2001/02 and 2005/06

OBJECTIVES This paper reports on physical activity of students in grades 3, 7, and 11 from two surveillance studies (from 2001 and 2005). METHODS Randomly selected students (Study1 n=1730; Study2 n=2341) from randomly selected schools in Nova Scotia participated. Physical activity was measured for seven consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometers. Descriptive statistics were calculated for moderate, hard, and very hard intensity, and total minutes of physical activity. Between study, grade, and sex differences were determined using univariate Analyses of Variance. RESULTS Students in Study2 were significantly less active (mean [SD]=531.0 [392.3] min/week) than Study1 (662.2 [495.1] min/week). Girls were significantly less active (525.4 [419.1] min/week) than boys (657.1 [460.3] min/week). Students in grade 11 were significantly less active (225.2 [171.1] min/week) than students in grade 7 (457.5 [227.2] min/week) who were significantly less active than students in grade 3 (1038.4 [387.6] min/week). A significant study-grade interaction indicated that compared to students in grades 7 and 11, the level of physical activity in students in grade 3 was considerably lower in Study2 compared to Study1. CONCLUSIONS Given the lower level of physical activity found in Study2, efforts at informing public policy and strategies that promote physical activity in children and youth should be made.

Developing sport-based after-school programmes using a participatory action research approach

This paper is based on a three-year research programme, the overall purpose of which was to develop, implement and evaluate sport-based after-school programmes for students in low-income areas of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In addition to presenting the results of this study, the other purpose of this paper was to provide an empirical example of participatory action research, depicting when and how community partners were engaged in the research process. Following several years of initial work in low-income communities, a need to create sport-based after-school programming was identified. The first action phase involved the creation and delivery of a multi-sport programme in two schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 children and two teachers to evaluate programme content and benefits. Inductive analysis revealed that the programme provided children with new opportunities and helped them to learn social and personal life skills. In the second action phase, a revised programme was delivered to 35 children. Fourteen children and three teachers participated in interviews to share their views on programme content, benefits and challenges. There were difficulties relating to the children’s skill level, behaviour and listening during the early stages of the programme. Nonetheless, by the end of the programme, children reported that they enjoyed activities based on creating optimal challenges and ‘adventures’ which engaged their imaginations. Children also learned fundamental movement, sport and life skills, some of which transferred to other areas of their lives.

Youth-Guided Youth Engagement: Participatory Action Research (PAR) With High-Risk, Marginalized Youth

Engaging youth who live with high-risk, marginalized conditions presents a significant challenge in our society, considering the prevalence of disconnect and distrust they often experience within their social environments/systems. Yet, meaningful youth engagement is a key concept not only for youth development, but also for a systems change to more effectively support high-risk youth and families. This article presents a framework of youth engagement developed over 9 months, using participatory action research (PAR) with 16 youth leaders in a community-based research team. Although this framework has incorporated the youth leaders’ lived experiences, talents, and voices, positive youth development (PYD) and social justice youth development (SJYD) have theoretically contextualized our research. Youth leaders guided the frameworks development, including the identification of key themes/dimensions, definitions, and practical examples. The frameworks three components—“Basis” (philosophy and principles), “What” (goals/outcomes), and “How” (actions/processes/pathways to change)—are supported by nine themes described in this article.

UWALK: the development of a multi-strategy, community-wide physical activity program.

UWALK is a multi-strategy, multi-sector, theory-informed, community-wide approach using e and mHealth to promote physical activity in Alberta, Canada. The aim of UWALK is to promote physical activity, primarily via the accumulation of steps and flights of stairs, through a single over-arching brand. This paper describes the development of the UWALK program. A social ecological model and the social cognitive theory guided the development of key strategies, including the marketing and communication activities, establishing partnerships with key stakeholders, and e and mHealth programs. The program promotes the use of physical activity monitoring devices to self-monitor physical activity. This includes pedometers, electronic devices, and smartphone applications. In addition to entering physical activity data manually, the e and mHealth program provides the function for objective data to be automatically uploaded from select electronic devices (Fitbit®, Garmin and the smartphone application Moves) The RE-AIM framework is used to guide the evaluation of UWALK. Funding for the program commenced in February 2013. The UWALK brand was introduced on April 12, 2013 with the official launch, including the UWALK website on September 20, 2013. This paper describes the development and evaluation framework of a physical activity promotion program. This program has the potential for population level dissemination and uptake of an ecologically valid physical activity promotion program that is evidence-based and theoretically framed.

Mean mugging: an exploration of young aboriginal women's experiences of bullying in team sports

Bullying among youth is rampant and research suggests that young Aboriginal women may be particularly susceptible to bullying. Sport participation has been identified as a possible mechanism to prevent bullying behaviors, yet few researchers have explored bullying within the context of sport. The purpose of this qualitative description study was to explore young Aboriginal womens experiences of bullying in team sports. Eight young Aboriginal women participated in one-on-one semistructured interviews and follow-up phone interviews. Data were analyzed using a content analysis, and findings were represented by five themes: (1) mean mugging, (2) sport specific, (3) happens all the time, (4) team bonding to address bullying, and (5) prevention through active coaches. The detailed descriptions shared by participants provide insight into a broad range of bullying experiences and serve as a foundation for addressing the bullying that occurs in sport.

You can’t always get what you want: expectations, outcomes, and adherence of new exercisers

Abstract Research has been unclear on how people’s experiences of exercise adoption influence their outcome expectations of exercise, and how outcome expectations might relate to their continued exercise participation. The current research used qualitative description to explore the outcome expectations and perceived outcomes realised by previously sedentary adults who completed a year-long exercise programme. Participants exercised three times per week at a private university fitness facility. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women and 8 men (49.9 ± 10.2 years), several weeks after the end of the exercise programme. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Four primary themes emerged: (1) shifting focus from weight and appearance to living better, (2) gaining confidence through education and practice, (3) accountability/self-generated obligation to exercise for others, and (4) challenges to post-study exercise adherence. Even after completing the programme, most participants did not continue to exercise at the same frequency or intensity despite intentions to do so. The first theme suggests that it may be helpful for new exercisers to regularly reappraise their expectations and realised outcomes in order to maintain motivation for exercise. The other themes illuminate the need for exercise interventions to account for the potential difficulties of shifting from a structured programme with built-in accountability to exercising on one’s own. Together, these findings provide evidence for the complex relationship between expectations, outcomes, and motivation for long-term adherence.

‘We are given a body to walk this earth’: the body pride experiences of young Aboriginal men and women

Abstract Positive body image was initially conceptualised as the absence of negative body image, but it is now considered a unique and multifaceted construct. Within this new and flourishing body of literature, researchers have focused on various facets of positive body image including body pride. Body pride has been identified as a construct that may be instrumental to health and it is necessary to deepen understandings of this construct among culturally diverse populations. The purpose of this research was to explore the body pride experiences of young Aboriginal men and women. Using a community-based participatory research approach, eight young men and women that self-identify as Aboriginal (ages 20–25 years) shared their experiences of body pride through one-on-one interviews and photographs. A qualitative content analysis highlighted five themes representing body pride: (1) ‘your mind, your spirit, your body’, (2) ‘it’s a practice’, (3) ‘learned from my culture’, (4) ‘getting caught up in this western world’, and (5) ‘powerful’. This research makes a significant contribution to the body image literature in that it provides in-depth insight into the overlooked experiences of Aboriginal peoples and highlights culturally specific opportunities that may foster experiences of body pride.