Why do new members stop attending health and fitness venues? The importance of developing frequent and stable attendance behaviour

ObjectivesAttendance at health and fitness venues often declines dramatically during the first year of membership. The present study sought to identify factors associated with continued attendance in new members.MethodsA secondary data analysis was conducted on the attendance data of 1726 new members of a health and fitness organisation over the first 12 months of their membership. Associations were assessed between members’ frequency and pattern of attendance during the first quarter of their membership, age, gender, and home location and their attendance levels in the fourth quarter after joining.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in the frequency of attendance over time from a mean of 7.48 times in the first month to a mean of 0.92 in the 12th month after joining. Older age, starting membership in the autumn or spring, frequency of attendance in the first quarter and stability of the context of attendance (i.e., same time and location) in month three were all significantly associated with increased attendance levels in the fourth quarter.ConclusionsThe findings indicate that new members’ early attendance behaviour, in terms of the frequency and the stability of attendance, may be important for supporting continued attendance at health and fitness venues. Interventions to increase longer-term attendance and, in turn, physical activity, should focus on promoting regular and consistent attendance, especially in terms of day, time and location, early on in individuals’ membership of health and fitness venues.     

定量运动负荷和个性特征对动觉准确性和动作稳定性的影响

目的在于了解个性特征和定量运动负荷与同射箭运动员技术水平密切相关的肘关节动觉方位准确性和手动作稳定性的关系。研究结果表明：个性特征对肘关节动觉方位准确性和手动作稳定性的影响不显著;定量运动负荷可以使肘关节动觉方位准确性明显提高,而手动作稳定性变化不显著。本研究初步证明了韩国射箭训练中利用跑步等手段使运动员处于较高心率之下进行射准练习的方法是实用有效的。     

儿童基于心理本质论的种族认知及其影响因素

心理本质论将类别成员视为由共同的本质所决定,且这些本质对应着一些表面的不可改变的属性。其中,种族本质论就是心理本质论的一种。研究种族本质论的发展对于了解儿童的种族认知具有重要意义。种族本质论者认为,种族具有遗传不变性、有较强的归纳强度和标签具有客观性等特征。但是,基于不同特征的种族本质论的发展存在差异。类属语言、社会文化背景和群体地位,均可能影响儿童种族本质论的发展。这些影响因素提示,可通过减少类属语言的描述和促进民族融合等方式改变儿童的种族本质论。比较儿童对种族本质论的建构与自然世界的建构之间的差异,方便我们探索类别学习跨领域的一致性问题。如何确保种族本质论的发展是适宜的,这需要未来开展一些干预性的研究。     

Stability of Q-sort attachment security from age two to five

The current report demonstrates reliability and stability of Q-sort attachment security in a sample of 46 mothers and their children seen by two observers at age two and again at age four to six years. Security scores were correlated between ages (r=.44), and a high proportion of item-by-item correlations between ages were also significant.     

Placement Stability Following Short-Term Residential Care

Youth discharged from a short-term residential facility and reunified with their parents were contacted at least one year after discharge to determine whether or not they had a disruption in their placement since reunification. Follow-up intervals of 149 youth contacted (82% of the eligible sample) ranged from a minimum of 12 months to a maximum of 30 months post-discharge. Differences in the time to placement disruption were analyzed using survival analysis techniques. After controlling for adjustment differences during the treatment program, youth behavior problems, and family problems, a significant interaction of youth age and treatment intensity was found: Compared to the others, younger youth who received additional treatment components had placement disruptions later and less frequently.     

Some relationships between behavioral and traditional assessment

Psychometric principles and procedures were developed within the context of traditional approaches to assessment. In order to illustrate the frequent, if not uniform, applicability of these principles to behavior assessment, we first discuss the differences and similarities between traditional and behavioral assessment. We then point out ways in which, given the nature of behavior assessment, attention to certain psychometric principles and procedures would expedite the development of more adequate behavior assessment devices and procedures.