Recent research has used self-determination theory to examine athlete burnout among adults. However, there is a dearth of theory-driven research investigating burnout among young athletes, particularly as it pertains to its sociological influences. With research suggesting that motives for sport (dis)continuation vary among athletes of different ages, this study assessed the utility of self-determination theory (SDT) and Coakley’s model for youth burnout while examining developmental differences. Participants included swimmers of ages 7–17. Analyses revealed a model that approached adequate ft indices and accounted for 70% of the burnout variance. Results supported utilizing these theories to understand youth burnout while accounting for developmental differences.
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Developmental Considerations in Youth Athlete Burnout: A Model for Youth Sport Participants
Brandonn S. Harris and Jack C. Watson II
Relations of Early Motor Skills on Age and Socialization, Communication, and Daily Living in Young Children With Developmental Disabilities
Megan MacDonald, Samantha Ross, Laura Lee McIntyre, and Amanda Tepfer
Young children with developmental disabilities experience known deficits in salient child behaviors, such as social behaviors, communication, and aspects of daily living, behaviors that generally improve with chronological age. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of motor skills on relations of age and salient child behaviors in a group of young children with developmental disabilities, thus tapping into the potential influences of motor skills in the development of salient child behaviors. One hundred thirteen young children with developmental disabilities participated in this study. Independent mediation analysis, with gender as a moderator between the mediating and outcome variable, indicated that motor skills meditated relations between age and socialization, communication, and daily living skills in young male children with developmental disabilities, but not female participants. Findings suggest motor skill content needs to be considered in combination with other child behaviors commonly focused on in early intervention.
Developmental and Adapted Physical Activity Assessment, 2nd Edition
Melissa Bittner
Edited by Michael Horvat, Luke Kelly, Martin Block, and Ron Croce. Published 2019 by Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. $67.00 , 280 pp., ISBN 978-1-4925-4380-0 Developmental and Adapted Physical Activity Assessment , by Michael Horvat, Luke Kelly, Martin Block, and Ron Croce, now in its second
Developmental Experiences and Well-Being in Sport: The Importance of the Coaching Climate
Lorcan D. Cronin and Justine B. Allen
The present study explored the relationships between the coaching climate, youth developmental experiences (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative) and psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). In total, 202 youth sport participants (Mage = 13.4, SD = 1.8) completed a survey assessing the main study variables. Findings were consistent with Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development. In all analyses, the coaching climate was related to personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative. Mediational analysis also revealed that the development of personal and social skills mediated the relationships between the coaching climate and all three indices of psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Interpretation of the results suggests that coaches should display autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors because they are related to the developmental experiences and psychological well-being of youth sport participants.
Exploring the Meaning of Parental Involvement in Physical Education for Students With Developmental Disabilities
Jihoun An and Samuel R. Hodge
The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the experiences and meaning of parental involvement in physical education from the perspectives of the parents of students with developmental disabilities. The stories of four mothers of elementary aged children (3 boys, 1 girl), two mothers and one couple (mother and father) of secondary-aged youth (1 girl, 2 boys) with developmental disabilities, were gathered by using interviews, photographs, school documents, and the researcher’s journal. Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) ecological system theory provided a conceptual framework to interpret the findings of this inquiry. Three themes emerged from thematic analysis: being an advocate for my child, understanding the big picture, and collaborative partnerships undeveloped in GPE. The findings lend additional support to the need for establishing collaborative partnerships in physical education between home and school environments (An & Goodwin, 2007; Tekin, 2011).
The Developmental Skill-Learning Gap Hypothesis: Implications for Children with Movement Difficulties
A.E. Ted Wall
Selected research on the learning and performance of physical skills from a knowledge-based perspective provides the introduction for a discussion of the importance of practice in the developmental skill learning process. Recent evidence on the activity deficit hypothesis as well as knowledge-base differences as they relate to children with movement difficulties in physical activity settings provides the basis from which to present the developmental skill-learning gap hypothesis, which contends that as children with movement difficulties grow older, the skill-learning gap between them and their more physically proficient peers widens across instructional, practice, and competitive settings. Implications and suggestions for the learning and instruction of children with movement difficulties conclude the paper.
Sensory Information Utilization and Time Delays Characterize Motor Developmental Pathology in Infant Sitting Postural Control
Joan E. Deffeyes, Regina T. Harbourne, Wayne A. Stuberg, and Nicholas Stergiou
Sitting is one of the first developmental milestones that an infant achieves. Thus measurements of sitting posture present an opportunity to assess sensorimotor development at a young age. Sitting postural sway data were collected using a force plate, and the data were used to train a neural network controller of a model of sitting posture. The trained networks were then probed for sensitivity to position, velocity, and acceleration information at various time delays. Infants with typical development developed a higher reliance on velocity information in control in the anterior-posterior axis, and used more types of information in control in the medial-lateral axis. Infants with delayed development, where the developmental delay was due to cerebral palsy for most of the infants in the study, did not develop this reliance on velocity information, and had less reliance on short latency control mechanisms compared with infants with typical development.
A Developmental Analysis of Children’s Self-Ability Judgments in the Physical Domain
Thelma S. Horn and Maureen R. Weiss
This study examined developmental differences in children’s judgments of their physical competence. Two questionnaires were administered to 134 children, ranging in age from 8 to 13 years, to measure their perceptions of competence and the criteria they use to evaluate that competence. In addition, children’s actual physical competence was assessed through teacher evaluation. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the data revealed three major findings. First, the accuracy with which children judge their competence does increase with age. Second, the criteria children use to assess their competence is also age-dependent, with younger children showing greater preference for adult feedback and older children showing greater preference for peer comparison. Third, the criteria children use in competency judgments was found to be directly related to the accuracy of such judgments. The results of this study demonstrated the existence of developmental patterns with respect to children’s judgments of their physical competence.
Developmental Trends in the Energy Cost of Physical Activities Performed by Youth
Stewart G. Trost, Christopher C. Drovandi, and Karin Pfeiffer
Background:
Published energy cost data for children and adolescents are lacking. The purpose of this study was to measure and describe developmental trends in the energy cost of 12 physical activities commonly performed by youth.
Methods:
A mixed age cohort of 209 participants completed 12 standardized activity trials on 4 occasions over a 3-year period (baseline, 12-months, 24-months, and 36-months) while wearing a portable indirect calorimeter. Bayesian hierarchical regression was used to link growth curves from each age cohort into a single curve describing developmental trends in energy cost from age 6 to 18 years.
Results:
For sedentary and light-intensity household chores, YOUTH METs (METy) remained stable or declined with age. In contrast, METy values associated with brisk walking, running, basketball, and dance increased with age.
Conclusions:
The reported energy costs for specific activities will contribute to efforts to update and expand the youth compendium.
Development of Burnout Perceptions During Adolescence Among High-Level Athletes: A Developmental and Gendered Perspective
Sandrine Isoard-Gautheu, Emma Guillet-Descas, Patrick Gaudreau, and Julien Chanal
This study examined (a) the developmental trajectories of athlete burnout perceptions, (b) the gender differences on these trajectories, and (c) the interactions in the developmental trajectories of the three burnout dimensions. A five-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 895 athletes (47.6% female; M age = 15.67). Results of multilevel growth models revealed that during adolescence, “reduced sense of accomplishment” linearly decreased and was higher for girls than boys. Moreover, “emotional/physical exhaustion” increased then decreased, and seemed to have been attenuated at time points in which athletes also had higher levels of “sport devaluation.” Finally, “sport devaluation” increased over time with higher increases for girls than boys. Results of our study depicted the general and the gendered shape of the trajectory of burnout perceptions during adolescence, and underlined the advantages of considering the multifaceted nature of burnout to enable a deeper examination of the within-person synergies in the development of the three dimensions.
