Mindfulness, Physical Activity and Sports Participation: Validity Evidence of the Lithuanian Translation of the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity 2 in Physically Active Young Adults.

The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Lithuanian translation of State Mindfulness in Physical Activity (SMS-PA-2) in a sample of physically active students. A total sample of 539 students from universities and colleges (50.3% men; mean age 23.3 ± 7.2 years) were asked to provide demographical data, report physical activity (PA) and PA habits and fill in measures of trait awareness, autonomous motivation in physical activity, trait body appreciation, trait body functionality appreciation and disordered eating attitudes and behaviours and self-esteem via an online anonymous survey. Students also provided information about their participation in organized team sports, organized individual sports, recreational sports and home exercise. Results. The SMS-PA-2 replicated the original four-factor structure, with good internal consistency (except for the Accepting Mind subscale). Invariance analyses across sex groups revealed an acceptable fit of the configural, metric and scalar models. However, in the multi-group analysis, metric invariance and scalar invariance were not confirmed. The SMS-PA-2 was positively associated with leisure-time PA, PA habits, more self-determined motivation for exercise, trait awareness, trait body appreciation, trait body functionality appreciation and self-esteem. A negative association was observed between the SMS-PA-2 and disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. Home exercisers and students engaged in team sports demonstrated lower levels of state mindfulness in PA than those engaged in organized individual and recreational sports. The Lithuanian version of the SMS-PA-2 is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring state mindfulness in PA. This instrument is recommended for researchers who aim to investigate the role of state mindfulness in the PA in Lithuanian-language-speaking samples of young adults. Future studies should explore the Lithuanian version of the SMS-PA-2 by asking participants to fill questionnaires in immediately after the PA session, and measurement invariance between sexes should be further tested.

Effect of an education and mindfulness-based physical activity intervention for the promotion of positive body image in Lithuanian female students.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of an 8-week classroom education and mindfulness-based physical activity intervention for the promotion of positive body image in female students. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was carried out with 110 Lithuanian female students (mean age 21.5 ± 3.5, range 19-35 years). Thirty students voluntarily participated in the intervention programme and 80 students volunteered in the assessment-only control group. The intervention comprised five cognitive behavioural therapy classroom education sessions and mindfulness-based exercise (one exercise workout per week). The intervention group was evaluated with a pre-test and post-test and the control group completed measures at parallel times. RESULTS: Compared with the control group participants, the intervention group participants reported greater improvements in positive body image and a reduction in body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness and internalisation of stereotyped beauty ideals, with medium to large effects. There were significant time × group interactions for pre-test to post-test changes in internalisation of beauty ideals, body area satisfaction, body dissatisfaction and body appreciation. In all cases, the interaction reflected greater pre-test to post-test changes in the intervention group compared with the control group, whose scores remained stable. A decrease in appearance orientation, overweight preoccupation, disordered eating and physical activity was observed in the control group, but the effect sizes were low. CONCLUSION: The preliminary findings of this study support the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy methods and mindfulness-based exercise intervention aimed to promote positive body image in student-aged women. Future studies should test the efficacy of the introduced programme in larger randomised samples of young women. LEVEL IV: Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without an intervention.

The Role of Body Image, Disordered Eating and Lifestyle on the Quality of Life in Lithuanian University Students.

Purpose. The present study aimed to explore the associations between body image concerns (BI), disordered eating (DE), health-related lifestyle, and the different domains of the quality of life (QoL) in a Lithuanian sample of student-aged men and women. Methods. A mixed-gender sample of students (N = 1850, 58.8% were women, average age 21.6 ± 5.0 years) completed a series of questionnaires, including health-related lifestyles, BI, DE, and QoL. A series of simultaneous multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Mediation analyses were performed to estimate the size of the total, direct, and indirect effects of variables in the models. Results. The analysis of the linear regressions demonstrated that the positive trait of body areas satisfaction was associated with the significantly enhanced QoL in all domains in both genders (for men ß = 0.29-0.34; for women ß = 0.26-0.33; p < 0.001). DE was associated with a poorer psychological QoL domain in women only (ß = -0.07; p = 0.047). The drive for muscularity was associated with a lower QoL in men (ß = -0.06-(-0.141); p < 0.05). Body areas satisfaction mediated the associations between body mass index and psychological and physical QoL in both genders (TLI (Tucker Lewis Index) = 0.975; CFI (comparative fit index) = 0.997; RMSEA (Root of the Mean Square Error) = 0.053). Conclusions. Positive traits of BI play essential roles in the QoL of student-aged women and men. The present study adds empirical evidence emphasizing the importance of integrating education about positive body image while implementing healthy lifestyle and QoL promotion programs in student-aged men and women.

Validation of the Lithuanian Version of the Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) in a Student Sample.

The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (SATAQ-4) is one of the most broadly used self-report tools that assess the general role of sociocultural influences on body image and appearance-related internalization. The present study aimed to examine the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Lithuanian version of the SATAQ-4 (LT-SATAQ-4), as a screening self-report instrument for assessing the role of sociocultural influences on body image. A mixed-gender sample (N = 1850) of undergraduate students (88.7%) and graduate students (11.3%) from different state universities and colleges participated in this study (average age 21.6 ±5.0). The students completed a self-report online questionnaire. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for assessing test-retest reliability. The construct validity of the Lithuanian Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 (LT-SATAQ-4) was studied performing exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The mean scores for the LT-SATAQ-4 subscales ranged from 1.6 ± 0.9 (Pressure subscale: Peers) to 2.7 ± 1.2 (Internalization subscale: Thin/Low Body Fat). Test-retest reliability was good to excellent for the general and subscale scores (0.85-1.00) except for the Pressure subscale: Peers (0.60). The original 5-factor structure was confirmed by EFA and CFA. Good to excellent internal consistency for each subscale (attempted 0.9 and more) and for the LT-SATAQ-4 global scale (0.91) was obtained. The LT-SATAQ-4 scores had adequate concurrent validity with the measures of the body image, disordered eating, self-esteem, and body mass index. The results support the psychometric properties of the LT-SATAQ-4 and its' use in Lithuanian student samples. The Lithuanian SATAQ-4 is a useful measure to examine the pressures to internalize appearance ideals in Lithuanian-speaking samples of young individuals.

Validation of the Lithuanian version of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire 6.0 in a student sample.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire 6.0 (EDE-Q 6.0) is one of the most broadly used self-report tools that assesses attitudes and behaviors associated with eating disorders (EDs). The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the Lithuanian version of the EDE-Q 6.0 (LT-EDE-Q 6.0) in a nonclinical student sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 382 students (mean age 24.0 ± 6.4) participated in the study. The students completed a self-report questionnaire measuring the risk of EDs (LT-EDE-Q 6.0), body image (LT-MBSRQ-AS), quality of life (LT-WHOQOL-BREF), and self-esteem (RSES). Cronbach's alpha assessed the internal consistency of the EDE-Q 6.0. Pearson's correlations were used for the analyses of the construct and concurrent validity with the subscales of LT-MBSRQ-AS, LT-WHOQOL-BREF, and RSES. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for assessing test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The mean score of the LT-EDE-Q 6.0 in the mixed sample was 1.5 ± 1.02. For women and men, the general mean scores were higher than in the majority of the samples of Western Europe but lower than in the United States. Acceptable internal consistency for the four subscales (0.75-0.88) and the LT-EDE-Q 6.0 general score (0.94) was obtained. Test-retest reliability was good to excellent for all subscales (0.66-0.91) and for the items that assessed essential behavioral features of EDs (0.84-0.90, except item 14 ICC = 0.4). The LT-EDE-Q 6.0 scores had adequate concurrent validity. However, the original 4-factor structure or other proposed models of EDE-Q were not obtained by CFA. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study support the applicability, validity, and reliability of the LT-EDE-Q 6.0 in a nonclinical Lithuanian student sample. However, we recommend assessing the general scale score without the application of the subscales. The Lithuanian version of this instrument should be further investigated with clinical samples to identify clinically diagnosed cases.