Antecedents of children's physical activity intentions and behaviour: Predictive validity and longitudinal effects

Abstract

This study examined the predictive validity and time-lagged relationships in a model of children's physical activity intentions, attitudes, perceived behavioural control (PBC), behaviour and past behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) as a framework. In Study 1, 386 children aged 12–14 years completed measures of intentions, attitudes, subjective norm, PBC and past behaviour. Their physical activity behaviour was assessed one week later. Structural equation analyses supported the construct and predictive validity of the TPB with the exception of subjective norms which did not predict intentions. In Study 2,70 children completed measures of their physical activity attitudes, intentions, PBC and past behaviour. Attitudes, intentions, PBC and recent behaviour were re-assessed five weeks later. The cognitions demonstrated a moderate degree of stability over time and there were some cross-lagged effects between attitudes and PBC. Past behaviour demonstrated additive rather than attenuating effects. These results support the use of the TPB cognitions and past behaviour as a framework to examine children's physical activity behaviour.     

The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ): Scale Development

In line with dynamic systems and dialectical theories of development, it was theorized that a psychopathology such as an addiction could have several causes (equifinality) and that more specific diagnoses and treatments of the most salient clinical issues for individuals coming from different developmental paths could increase the success rates of most therapies. Further, the issues from a developmental dynamic systems perspective should include not only individual clinical issues, but also relational, familial, peer, and organizational functioning. The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) was developed as a research and clinical instrument relevant to these concerns. The 29 scales were based on naturalistic observations of patients in treatment and 12-step groups, attachment theory, and the clinical literature dealing with the addictions. The attachment scales were taken from classic attachment theory but, in line with more recent formulations, included relations to mother, father, and partner. Study 1 found the ACIQ to have good coefficient alphas (.79), and factor analyses revealed that the eight factors loaded on different attachment figures and sets of clinical issues rather than attachment styles per se. Study 2 found test–retest reliability to be, on average, .79. The results were in line with the developmental hypothesis that partner and father attachments are different than attachments to mother, and that family and peer relations as well as clinical issues need to be considered separately.     

The memory drum theory after twenty years

The difference between the Henry “memory-drum” theory and our version is that ours includes an additional assumption that, after programming has occurred, the resultant representation can be stored in short-term memory. Otherwise, the essential ideas are the same in the two theories. Implications of the presently available data for the distinction between the theories are discussed. Regardless of how one evaluates our added assumption, it is clear that the essential insight of the Henry theory has fared very well in the 20 yr since the theory first appeared in print.     

Book Reviews

DesLauriers, Austin. The experience of reality in childhood schizophrenia. New York: International University Press, 1962, pp. 215. Reviewed by Sohan Lal Sharma.

Farberow, Norman L., Ph. D. and Shneidman, Edwin S., Ph. D., The Cry for Help, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, 388 pp., $9.95. Reviewed by Irving R. Stone.

Hirt, Michael (Ed.) Rorschach Science. New York: Glencoe Free Press. 1962. Pp. ix + 438. $8.50 Reviewed by Marvin R. Goldfried.

Kataguchi, Yasufumi, editor. Rorschachiana Japonica, Volume 5. Tokyo Institute of Rorschach Research, Seishin Book Co., 1962, Pp. 275. Reviewed by Bertram R. Forer.

Klopfer, B. & Davidson, Helen. The Rorschach Technique:: An Introductory Manual. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962, pp. 245. Reviewed by Mortimer M. Meyer.

Tomkins, Silvan S. Affect, Imagery, Consciousness. Vol. I, “The Positive Affects”. New York: Springer Publishing Co., 1962. Reviewed by S. Z. Dudek.

Tallent, Norman. Clinical psychological consultation: A rationale and guide to team practice. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963. Pp. xviii and 298. Reviewed by Dale Higbee.     

Being Close and Being Social: Peer Ratings of Distinct Aspects of Young Adult Social Competence

Adaptation to contact lenses was chosen as a paradigm for a process of adjustment to self-selected stress. It was hypothesized that a tendency to cope actively with novel and complex situations is needed for success in adapting to this type of situation. Forty women, ages 16 to 33, before receiving contact lenses for cosmetic reasons, were administered the Shanan Sentence Completion Test, the Petrie experiment and a questionnaire. Two months later, objective symptoms, subjective complaints and feelings about adaptation and results were assessed. A significant positive relationship was found between the tendency to cope actively and success (number of hours wearing time per day). General positive motivation for self-realization in relation to people and for constructive activity was highly correlated with success, whereas situation specific motivation was not. Ss who tended to decrease stimulation on the Petrie experiment were more successful than those who “augmented.” The relevance of these findings for a theory of coping behavior and its assessment was discussed.     

Einstellung: Still Alive and Well

Predator urine, specifically fox urine, is a noxious but harmless olfactory stimulus. The results of previous studies have shown that fox urine is aversive to rats, and that rats react to fox urine in a similar manner as to other psychostressors. In the present study, the authors further investigated the use of fox urine as an aversive or stressful stimulus, specifically examining behavior change in open-field place-preference task. Three methods of presenting the fox urine were examined. Results indicated that fox urine decreased behavior, especially locomotion, during both fox-urine presentation and during a post-fox-urine recovery session. Data suggested that (a) there were fewer ambulatory episodes and less distance was traveled during the presentation of fox urine, regardless of presentation method, and (b) there were fewer vertical movements during fox-urine presentation when a fox-urine-laced cotton ball was set in the wood shavings than when it was placed on a bare floor or in a cup. The data suggested that fox urine may be an effective but nonharmful stimulus alternative for use in avoidance tasks.     

A Study of the Multiple and Complex Needs of Australian Young Adult Offenders

Youth offending is an important issue; it has significant social, psychological, interpersonal, and financial impacts on the society. International research has shown that young offenders generally have multiple and complex needs across a wide range of domains; however, research examining the depth and breadth of difficulties faced by young offenders in Australia is lacking. Arguably, such information is critical to help guide the development of valid preventative and treatment initiatives. This article describes a study examining the prevalence of mental illness, low intelligence, psychopathy, risk for reoffending, and criminogenic needs in 75 youth and young adult offenders in Victoria, Australia. Results suggest that the prevalence of mental illness and low intelligence is high in this population. Most (86%) of the sample had likely Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision Axis I disorders (including mood, anxiety, substance use, eating, and psychotic disorders); 15% had a Full Scale Intellectual Quotient (FSIQ) below 70; and an additional 25.7% had an FSIQ in the borderline range. The majority (80%) of the sample was considered to be at a high or very high risk of reoffending. The high prevalence of mental health issues found in this population highlights the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment, and for psychosocial treatment and management to be comprehensive, addressing clinical, criminogenic, and social domains.     

“We may be pirates,but we are not protesters”: Identity in the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Radical activist organizations face the complex task of managing their identity so as to draw political attention but also to appear legitimate and thus gain public support. In this article we develop a picture of the identities of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) members, a group mostly known for their direct action against whaling, via a thematic analysis of material from the SSCS website and interviews with SSCS members. In online commentary, founder Captain Paul Watson establishes several deliberately paradoxical notions of who the Sea Shepherds are. We relate these identity statements to interviews with core activists to examine how they manage the identity conflicts resulting from the group identity, such as being seen as “pirates” and “hard lined vegans.” We found that SSCS positions themselves as a diverse and unstructured organization, yet distinctively passionate and willing to take action where others will not. The implications of this research are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the constraints and conflicts around political activist identities.     

Affective forecasting and self-rated symptoms of depression,anxiety, and hypomania: Evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias

Emerging research has examined individual differences in affective forecasting; however, we are aware of no published study to date linking psychopathology symptoms to affective forecasting problems. Pitting cognitive theory against depressive realism theory, we examined whether dysphoria was associated with negatively biased affective forecasts or greater accuracy. Participants (n=325) supplied predicted and actual emotional reactions for three days surrounding an emotionally evocative relational event, Valentine's Day. Predictions were made a month prior to the holiday. Consistent with cognitive theory, we found evidence for a dysphoric forecasting bias—the tendency of individuals in dysphoric states to overpredict negative emotional reactions to future events. The dysphoric forecasting bias was robust across ratings of positive and negative affect, forecasts for pleasant and unpleasant scenarios, continuous and categorical operationalisations of dysphoria, and three time points of observation. Similar biases were not observed in analyses examining the independent effects of anxiety and hypomania. Findings provide empirical evidence for the long-assumed influence of depressive symptoms on future expectations. The present investigation has implications for affective forecasting studies examining information-processing constructs, decision making, and broader domains of psychopathology.