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This study examines how students who met the current recommendations for vigorous physical activity (VPA) of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) differ from peers who did not reach these standards with regard to self-reported burnout, before and after controlling for light physical activity and moderate physical activity. A sample of 144 vocational students (M _age = 16.2 years, SD = 1.13, 98 males) completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure, and the School Burnout Inventory. Bivariate correlations revealed that only VPA was associated with reduced burnout. Both the ACSM and CDC guidelines were useful to identify significant differences in burnout symptoms between students who met versus did not meet the standards. Health policy makers should develop strategies to integrate more VPA into the lives of adolescent students so as to reach a minimum of 60 min per week.

This study developed youth self-efficacy (SEPA) and proxy efficacy (PEPA) measures for physical activity (PA). Proxy efficacy was defined as a youth’s confidence in his or her skills and abilities to get others to act in one’s interests to create supportive environments for PA. Each spring of their sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade years, middle school students completed SEPA and PEPA questions and then, for 3 days, recalled their previous day’s after-school PA. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a four-factor structure (SEPA for 1–3 days, SEPA for 5–7 days, PEPA-Parents, PEPA-School). Across study years, SEPA 1–3 days and 5–7 days increased and PEPA-Parents and PEPA-School decreased. Initial levels of PEPA-Parents and SEPA scales were associated with initial levels of PA. From sixth through seventh grade, changes in SEPA scales were associated with changes in PA. Studies should test whether interventions targeting self-efficacy and proxy efficacy influence PA.

Participation in high school sports had positive effects on many Grade 12 and postsecondary outcomes (e.g., school grades, coursework selection, homework, educational and occupational aspirations, self-esteem, university applications, subsequent college enrollment, and eventual educational attainment) after controlling background variables and parallel outcomes from Grades 8 and 10 in a large, nationally representative, 6-year longitudinal study. In contrast to Zero-Sum and Threshold Models, these positive effects generalized across academic and nonacademic outcomes, across the entire range of athletic participation levels, and across different subgroups of students (e.g., SES, gender, ethnicity, ability levels, educational aspirations). Sport participation is hypothesized to increase identification/commitment to school and school values which mediate the participation effects, particularly for narrowly defined academic outcomes not directly related to sport participation. Consistent with this Identification/Commitment Model, extramural sport, and to a lesser extent team sport, had more positive effects than intramural and individual sports.

The purpose of this study was to provide an in-depth account of amotivation in compulsory school physical education by examining its major causes, the way it is displayed, and how it can be tackled. From an initial participant pool of 390 British schoolchildren ages 14 to 15 years, 21 of them (15 girls and 6 boys) were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. They were categorized as being amotivated based on their responses to a questionnaire measuring motivation in physical education. Three main perceived causes of amotivation were identified in the interviews: learned helplessness beliefs, low need satisfaction, and contextual factors. Amotivation was mainly displayed by nonattendance, low involvement in the class, and low intention to be physically active after leaving school. Students’ suggestions for reducing amotivation focused on the enhancement of positive affect, need satisfaction, and structural/organizational changes. The findings are discussed in conjunction with contemporary motivation theories and models of amotivation.

Elementary school children, 20 boys and 20 girls, served as subjects in this investigation designed to determine how children sex-typed each of three different motor activities and to study their success predictions before and after cross-sex competition. Results of the study indicated that both boys and girls sex-typed a motor task requiring strength, speed, and power as a “male” activity, while the two other motor tasks were characterized as “male-female.” The self-confidence levels of girls, as measured by success predictions were lower than boys prior to competition but only for the “male” activity. After cross-sex competition in which girls succeeded as often as the boys, self-confidence of girls was no different than for boys. There were no sex differences in postcompetition state anxiety levels. All subjects regardless of sex were more threatened after competing in a “male” as opposed to a “male-female” activity, and they experienced lower state anxiety following successful rather than unsuccessful competition.

This investigation examined the effects of sport team membership and coach's gender on the self-disclosing behavior of high school female varsity athletes. Results indicated that the athletes disclosed the same amount to their male and female coaches and that this was less than they disclosed to either parent or to friends of either sex. Also, athletes on cross-country teams disclosed more than did those on gymnastic, volleyball, and basketball teams. Finally, patterns of disclosure to male and female coaches were found to differ. First, topics of disclosure to female coaches were concerned primarily with self-concept development and role clarification, whereas topics of disclosure to male coaches were concerned primarily with school matters and interaction with significant males. Second, although amount of disclosure to the female coach was positively correlated with the athlete's disclosure to strangers, disclosure to the male coach was positively correlated with her disclosure to friends. Implications for the coach/athlete relationship are discussed.

This research examined the relationships among body attributes (i.e., body fat percent and bench press performance) and psychological esteem (i.e., perceived athletic competence, body image, and general self-esteem) in high school football players. Structural equation modeling was used to model the relationships among the constructs. Body fat was negatively related to athletic competence and body image, which in turn were positively related to general self-esteem. The role of bench press performance in predicting psychological esteem was inconsistent, however, suggesting that leanness may be more important than body strength for adolescent psychological esteem among high school football players.

Recent research has demonstrated transient affective changes and impairment of short-term memory in college wrestlers as a result of rapid weight loss (RWL) of at least 5% body weight prior to competition. This study examined the effects of RWL on cognition and affect in high school wrestlers. Wrestlers were considered to be engaging in RWL if they were losing over 5% of body weight (n = 14). Those losing less than 1% of body weight (n = 14) were considered maintainers and served as the control group. Both groups were given a battery of tests assessing cognitive performance (Trail Making Tests A & B, Stroop color-word test, Wechsler digit span, and choice reaction/movement time) and affective state (PANAS) at normal weight (5 to 10 days prior to competition) and again 8 to 12 hours prior to weigh-in. Results indicated an average loss of 4.68 kg in the RWL group and 0.29 kg in the control group. A group-by-time MANOVA and univariate follow-up tests indicated a significant group-by-time interaction for positive affect, p < .014, with the RWL wrestlers having less positive affect than the control group just prior to weigh-in. However, none of the cognitive performance tests demonstrated significant differential changes for RWL vs. control groups, p > .10. Given the control for competition effects in the present study, results suggest there are affective disturbances, but not cognitive impairments, associated with RWL of at least 5% body weight in high school wrestlers.

This study examined the role of athletic participation in affecting educational aspirations of disadvantaged youth, namely, those students for whom traditional opportunities for developing educational motivations have been restrictive. Using Coleman's leading crowd theory, it was hypothesized that disadvantaged students who were members of the interscholastic sports program would be exposed to a positive peer-group influence unavailable to their nonathletic counterparts. A national representative sample of 1,799 male high school seniors from the Youth in Transition project were used. Disadvantaged youth were defined in terms of social background and school attitudinal/behavioral factors. An interaction-regression modeling strategy for educational aspirations indicated that the interaction models did not significantly contribute to the explanation of educational aspirations. These findings resulted in the conclusion that sport participation's impact on educational aspirations was not greater for disadvantaged youth. It was suggested that the incorporation of social and psychological factors of socialization into more complex sport models is necessary in order to assess the true impact of sport participation on educational concerns.