results in energy expenditure” ( Caspersen et al., 1985 , p. 126), whereas exercise forms a subcategory of PA. The negative consequences of physical inactivity during childhood can be far reaching. PA has short-term positive effects on children’s health (e.g., bone and mental health; Biddle et al., 2019
Search Results
“I Do What I Like”: 8- to 10-Year-Old Children’s Physical Activity Behavior Is Already Interrelated With Their Automatic Affective Processes
Julia Limmeroth and Michaela Raboldt
Childhood Depressive Symptoms, Physical Activity and Health Related Fitness
Lois Michaud Tomson, Robert P. Pangrazi, Glenn Friedman, and Ned Hutchison
While research has confirmed a negative relationship between adult depression and physical activity, there is little evidence for children. This study examined the relationship of being classified as physically active or inactive by a parent or a teacher to depressive symptoms in children 8 to 12 years of age (N = 933). It also assessed the relationship of playing sports outside of school, and of meeting health related fitness standards, to symptoms of depression. Relative risk of depressive symptoms for inactive classification was 2.8 to 3.4 times higher than it was for active, 1.3 to 2.4 times higher for children not playing sports outside of school, and 1.5 to 4.0 times higher for those not meeting health related fitness goals.
The Influence of Socializing Agents on Female Collegiate Volleyball Players
Maureen R. Weiss and Annelies Knoppers
The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to replicate and extend the earlier findings of Greendorfer (1977) by examining the role of significant others on the socialization of female volleyball players, and (b) to clarify the use of various statistical methodologies in sport socialization research. Players (N = 95) competing in the 1979 Big Ten volleyball championships responded to a sport socialization questionnaire designed to assess the degree of influence of socializing agents on active sport involvement. Descriptive statistics revealed that female volleyball players were surrounded by significant others who strongly supported and encouraged their participation throughout their life cycle. Multiple regression analyses revealed that, of the significant others who supported participation, parents, peers, and physical education teachers/coaches collectively had a significant influence on sport involvement only during the participant's childhood. Brothers were significant agents of sport socialization during the player's childhood and college years; no other agents reached significance for any of the life cycle stages. The discrepant results between the two analyses of this study, and previous socialization studies, were attributed to homogeneity of the sample and the statistical methods used. Recommendations are made about the use of statistical and methodological procedures in future socialization research.
The Effects of Sport Experience in the Development of Social Character: An Exploratory Investigation
Douglas A. Kleiber and Glyn G. Roberts
The word “character” has generally lost its currency in the literature on personality and social psychology over the last 20 years. And yet the assumption that sport builds character is still held, at least privately, by a great many people. This investigation was an attempt to reconsider the “character” construct, to isolate its social elements, and to establish its susceptibility in childhood to the influence of organized sport experience. Using prosocial behavior as one manifestation of evolved social character, the influence or organized sport was assessed in a field experiment with children from two elementary schools. Although the general assumption that “sport builds character” was not strongly supported or refuted in this investigation, some evidence, at least with males, showed that prosocial behavior may be inhibited by sport experience. Finally, implications were drawn for facilitating prosocial behavior in children's sports.
Shifting the Focus From Quantitative to Qualitative Exercise Characteristics in Exercise and Cognition Research
Caterina Pesce
In exercise and cognition research, few studies have investigated whether and how the qualitative aspects of physical exercise may impact cognitive performance in the short or long term. This commentary, after recalling the evidence on the “dose-response” relationship, shifts the focus to intersections between different research areas that are proposed to shed light on how qualitative exercise characteristics can be used to obtain cognitive benefits. As concerns the acute exercise area, this commentary highlights the applied relevance of developmental and aging studies investigating the effects of exercise bouts differing in movement task complexity and cognitive demands. As regards the chronic exercise area, potential links to research on cognitive expertise in sport, functional ability in aging, and life skills training during development are discussed. “Gross-motor cognitive training” is proposed as a key concept with relevant implications for intervention strategies in childhood and older adulthood.
What Influences Children’s Physical Activity? Investigating the Effects of Physical Self-Concept, Physical Self-Guides, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation
Lena Henning, Dennis Dreiskämper, Hannah Pauly, Steffen Filz, and Maike Tietjens
. Adaptation to the Specific Period of Childhood So far, studies concentrated on the effect of congruence of physical self-concept and physical self-guides on motivation and physical activity in young women and men. It remains unclear whether the findings are transferrable to childhood. Taking into account
Associations Between Physical Activity Enjoyment and Age-Related Decline in Physical Activity in Children—Results From a Longitudinal Within-Person Study
Petra Haas, Chih-Hsiang Yang, and Genevieve F. Dunton
Children who engage in regular physical activity benefit from improved physical and mental health ( Ahn & Fedewa, 2011 ; Janssen & Leblanc, 2010 ). From childhood to adolescence, physical activity levels decline ( Dalene et al., 2018 ). In the United States, for instance, 42% of children (6
Parents on the Concept of Physical Literacy: What Do They Know, What Do They Do, and What Do They Want?
Aaron Simpson, Ben Jackson, Ashleigh L. Thornton, Michael Rosenberg, Brodie Ward, Peter Roberts, Amanda Derbyshire, and Timothy Budden
resonating with the intended audience (e.g., teachers, early childhood educators, and parents). It is noteworthy, for instance, that there is uncertainty among some individuals as to what constitutes a “physically literate” person ( Liu et al., 2021 ) or with respect to the methods that are best suited to
Children’s Motivation Profiles in Sports and Physical Activities: A Latent Profile Analysis and Self-Determination Theory Approach
Annette Lohbeck, Andreas Hohmann, Philipp von Keitz, and Monika Daseking
al., 2020 ). However, most of those studies have been variable-centered and based on student samples in middle or late childhood (see Saugy et al., 2020 for an overview). Consequently, little is still known about latent motivation profiles based on SDT in sports and physical activities of children in
Sex Differences in Perceived Motor Competence After the Children’s Health Activity Motor Program Intervention
Leesi George-Komi, Kara K. Palmer, Stephanie A. Palmer, Michael A. Nunu, and Leah E. Robinson
proficiency in fundamental motor skills ( Robinson, 2011 ; Visser et al., 2020 ). Fundamental motor skills are essential building blocks of movement that develop during early childhood and are the foundation for greater MC ( Goodway et al., 2019 ; Payne & Isaacs, 2020 ). Locomotor and object control skills
