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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 95-in. and 110-in. racket head-sizes in relation to beginning player skills test, daily playing achievement, and self-efficacy over a 13-day tennis unit. Participants (n = 35) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups within one of two instructional classes. From the analysis of the data, it was concluded that students who used the larger 110-in. head-sized racket attained greater skill test scores and daily practice achievement for the forehand and backhand groundstrokes. In addition, participants using the 110-in. head-sized rackets improved their tennis self-efficacy to a larger degree and reported significantly less negative feeling states when compared to those using the 95-in. headsized racket.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three racket lengths (26, 27, and 28 inches) in relation to beginning player skills test and last 5-day game playing achievement over an 18-day tennis unit. Participants (N = 83) were randomly assigned to one of three racket length groups in one of four instructional classes. Analysis of the skills test data indicated that students who used the shorter 26-inch racket attained greater achievement for the forehand groundstroke. However, no differences were reported between racket lengths for either the forehand or backhand groundstroke when examining game-play results or for the backhand groundstroke during skills testing.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of regular exercise participation as an intervention for enhancing subjective well-being in an HIV-1 population. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of a 12-week exercise intervention on physical self-efficacy, positive and negative mood, and life satisfaction. Participants (N = 33) were randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise training group (n = 11), a resistance weight-training group (n = 12), or a stretching/flexibility control group ( n = 10). Results indicated that both aerobic and weight-training exercise interventions enhanced physical self-efficacy, positive and negative mood, and satisfaction with life. Conversely, control participants experienced declines in each of these variables. Taken together, the findings seem to suggest that exercise may be one therapeutic modality capable of enhancing components of subjective well-being and should be considered a complimentary therapy for treating the psychological and emotional manifestations associated with a positive HIV-1 diagnosis.

This study examined the relationship between self-efficacy, wrestling performance, and affect prior to competition. 15 minutes prior to competition, 70 male high school wrestlers (M = 16.03 years) completed a self-efficacy assessment, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), and the Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990). Self-efficacy was found to be significantly associated with positive and negative affect and cognitive and somatic anxiety. Consistent with social cognitive theory, self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of performance when the measure was process oriented rather than win-loss. The findings suggest that confusion and equivocality in the literature could be removed if researchers assessed self-efficacy in a microanalytical fashion. Future research investigating the affective antecedents of performance should go beyond merely assessing negative states and recognize the potential role positive affect may play in sport behavior.