Parental involvement in competitive youth sport settings

ObjectivesBased on ecological systems theory [Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage], the purpose of this study was to examine parents’ involvement in competitive youth sport settings.DesignData were collected through two distinct phases of fieldwork. Phase 1 involved longitudinal data collection with four families. Phase 2 involved observations of youth soccer settings.MethodData were collected from four families via individual interviews and audio-diaries and were supplemented through 120 h of observation. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory methodology.ResultsParents’ verbal reactions to their children's sport performance behaviors were placed on a continuum moving from more supportive to more controlling comments. These comments were categorized as praise/encouragement, performance contingent feedback, instruction, striking a balance, negative comments, and derogatory comments. Parents experienced empathy in that they perceived sharing the emotions their children felt in sport, and these emotions appeared to change in relation to dynamic game and contextual circumstances. Parents also thought that they possessed knowledge and expertise of sport, which they perceived enabled them to make comments to their children.ConclusionA series of reciprocal and bi-directional relationships were central to parents’ involvement in competitive youth sport.     

Siblings in South Asia

Journal of Child and Family Studies -     

Information processing in chronic pain disorder: A preliminary analysis

Researchers have alternately suggested selective attention, impaired stimulus filtering, and affective language deficiency models as accounting for multiple somatic complaints in persons with chronic pain disorder. The purpose of the present study was to establish the comparative usefulness of these three models for explaining somatic focus in a chronic pain population. Nine chronic pain patients evidencing high somatic focus (somatizing chronic pain patients), 10 chronic pain patients evidencing low somatic focus (nonsomatizing chronic pain patients), and 10 healthy control subjects were administered a computerized version of the emotional Stroop test as a test of these models. A total of 105 pain-, depression-, and neutral-content words were used as Stroop test stimuli. Stroop test color-naming response latencies were submitted to a two-way Group × Word Type mixed-model ANOVA, with Word Type as the repeated measure. Results reveal that neither the selective attention model nor the affective language deficiency model adequately explain Stroop test performance in somatizing chronic pain patients. Findings provide tentative support for the impaired stimulus filtering model, with somatizing chronic pain patients evidencing similar Stroop test response delays across all words. These results suggest that chronic pain sufferers misinterpret bodily sensations. Findings are discussed in terms of a bilevel approach for treatment of somatizing chronic pain patients that would include assisting the patient in accurate appraisal and interpretation of physical symptoms.     

Sexual fantasizing in males and females

Sexual fantasizing during intercourse, masturbation, and nonsexual activity was examined in 30 males and 30 females, American students at Tel-Aviv University. Each subject responded individually to questionnaires involving general background information, sexual activity, daydreaming frequency and attitudes toward daydreaming, and a sexual fantasy scale. The results indicated that virtually no man or woman denied having sexual fantasies. Any observable sex differences were in kind rather than amount of fantasy. Women had more submission fantasies, whereas men reported more performance fantasies. This difference was interpreted as reflecting social sexual stereotypes. In support of a cognitive skill model, it was found that sexual fantasizing proliferates along with increases in both sexual and daydreaming experience. Sexual passivity was related to a greater degree of fantasizing during sex. On the whole, the findings suggest that sexual fantasizing is a universal occurrence which in itself is not necessarily related to psychopathology.     

Intentions to select a given level of care when confronted with an ethical issue: the impact of a living will

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of care nurses intended to select in a potential situation of overly aggressive therapy, whether the patient had or did not have a living will. MANOVA revealed that the presence of a living will had a significant impact on nurses' decision making when selecting a level of care ( p < .0001); this impact was noted for each construct in the theoretical framework ( p < .005). Multiple regression analysis indicated the 86% of the variance in nurses' intention was determined by the cognitive component of their attitude and perceived professional norm ( p < .0001). In summary, most of the nurses intended to respect the wishes expressed by the patient in a living will.     

Nous avons l'art pour vivre dans la vérité

The paper aims at sketching the outline of a phenomenology of the artwork on the basis of the short analyses devoted to the topic by Hannah Arendt in a few texts. In order to overcome the mostly allusive and even superficial character of these texts, the paper refers to Kant's teaching in theCritique of Judgment and to Arendt's interpretation of it in several essays. We have tried to pursue as far as possible, in the direction of a philosophy of art, the path opened by her political interpretation of the thirdCritique. We have also endeavoured to develop, beyond what she writes explicitly but in an attempt to make her thought as consistent as possible, the marginal suggestions provided by the book onThinking about the relations between judgment and thought and the theses stated byThe Human Condition about the work of art as a reified thought. Accordingly, the artwork appears to be, in the realm of artefacts, what is the best, appropriated to provide to a human world its stability; since the artwork is the most enduring product of thehomo faber, while escaping the means-end categories as well as any usefulness. Hence the artwork is able to display within the realm of human artefacts the meaning of a human world; namely, a home on the earth, a dwelling to be shared in their being-together. While being useless and merely appearing in the world, the work is also what calls for a judgment of taste such as Kant describes it. This means a judgment of common sense based upon a sharing of the world by fellow-people, and aiming at a standard which is thesensus communis as the very condition of possibility of such a sharing. Moreover, the artwork is a thought made into a thing. Again, as a thought which appears in the world, it calls for judging; for a judgment is a thought which renouncing solitude comes back to the human community. Therefore it turns out that the artwork unifies the human community in its sharing of a common world. Indeed, by requesting that we judge it, the artwork appeals in ourselves to asensus communis through which our thought takes into account the point of view of the others. Moreover, as a thought embodied in a hand-made thing, the artwork makes meaning present and publicly appearing in the sensible world.     

Extent of food restriction affects probability but not delay-based decision-making

Rodent studies on decision-making often use food rewards and food-restrict subjects in order to motivate performance. However, food restriction has widespread effects on brain and behavior, which depend on factors including extent of restriction and feeding schedule. These factors are well recognized for their effects on motivation, but may also cause effects on decision-making independent of motivation. We examined how the degree of weight-based food restriction in rats influenced decision-making on the probability and delay discounting tasks. Additionally, we examined how the method of food restriction (consistent amount vs. time constrained feeding schedule) influenced decision-making. Our results showed that the degree of weight-based food restriction significantly altered probability, but not delay discounting, and that these effects were not entirely explainable by differences in motivation. Additionally, the method of food restriction did not significantly influence discounting when animals were within the same range of weight-based restriction. Together, our findings suggest that the degree of food restriction may modulate the neural circuitry responsible for selective aspects of decision-making related to probability. Further, these data support the need for tight control and reporting of weight and feeding in studies relying on food restriction, and suggest that the effects of food restriction may be broader than previously considered.     

Dating during the time of COVID-19: Risk perceptions and political ideology

This study examined predictors of single people's beliefs about COVID prevention behaviors, intentions to engage in COVID prevention behaviors while dating, and actual dating behavior during the pandemic. Results revealed that single participants engaged in “riskier” dating behaviors (i.e., in-person unmasked) more frequently than “safer” dating behaviors (i.e., remote, or in-person masked/distanced). Individuals who perceived greater (vs. lesser) risk associated with COVID more strongly endorsed beliefs about social distancing (self and other) and were more likely to personally (or request others) engage in COVID prevention behaviors while dating. However, perceived risk did not predict actual dating behaviors. Conservatives (vs. liberals) less strongly endorsed beliefs about social distancing (for others, but not the self) and were less likely to personally (or request others) engage in COVID prevention behaviors while dating. Conservatives also reported meeting potential romantic partners more frequently than liberals. However, political ideology did not predict actual dating behaviors. Results suggest there is a disconnect between college students' beliefs/intentions and their actual dating behavior. These results demonstrate the importance of developing public health interventions that take into account the disconnect between college students' health-related intentions and actual behaviors, particularly in the context of dating.     

Overtraining and the complexities of coaches’ decision-making: managing elite athletes on the training cusp

In many elite sport performance contexts, overtraining is a critical issue for coaches to understand, recognise and respond to. While the indicators and effects of overtraining have attracted considerable research interest, there are no diagnostic tests that reliably predict impending overtraining. This study explores the practices and beliefs of three highly successful professional elite rowing coaches as they predict and manage the risk of athlete overtraining during crucial periods of intensive training. These coaches took part in a series of semi-structured interviews that explored their practices, philosophies and experiences. The research draws on sociological perspectives pertinent to coaching pedagogy and, more specifically, the tenets of naturalistic decision-making in exploring how the coaches define and make decisions about overtraining. In doing so it recognizes that coaching involves decision-making in complex and demanding situations. The coaches were found to monitor the fatigue of their rowers through observation, communication and measures of training pace. In general, the intuitions and cues that were used by coaches had little in common with overtraining markers or indicators that are promoted in the sport science literature. Coaches’ decision-making was based largely on subjective information and processes that were influenced by a range of stressors unique to their positions. We contend that the research provides an important new perspective on coaches’ definitions and management of overtraining and enables management of overtraining to be better understood as a key element of coaching pedagogy in elite performance settings. In this article we argue successful coaches have unique insights into this topical area and this is worthy of future exploration.