An assessment of the similarities between a measure of positive perfectionism and a measure of conscientious achievement striving

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to examine the similarities between the constructs measured by the positive perfectionism subscale from the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and the achievement striving subscale from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

Design

A non-experimental design was adopted.

Method

One-hundred and seventy-nine junior basketball players (age M = 16.50, s = 1.12) completed measures of positive perfectionism, conscientious achievement striving and other external measures.

Results

Analyses revealed that the two scales were highly positively correlated and demonstrated a similar pattern of relationships with the external measures. However, a single latent factor model provided a comparatively poorer fit than a two latent factor model.

Conclusions

There is some evidence that the positive perfectionism and achievement striving constructs measured by the scales in this study are distinguishable as two distinct factors in a confirmatory factor analysis; however, more empirical evidence is needed to establish their substantive differences.     

Cognitive style and depressive symptoms in elderly people - Extending the empirical evidence for the cognitive vulnerability-stress hypothesis

Introduction

Depression is common in older people and its identification and treatment has been highlighted as one of the major challenges in an ageing world. Poor physical and cognitive health, bereavement, and prior depression are important risk factors for depression in elderly people. Attributional or cognitive style has been identified as a risk factor for depression in children, adolescents and younger adults but its relevance for depression and mood in elderly people has not been investigated in the context of other risk factors.

Method

Sixty-four older adults from an ‘extra care’ living scheme (aged 59-97) were recruited for a 6-week prospective study to examine the relationships between cognitive style and depressive symptoms.

Results

Regression analyses revealed that, when other risk factors were controlled for, cognitive style and its interaction with stress predicted changes in depressive symptoms, therefore partially replicating prior research.

Conclusion

Cognitive-stress-vulnerability models also apply to elderly populations, but may be rather predictive of changes in depression when facing lower levels of stress.     

The sideline behaviour of coaches at children’s team sports games

Objectives

This study aimed to establish the prevalence, pattern and nature of coaches’ verbal behaviour at children’s (ages 6-12 years) team sports events. The study draws upon the motivational model presented by Mageau and Vallerand (2003) to examine the influence of global (gender), contextual (sport related), and social (athlete gender) factors on coach comments.

Design

A cross-sectional observational study of coaches stratified across four team sports: Rugby Union, Netball, Association Football and Touch Rugby.

Method

The Observation Instrument at Sports Events was used to categorise covertly recorded verbal comments made by coaches at organised team sports games.

Results

Overall, 10,697 comments were recorded at 72 games at a rate of 3.71 comments/minute; 35.4% were categorised as positive, 21.6% as negative, and 43.0% as neutral. Significant differences in negative comments were identified between sport (p < .001) with rugby coaches recording the highest percentage of negative comments and the lowest percentage of positive comments; by coach gender (p < .001), with male coaches recording higher rates of negative comments; and by athlete gender (p < .001), with coaches of male-only teams recording higher rates of negative comments. When simultaneously included in a Poisson regression model the difference in negative comments between sports remained statistically significant (p < .001) whereas coach gender was no longer significant.

Conclusions

The ratio of negative coach comments for all sports gives cause for concern. These findings suggest that sports of national and cultural significance are a key driver of coaching behaviours in a competitive environment.     

Expressed emotion and attributions in the carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: the effect on carer burden

Burden of care, expressed emotion (EE), causal attributions, and salivary cortisol were assessed in 100 carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Forty-one carers were rated high EE, which was associated with higher scores of carer distress and strain, and greater reports of noncognitive features in the patient, but not with cortisol levels. High EE carers made more attributions personal to, and controllable by, the patient for negative events. Critical carers made more attributions of the patient's behavior that was idiosyncratic. Warmth toward the patient was associated with the opposite of this pattern. Overinvolved carers made attributions of the patient's behavior to causes external to the patient and internal to themselves. Cortisol levels were associated with self-reports of strain and distress.     

Resilience as positive coping appraisals: Testing the schematic appraisals model of suicide (SAMS)

Aims

The Schematic Appraisals Model of Suicide (SAMS) suggests that positive self-appraisals may be important for buffering suicidal thoughts and behaviours, potentially providing a key source of resilience. The current study aimed to explore whether positive self-appraisals buffered individuals from suicidality in the face of stressful life events.

Method

78 participants who reported experiencing some degree of suicidality were recruited from a student population. They completed a battery of questionnaires including measures of suicidality, stressful life events and positive self-appraisals.

Results

Positive self-appraisals moderated the association between stressful life events and suicidality. For those reporting moderate or high levels of positive self-appraisals, raised incidence of stressful life events did not lead to increases in suicidality.

Discussion

These results support the SAMS framework, and suggest that positive self-appraisals may confer resilience to suicide. Positive self-appraisals may be a promising avenue for further resilience research, and an important area to target for suicide interventions.     

Psychometric properties of the youth experience survey with young athletes

Objectives

The topic of positive youth development through sport has received much research attention in recent years. However, a specific tool that measures this construct has yet to be fully developed. The purpose of this study was to test the factor structure of the Youth Experience Survey 2.0 (YES; Hansen & Larson, 2005) in a sample of youth sport participants; an instrument that was originally developed to assess experiences across any type of structured activity.

Design/methods

A total of 637 athletes aged 9-19 years completed the YES. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to fit the data to the model. The confirmatory factor analysis did not provide strong support for the models tested that resulted in a re-examination of the data using exploratory analyses. This analysis was preceded by a parallel analysis to determine the number of factors to retain.

Results

Results of exploratory analyses created a modified version of the YES that measures 5 dimensions of youth development (personal and social skills, initiative, goal setting, cognitive skills, and negative experiences). The revised version of the scale, which contains 37 items, was renamed the Youth Experience Survey for Sport (YES-S).

Conclusions

The YES-S is proposed as an instrument capable of measuring positive and negative developmental experiences occurring in the youth sport domain.     

The relative roles of physical education teachers and parents in adolescents’ leisure-time physical activity motivation and behavior

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore the relative contributions of perceived parent and physical education teacher autonomy support, involvement, and modeling to adolescent leisure-time physical activity motivation and behavior within the framework of self-determination theory.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Method

161 Middle school students completed a paper survey which assessed the study variables.

Results

Three sets of models were tested that examined the relationships of autonomy support, involvement, and modeling from mothers, fathers, and physical education teachers to adolescent leisure-time physical activity self-determined motivation and behavior. In the models, each social support variable had a significant, positive, direct relationship to motivation, and a significant, positive, indirect relationship to physical activity behavior mediated by motivation. Further, the relationships between social support from each significant other and motivation were of similar magnitude.

Conclusions

Mothers and fathers both play modest, yet significant roles in their adolescent’s leisure-time physical activity motivation. Additionally, physical education teachers, although not present in the leisure-time physical activity context, serve an equally important role in supporting adolescents’ leisure-time physical activity. Lastly, adolescent self-determined motivation for leisure-time physical activity is a strong determinant of self-reported leisure-time physical activity behavior.     

Cognitive-behavioural therapy for adolescents with bulimic symptomatology: The acceptability and effectiveness of internet-based delivery

Background

The evidence base for the treatment of adolescents with bulimia nervosa (BN) is limited.

Aims

To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical outcomes of a web-based cognitive-behavioural (CBT) intervention for adolescents with bulimic symptomatology.

Method

101 participants were recruited from eating disorders clinics or from beat, a UK-wide eating disorders charity. The programme consisted of online CBT sessions (‘Overcoming Bulimia Online’), peer support via message boards, and email support from a clinician. Participants' bulimic symptomatology and service utilisation were assessed by interview at baseline and at three and six months. Participants' views of the treatment package were also determined.

Results

There were significant improvements in eating disorder symptoms and service contacts from baseline to three months, which were maintained at six months. Participants' views of the intervention were positive.

Conclusions

The intervention has the potential for use as a first step in the treatment of adolescents with bulimic symptomatology.     

Emotion-regulation skills as a treatment target in psychotherapy

Background

Deficits in emotion-regulation skills have been shown to be integral to the development and maintenance of a wide range of mental disorders.

Aim

To evaluate the importance of these skills as a treatment target in psychotherapeutic interventions.

Method

Nine specific emotion-regulation skills were assessed in a sample of 289 inpatients before and after cognitive-behavioural treatment. Self-reports of success in pretreatment skills application were first compared to those of 246 non-clinical controls. Pretreatment skills application and change in skills application during therapy were then related to a variety of outcome measures. Finally, the effects of integrating a brief training of general emotion-regulation skills into the CBT-based treatment were evaluated in a controlled trial.

Results

Uni- and multivariate analyses identified the skills of acceptance, tolerance, and active modification of negative emotions as particularly important for current mental health and treatment outcome. Replacing parts of the standard CBT treatment with the emotion-regulation training enhanced the effects of the CBT treatment on skills application and on other measures of mental health.

Conclusion

Incorporating interventions that directly target general emotion-regulation skills may improve the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions.     

A systemic social-cognitive perspective on doping

Objectives

The present article provides a theoretically sound framework (i.e., a social-cognitive approach), using conceptual models and concrete examples, to aid our understanding of why some people dope.

Design

Recognizing that sports occur in a social environment, the current article is grounded in social-cognitive theory. Additionally, since many studies investigating doping have attempted to use cause-and-effect or correlational methods, this article emphasized the systemic nature of doping behavior.

Method

The present article succinctly clarifies why some people take greater risks than others (e.g., dope), and specifically discusses the roles of history, obedience to authority, brain development, culture, stereotypes, and reinforcement, as they relate with doping.

Results

Although likely possible, it is difficult to provide an example of an effective intervention that adequately addresses the deletion of doping. However, an example based on social-cognitive principles is provided.

Conclusions

Future research that emphasizes a social-cognitive approach to doping is needed. Interventions built from such research likely will lead to effective anti-doping interventions.     

The social environment and developmental experiences in elite youth soccer

Objectives

We aimed to examine social-contextual correlates of players’ developmental experiences in an elite youth soccer context. Specifically, we hypothesized that player perceptions of team cohesion and coach rapport would be positively associated with psychological need fulfillment. In turn, psychological need satisfaction was proposed to be positively related to adaptive developmental experiences in youth soccer (i.e., opportunities for leadership, emotional regulation, and goal setting), and negatively related to social exclusion.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Method

133 male elite soccer players, aged between 11 and 18 years old, completed a self-report questionnaire assessing the variables of interest.

Results

Using path analysis and bootstrapping methods, we found support for the overall model fit of the hypothesized conceptual framework and specific study hypotheses.

Conclusions

This study utilizes strong theoretical foundations to underscore the role of the coach and team environment in facilitating positive youth outcomes, and highlights a potential mechanism that may explain these processes.     

Effects of a cognitive specific imagery intervention on the soccer skill performance of young athletes: Age group comparisons

Objectives

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a cognitive specific (CS) imagery intervention on the soccer skill performance of young athletes aged 7-14 years and determine if performance varied with age.

Design

Participants were 143 soccer athletes belonging to 16 different teams. Teams were randomly assigned to either a cognitive specific (CS) or motivational general-arousal imagery intervention.

Methods

Athletes were administered the SIQ-C and tested on the soccer skill to determine baseline performance. Following their imagery intervention, athletes were tested on the same soccer skill, and completed the SIQ-C a second time.

Results

The results indicated that only the younger athletes (7-10 years) receiving CS imagery performed faster following their intervention. Moreover, only the 7-8 year old athletes in the CS imagery condition significantly increased their use of CS imagery over time.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that young athletes who use CS imagery will benefit from a CS imagery intervention, thus implying that mental skills training should begin at a young age if athletes are to maximize the benefits of such training.     

The developmental activities engaged in by elite youth soccer players who progressed to professional status compared to those who did not

Objectives

We examined differences in the development pathways of elite youth soccer players in England who progressed to professional status in adulthood compared to those who did not.

Design

Comparative research design.

Method

Participants were elite youth soccer players (n = 32, 15 years of age). They completed the Participation History Questionnaire (PHQ; Ford, Low, McRobert, & Williams, 2010) under supervision.

Results

The participation history profiles of professional players followed the early engagement pathway in which they engaged in significantly more soccer play and practice compared to elite youth players who did not become professional, supporting previous work (e.g., Ford, Ward, Hodges, & Williams, 2009). The two groups of players engaged in four other sports, suggesting greater diversification than previously reported for soccer players, but less than that found in studies of team sport athletes in Australia and North America.

Conclusions

Professional soccer players in England follow an early engagement pathway during childhood and early adolescence.     

Exercise imagery and its correlates in older adults

Objectives

The purpose of the present study was to test a structural model examining the interrelationships between exercise imagery, self-reported exercise behaviour and well-being in older adults.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Method

Participants were 499 older Greek adults (50.10% males) aged between 51 and 84 years (M age = 57.31; SD = 5.52) who completed questionnaires measuring exercise imagery use, exercise behaviour, subjective vitality, and physical self-worth. The relationship between these variables was tested with a structural model based on the applied model of imagery use for exercise (Munroe-Chandler & Gammage, 2005).

Results

Energy imagery positively predicted exercise behaviour and subjective vitality, and appearance and technique imagery positively predicted physical self-worth.

Conclusions

These results indicate older adults engage in different types of imagery to motivate themselves to exercise and improve their well-being, thus implying that the content of imagery interventions should be specifically tailored to the outcomes older adults wish to realise for interventions to be effective.     

Choking under pressure: The role of fear of negative evaluation

Objective

Conceptual models and predictors of choking under pressure (i.e., choking) have been proposed, but the role of fear of negative evaluation remains largely unknown. The purpose of the current study was to determine the degree to which fear of negative evaluation (FNE) may predispose athletes to choking.

Design and method

138 Experienced basketball players participated in a pre-selection stage, which involved completing a set of questionnaires that included the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation-II (BFNE-II) questionnaire. Based on the scores from the BFNE-II, 34 athletes, categorized as either low- or high-FNE, were selected to perform basketball shots from five different areas of the court under low- and high-pressure phases. Shooting performance was evaluated based on the total number of successful shots out of 50 attempts.

Results

Results indicated that the high-FNE athletes displayed a significant increase in anxiety and a significant decrease in performance from low- to high-pressure phases. The low-FNE group exhibited only minimal changes in anxiety throughout the study and was able to maintain performance under pressure. Further mediation analysis investigating significant difference in performance between FNE groups within the high-pressure phase indicated that that cognitive anxiety was a partial mediator between FNE group and performance, but somatic anxiety was not.

Conclusions

Findings extend the existing choking literature by providing empirical support for the role of FNE in the context of the self-presentation model of choking.     

Just a game? Changes in English and Spanish soccer fans’ emotions in the 2010 World Cup

Objectives

To explore English and Spanish fans’ emotional responses to team success and failure and resulting changes in social interaction and spending during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Design

A between-group and within-group longitudinal design.

Method

Data on emotion, team identification, social interaction and spending were collected from 59 English fans (47 men, 12 women), and 32 Spanish fans (19 men, 13 women), before, during and after the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Results

Both English and Spanish fans displayed significant changes in emotional state after the success or failure of their respective teams during the Soccer World Cup. The positive emotional state associated with winning the tournament in the Spanish fans persisted for over four days, and the negative emotional state associated with the early exit from the tournament by the English fans did not. Four days after the tournament the Spanish Fans had a more positive emotional state than the English fans. The changes in emotional state were not associated with greater identification with the team assessed through the use of team identifying pronouns; nor were changes in behavior associated with changes in emotional state. After the tournament the Spanish fans reported spending more time socializing than English fans and also spending more money than usual compared with baseline.

Conclusion

These data provide evidence that group membership influences emotion and that the positive emotional experience associated with group success persist longer than the negative emotional experience associated with group failure.     

Knowledge of results after relatively good trials enhances self-efficacy and motor learning

Objectives

This study sought to determine whether learners’ self-efficacy and motor learning was affected by the type of feedback they were provided.

Method

Participants (N = 24, M age = 19.51 years, SD = 1.08) were randomly assigned into one of two groups: knowledge of result after good versus poor trials. The task included throwing a tennis ball with the non-dominate hand to a target while wearing vision distorting goggles. Participants completed the Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 2006) before performing each block of 6 trials. A retention test without knowledge of results was conducted 24 h after the practice phase.

Results

The results demonstrated that learners’ motor learning was increased by providing knowledge of results after good rather than poor trials. Furthermore, the Self-Efficacy Scale results revealed that learners’ self-efficacy was enhanced by positive feedback.

Conclusions

The current findings indicate that positive feedback impacts learner’s self-efficacy, and enhances performance and motor learning.     

Maternal attachment representations after very preterm birth and the effect of early intervention

Objective

For very preterm infants the mother-infant relationship may be compromised. Maternal attachment representations 18 (corrected) months after very preterm birth and the effect of the post-discharge Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program (IBAIP) were studied. The IBAIP is designed to assist parents to support and enhance their infant's regulatory competence and development. The intervention consisted of 6-8 home visits during the first 8 months after birth.

Method

Seventy-eight mothers of very preterm infants (<32 weeks and/or <1500 g) were interviewed, who participated in a randomized controlled trial: 41 from the intervention group and 37 from the control group. Maternal attachment representations were assessed with the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). The interviews resulted in a classification of the attachment representations into balanced or non-balanced.

Results

30% of the mothers had non-balanced attachment representations. Qualitative content analysis of the answers showed that negative feelings when first seeing their baby and negative or ambivalent feelings in the first weeks at home with their baby are related to non-balanced attachment representations. The WMCI revealed no differences between the intervention and control group.

Conclusion

Early support for mothers of very preterm born infants to develop a healthy mother-infant relationship is recommended especially for mothers who report negative first experiences.     

Athletes’ ease of imaging predicts their imagery and observational learning use

Objectives

Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011), the aim of the present two studies was to more comprehensively examine the relationship between sport-related imagery ability and the functions of imagery and observational learning (OL) athletes report. A second aim was to establish the SIAQ’s predictive validity.

Design

Two samples of cross-sectional questionnaire data are presented in two studies.

Method

For both studies, athletes were recruited from a variety of team and individual sports, ranging in competitive level and years of experience. In Study 1, 117 participants (41 male and 76 female) with a mean age of 24.38 (SD = 9.46) completed the SIAQ and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998). In Study 2, 221 participants (83 male and 138 female) with a mean age of 22.34 (SD = 7.66) completed the SIAQ and the Functions of Observational Learning Questionnaire (FOLQ; Cumming, Clark, Ste-Marie, McCullagh, & Hall, 2005).

Results

Athletes’ imagery ability significantly predicted their imagery and OL use. Moreover, with the exception of performance OL, predictions were stronger when the type of imagery ability closely matched the function of imagery or OL being predicted.

Conclusions

As well as demonstrating the predictive validity of the SIAQ, results from both studies support the need to use imagery ability measures that most closely match the type of imagery or OL being used.