|
‘Opportunity structures’: urban landscape, social capital and health promotion in Australia |
|
This paper presents data from 40 in-depth interviews that were conducted as part of a study of social capital and health in relation to people’s perceptions of the influence of ‘place’ on their participation levels and health. These data were used to examine features of the western suburbs of Adelaide that were perceived as health damaging and health promoting. The paper demonstrates that our Australian suburban respondents expressed a considerable concern about these features and the impact they have on their perception of community and their ability to participate in it. Safety, connectedness to the area, the reputation of an area and the extent and nature of community facilities are all seen as important to a healthy community. The research found that in the more deprived socioeconomic areas within the study area, there was a significant degree of dissatisfaction with features of the urban environment, such as availability of amenities, provision of public transport, and proximity of industry to private dwellings. The paper concludes by considering certain features of urban environments that might make them more supportive of health through encouraging contact between people. We conclude that these environments could be improved using the following measures: a subsidy scheme to support the viability of local shops and cafés (thereby providing meeting places and employment); parks with facilitators (who could play a role in increasing safety in the park but also encouraging community development); attractive places to walk; and a general environmental improvement program.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Participants in school-sponsored and independent sports: Perceptions of self and family |
|
In a study, perceptions of social competence and family dynamics were examined among adolescent participants in school-sponsored and independent sports of baseball and skateboarding, respectively. Perceptions of social competence were diffentially related to degree of sports involvement and perceived skill but were not related to the social acceptability of the sport.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
A model of motivational orientation for youth sport: Some preliminary work |
|
During the past ten years considerable effort has been devoted to developing an understanding of children's experience in sport. The impetus behind this research focus appears to have been twofold. First, the tremendous number of children who participate in organized sports necessitates an understanding of what this participation means in terms of their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. Second, the continuing debate concerning the value of participating in sports has resulted in a large quantity of empirical work on this issue. One aspect of children's experience in sports that has received extensive research attention centers on issues related to motivation (Weiss & Chaumeton, 1992).
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Cognitive-affective sources of sport enjoyment in adolescent sport participants |
|
Enjoyment is beginning to receive a resurgence of interest in the sport psychology literature. It has been described as a "positive affective response to the sport experience that reflects generalized feelings such as pleasure, liking, and fun" (Scanlan & Simons, 1992, pp. 203-204). These authors propose that uncovering the diverse origins of sport enjoyment is critical to a comprehensive understanding of positive affect and its relation to prolonged sport involvement. Inherent to their model is the proposition that enjoyment underlies greater commitment to sport. Although the construct has received empirical attention in the past, recent developments in the sport motivational literature suggest that contemporary approaches to the study of sport enjoyment be explored.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Adolescent male athletes: Body image, diet, and exercise |
|
The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare body image concerns, attitudes toward eating/weight control, and reasons for exercising between two groups of adolescent male athletes-football players (N = 44) and crosscountry runners (N = 30). Subjects responded to surveys covering eating attitudes, weight concerns, physical traits, perceived and ideal body shape/size, and reasons for exercising. Significant differences were noted: Football players reported a more positive body image; cross-country runners indicated a greater degree of body dissatisfaction, more disordered eating patterns, and a greater degree of concern for weight control which identified this group as one in need of increased health education.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
The relationship between athletic participation and high school students' leadership ability |
|
This study examined the relationship between adolescents' participation in athletics and their leadership skills. In a sample of 60 suburban high school students, athletes demonstrated significantly greater leadership ability than did nonathletes (according to their mean scores on the Leadership Ability Evaluation). Female athletes showed greater leadership ability than did male athletes, although the difference between their scores was not statistically significant. The implications of these findings for school athletic programs are discussed.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Intimidation and violence by males in high school athletics |
|
This study examined verbal intimidation (VI), physical intimidation (PI), and physical violence (PV) in high school athletics, both by program and by sport. Antecedents were identified via principal component analysis; they included contextual setting, attitude, pressure, and coaching. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess relationships between antecedents and VI, PI, and PV. Coaching was the only significant predictor in 9 of 15 regression analyses of overall VI, PI, and PV, and one of two sigificant predictors in 4 of 6 additional analyses. Coaching was the only significant predictor of VI in basketball and football, PI in football and soccer, and PV in basketball and soccer. In addition to coaching, contextual setting was a significant predictor of PI in basketball, attitude was a significant predictor of PV in football, and pressure was a significant predictor of VI in soccer. The implications of these findings are discussed.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Women’s Precollege Sports Participation, Enjoyment of Sports, and Self-esteem |
|
This study tested a model that specifies that the psychosocial impact of women’s precollege sports participation depends on the quality of their sports experience, that is, on participants’ enjoyment of sports and the benefits derived from athletic pursuits. A sample of 245 college women (mean age = 19.9 years) provided retrospective reports of their precollege sports involvement as well as assessments of their enjoyment of sports, perceived physical competence, body image, gender role orientation, and self-esteem. Consistent with past research, women students’ precollege sport participation was a modest predictor of their self-esteem in bivariate analyses. Follow-up analyses revealed that enjoyment of sports mediated the sports participation/self-esteem relationship and implied that female participants who find sports less enjoyable may be at risk of experiencing declining self-esteem. However, enjoyment of sports explained little unique variance in global self-esteem after we controlled for the influence of other sports-related benefits (e.g., improved physical competence). Implications for those who hope to help more girls reap psychosocial benefits from sporting activities are discussed.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Journals 