Coaches' expectations and beliefs regarding benefits of youth sport participation

Although many have investigated why children participate in sport, little is known about what adults expect children to gain from participation. The present purpose was to examine coaches' expectations of what children should gain from participation in sport and the extent to which coaches believe that these expectations are actually fulfilled. Participants included 109 youth sport coaches who completed a survey packet consisting of a demographic information questionnaire and the Ohio Sport Satisfaction Index. Analysis indicated coaches ranked the variables of having fun, learning life skills, being part of a team, developing confidence, and the excitement of competition as the most important outcomes for the youth they coach. Generally, coaches believe that their expectations are being fulfilled. Coaches' sex and years of coaching were not significantly related to any of the criterion variables in the present study.     

Cognitive and affective correlates of decisional balance regarding screening mammography in older women

Participation in screening mammography remains suboptimal. This research aimed to improve understanding of ways to facilitate screening mammography attendance. One hundred and forty-two women from Gold Coast, Australia, aged 50-75, participated in the study. Social cognitive variables were assessed as potential predictors of mammography attendance. Most participants (79%) were maintaining regular screening mammography. Greater knowledge of breast cancer was the strongest predictor of decisional balance in favor of attending screening. Women who had relapsed from screening had significantly lower breast cancer worry than those contemplating attending for the first time. The results were consistent with previous research and point to factors screening services could consider to increase uptake.     

Emerging themes and challenges in understanding youth violence involvement

Identifies emerging key themes in the articles in this special section regarding child and adolescent involvement in violence. Using a developmental-ecological framework and drawing on consistencies across other studies and reviews, this article is intended to summarize the pertinent findings for clinical child psychology. Current knowledge status, needed further research, clinical implications (preventive and treatment), and relevant policy issues are noted.     

Adolescent girls' perceived barriers to participation in physical activity

Research shows a decline in physical activity levels during adolescence, particularly among girls. This study explored perceived barriers to participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity among adolescent girls who live in a large ethnoracially and socioeconomically diverse city. A total of 73 adolescent girls in Toronto participated in 1 of 7 focus group sessions which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, and qualitative software was used to facilitate data analysis. A constant comparison approach was used to inductively develop themes. Participants' perceived barriers to participating in physical activity included: lack of time; involvement in technology-related activities; influence peers, parents and teachers; concern about safety; inaccessibility of facilities and cost of using them; competition; and body-centered issues. The results suggest that strategies to address specific intrapersonal, social-environmental, and physical-environmental barriers to physical activity participation should be used in physical activity promotion programs for adolescent girls.     

Role of collective self-esteem on youth violence in a collective culture

Youth violence involvement has always been the focus of significant research attention. However, as most of the studies on youth violence have been conducted in Western cultures, little is known about the antecedents of violence in the Asian context. Researchers have suggested that collectivism might be the reason for the lower violent crime rates in Asia. Nevertheless, the present study proposes an alternative approach to the collectivistic orientation and violence relationship: The possibility that allocentrism (collectivist tendency at the individual difference level) might shape the meaning of and the attitudes towards violence; thus not all aspects of a collectivist culture serve as deterrents for violence. Instead of viewing it as a random individual act, violence in a collective cultural context could be seen, under certain circumstances, as a social obligation to one's in-group (especially when one's in-group is supportive of violence) and as an internalization of the norms and values of the culture. Thus, the present study investigates the relationship between allocentrism and its relation to violence in a highly collectivist Asian culture, Singapore. We further hypothesized that collective self-esteem might serve as the mediator between allocentrism and the values of violence. Using a sample of 149 incarcerated Singaporean male adolescents, results support the proposed theoretical model whereby collective self-esteem was found to mediate between allocentrism and the culture's norms and attitudes of violence, which eventually lead to physical violence behaviours.     

Paternal autonomy restriction,neighborhood safety,and child anxiety trajectory in community youth

Intrusive parenting, primarily examined among middle to upper-middle class mothers, has been positively associated with the presence and severity of anxiety in children. This study employed cross-sectional linear regression and longitudinal latent growth curve analyses to evaluate the main and interactive effects of early childhood paternal autonomy restriction (AR) and neighborhood safety (NS) on the trajectory of child anxiety in a sample of 596 community children and fathers from the NICHD SECYD. Longitudinal analyses revealed that greater paternal AR at age 6 was actually associated with greater decreases in child anxiety in later childhood. Cross-sectional analyses revealed main effects for NS across childhood, and interactive effects of paternal AR and NS that were present only in early childhood, whereby children living in safer neighborhoods demonstrated increased anxiety when experiencing lower levels of paternal AR. Findings further clarify for whom and when paternal AR impacts child anxiety in community youth.     

Interest in smoking cessation among emergency department patients.

The authors interviewed adult patients presenting to 4 Boston emergency departments (EDs) about their smoking, quit attempts, and interest in an outpatient referral. Of the 539 patients enrolled, 26% were current smokers. Of the current smokers, 72% had tried to quit in the past year, and 34% wanted an outpatient referral. Current smokers were younger than nonsmokers and were less likely to have a high school education, primary care provider, and private insurance. The findings of this study reinforce the potential benefit of routine screening for smoking and interest in quitting in the ED. Because many underinsured Americans use the ED as a source of regular health care, the public health implications of increasing screening, counseling, and referral for smokers are substantial.     

First time gun carrying and the primary prevention of youth gun violence for African American youth living in extreme poverty

First time gun carrying is specified as a logical starting point for the primary prevention of youth gun violence, which is also consistent with the public health approach to the prevention of firearm injuries for at risk African American youth. However, it is difficult to disentangle youth gun violence from other aspects of violence that are concentrated in high poverty settings. Insights from developmental life-course criminology (DLC) are used to: (1) categorize first time gun carrying as a critical inflection point in the development of youth violence; and (2) categorize exposure to violence in the community as a developmental pathway for first time gun carrying for youth attempting to prevent and/or deter future violent victimization. The ecological-transactional model of community violence provides a more nuanced breakdown of the impact of exposure to violence in the community on first time gun carrying given the embeddedness of contexts that shape child and adolescent development in high poverty settings. Finally, several areas for future research are outlined that include a need to better integrate gun carrying into existing theories as well as future longitudinal studies of high risk African American youth.     

Situational state balances and participation motivation in youth sport: A reversal theory perspective

Background. Reversal theory ( Apter, 1982, 1989, 2001 ) is one of the motivational frameworks which attempts to examine human subjective experiences and behaviours. There are four dyads of metamotivational states (telic‐paratelic, conformist‐negativistic, autic‐alloic, and mastery‐sympathy) and individuals may prefer to be in one rather than the other of a dyad of states in a specific context such as sport participation (i.e. situational state balances). Aims. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between situational state balances and motives for sport and physical activity participation in adolescents using the theoretical framework of reversal theory. Their participation motives and the interacting factors of their situational state balances, gender, and level of participation were examined. Sample. Secondary school students (N = 1,235) aged about 14 to 20 years who participated in competitive or recreational sport completed the Participation Motivation Inventory ( Gill, Gross, & Huddleston, 1983 ) to assess their motives for sport and physical activity participation, and the Apter Motivational Style Profile ( Apter International, 1999 ) to assess their situational state balances. Methods. Factor analysis of the participation motives yielded factors to which MANOVAs and ANOVAs were applied with situational state balance, gender, and participation level as independent variables. Results. Factor analysis resulted in seven motive factors: status, team/friend, excitement/challenge, skill, energy release, fitness, and situational factors. MANOVAs and ANOVAs indicated significant differences in the sport motives between the situational state balances, genders, and levels of participation, and between pairs of situational state balance groups in males and females of competitive and recreational level. The autic‐alloic dyad produced the strongest motive strength differences of the four pairs. Conclusions. The variable of situational state balances is significantly linked with participation motives in sport.     

Life event stress and the association with spontaneous abortion in gravid women at an urban emergency department.

In this study, the authors hypothesized that life event stress is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. Using a nested case-control design in an emergency department (N = 970), stress was measured using a life event inventory and a sample drawn from R. B. Ness et al.'s (1999) Early Pregnancy Study. Gestational age at time of fetal loss served as a marker of chromosomal status. Women experiencing more than one life event used more alcohol and public assistance. Spontaneous abortion at 11 weeks or greater was associated with more life event stress (adjusted odds ratio 2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.4-6.2), whereas spontaneous abortion at any gestational age was not, implying that life event stress increases the risk of chromosomally normal spontaneous abortion. An analysis of confounders showed tobacco use was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, whereas prenatal care was only associated with fetal loss at 11 weeks or greater.     

Toward an integrative and collaborative approach to Asian American and Pacific Islander youth violence research, practice, and policy

Research into the prevalence of violence and delinquency among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth has proliferated in the last several years, as a result of federal funding. Consequently, this article reviews the literature on AAPI youth violence and delinquency published from 2001 to 2008. The findings demonstrate the frequency of AAPI youth violence and delinquency, provide a sense of the involvement of these youth in the juvenile justice system, reveal ethnic group differences in violence and delinquency, and explore the effects of immigration and acculturation on these phenomena. This article ends with a discussion on AAPI youth violence and delinquency prevention programs, with suggestions for future directions that incorporate a developmental and life-course approach in research and collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.     

Adolescent and parent perspectives on ethical issues in youth drug use and suicide survey research

The contribution of adolescent and parent perspectives to ethical planning of survey research on youth drug use and suicide behaviors are highlighted through an empirical examination of 322 7th-12th graders' and 160 parents' opinions on questions related to 4 ethical dimensions of survey research practice: (a) evaluating research risks and benefits, (b) establishing guardian permission requirements, (c) developing confidentiality and disclosure policies, and (d) using cash incentives for recruitment. Generational and ethnic variation in response to questionnaire items developed from discussions within adolescent and parent focus groups are described. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential contributions and challenges of adolescent and parent perspectives for planning scientifically valid and ethically responsible youth risk survey research.     

The acceptability and feasibility of an anxiety reduction intervention for emergency department patients with non-cardiac chest pain

Despite good physical prognosis, patients who receive a diagnosis of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) may experience persistent pain and distress. While cognitive-behavioural interventions have been found to be effective for this group, they are difficult to deliver in busy emergency department (ED) settings. Addressing the acceptability and relevance of self-help interventions is an important initial step in addressing this need. This study sought to examine the acceptability and relevance of an evidence-based self-help intervention for ED patients with persistent NCCP and anxiety. Patient (interviews: N = 11) and specialist chest pain nurse (focus group: N = 4) views on acceptability and feasibility were examined. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Patients and nurses reported that there was a need for the intervention, as stress and anxiety are common among patients with NCCP, and provision of psychosocial support is currently lacking. Both patients and nurses reported that the intervention was relevant, acceptable, and potentially useful. Some changes to the intervention were suggested. Nurses reported that the intervention could be used within the existing staff resources available in an ED setting. This study represents an important first step towards developing a brief self-help intervention for ED patients with NCCP and anxiety. Further research should seek to determine the efficacy of the intervention in a pilot trial.     

Personnel exposure to violence in hospital emergency wards: a routine activity approach

This study analyzes violence against personnel in the emergency wards of all 25 general hospitals in Israel using a self-report questionnaire (N=2,356). Informed by the routine activity theory, the hypotheses related to the major concepts of this approach: exposure, target suitability, guarding and proximity to offenders. A General Exposure to Violence Index (GEVI) was constructed, based on the participants' reports about type and frequency of their victimization to violence during the preceding year. The multiple regression analysis for explaining the GEVI was composed of 15 independent variables relating to participants' professional and personal characteristics as well as to structural features of hospitals. As predicted, higher exposure to violence was related to security or nursing staff and positions of authority; high weekly workload; working in a profession other than that of training; inability of coping with verbal violence; having no access to an emergency button, and working in settings restricting the number of accompanying persons to one only. Unexpectedly, previous training in coping with violence was related to higher victimization. Younger age, male gender and being of European/American origin (mainly from the former Soviet Union) was also related to higher risk of victimization. The results support the utility of the routine activities approach in explaining differences in emergency ward personnel victimization. The findings also indicate, however, the need to add domain-specific contextual analyses to this approach to reach a fuller understanding of the behaviors under discussion. Implications of the finding to coping with violence against emergency ward personnel are discussed, and suggestions are put forward for further study in this field.     

Coach autonomy support predicts autonomous motivation and daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time in youth sport participants

ObjectiveGuided by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1987), this study tested a trans-contextual model linking perceptions of the social environment created by the youth sport coach to levels of autonomous and controlled motivation, and objectively measured daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time (ST) in young football players.DesignThe study employed a cross-sectional design, assessing physical activity using accelerometers.Method105 male youth sport footballers (M age = 12.79 ± 1.85 years) wore a GT3X accelerometer for 7 days. Measures of height and weight were recorded. Participants completed a multi-section questionnaire assessing perceptions of autonomy support and controlling coaching behaviours, and motivation toward their participation in sport and physically active games.ResultsPath analysis supported a model in which players’ perceptions of coach-provided autonomy support positively predicted autonomous motivation for sport engagement. In turn, autonomous motivation was positively associated with MVPA, and negatively related to ST (min/day). Controlling coach behaviours were positively linked to controlled motivation. However, controlled motivation for sport and physically active games was unrelated to daily MVPA and ST. Perceptions of coach-provided autonomy support had a significant positive indirect effect on daily MVPA, and a significant negative indirect effect on daily ST.ConclusionsResults suggest that autonomy supportive coach behaviours are related to daily physical activity patterns in young male footballers. Theory-based interventions that aim to encourage autonomy supportive coaching, and subsequently foster autonomous reasons for sport engagement, may enhance the potential of youth sport for increasing daily MVPA and reducing ST among children and adolescents active in this setting