Does Participating in a Variety of Activities at a Variety of Locations or With Different People Predict Physical Activity Behavior Among Adolescents? The Mediating Role of Perceived Variety.

We examine whether adolescents' participating in a variety of physical activities, locations, and/or with a variety of people relates to physical activity 16 months later and whether perceptions of variety mediate these relationships. Adolescents (N = 369) completed measures indicating various physical activities they participated in, where they primarily participated, and with whom they primarily participated, at three time points over a year (averaged for baseline measures). Perceptions of variety was measured 8 months later. Physical activity was measured 16 months after baseline. Mediation analyses tested perceptions of variety as a mediator of variety support and physical activity. Results indicated that variety of activities and variety of locations were indirectly associated with physical activity through perceptions of variety. Participating in a breadth of physical activities in a variety of locations during adolescence is positively associated with perceptions of variety, which relates to physical activity 16 months later.

Matched and moving: exploring daily social support among women partnered for exercise after a breast cancer diagnosis.

PURPOSE: Exercise and social support are non-pharmacological strategies that improve health and wellbeing in women treated for breast cancer (WTBC). However, strategies to facilitate support and exercise in WTBC are typically resource intensive. The purpose of this study was to examine whether various forms of social support received from a matched peer were associated with increased exercise among WTBC. METHODS: A daily diary study was conducted to examine naturally occurring social support as it relates to daily exercise behavior. Forty-six WTBC were matched (23 pairs) and completed pre-screening survey assessing eligibility and baseline levels of exercise. Participants were given Fitbit devices to track physical activity behavior and completed daily surveys across 3 weeks assessing perceptions of exercise-related social support at fixed times at the end of each day. RESULTS: Mixed models accounting for day of study, baseline support, and baseline exercise levels revealed that higher levels of daily exercise-related tangible social support were associated with more daily steps (b = 506, SE = 143) and more light physical activity (LPA) minutes (b = 7.01, SE = 3.15). Informational social support was associated with higher moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes (b = 3.18, SE = 1.60). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, peer matching programs aimed at increasing exercise-related social support among WTBC might encourage exercise behaviors, especially among women who share exercise-specific information (e.g., benefits, type, activities).

A time compositional analysis of the association between movement behaviors and indicators of mental health in young adults.

BACKGROUND: Movement behaviors (i.e., physical activity [PA], sedentary behaviors [SB], sleep) relate to mental health. Although movement behaviors are often analyzed as distinct entities, they are in fact highly inter-dependent (e.g., if an individual increases sleep, then PA and/or SB must be reduced) and these dependencies should be accounted for in the analysis. We tested whether perceptions of time spent in movement behaviors (i.e., moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA [MVPA], light physical activity [LPA], SB, and sleep) related to depressive symptoms and self-report mental health in young adults using a compositional analysis. We then estimated change in depressive symptoms with reallocation of time across movement behaviors using compositional time-reallocation models. METHODS: Data were drawn from the longitudinal NDIT dataset. Complete data were available for 770 young adults (Mage = 20.3, 55% females). RESULTS: The proportion of time spent in MVPA relative to other movement behaviors related to depressive symptoms non-significantly and to mental health significantly. Reallocating 15 min from MVPA to SB resulted in a significant (0.46 unit) increase in depressive symptoms, and reallocating 15 min of MVPA to LPA was associated with a (0.57) increase in depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: These results indicate the importance of relative time spent in each movement behavior to mental health. Further research should examine these associations over time.

Description of sport participation profiles and transitions across profiles during adolescence.

Few studies describe sport participation profiles in the general population using multiple characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify sport participation profiles during adolescence and to describe transitions across profiles from grades 5 to 12 (age 10 to 18 years). We used data from 916 participants (55% girls; age 10-12 years at inception) of the Monitoring Activities of Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits (MATCH) study. Participants self-reported involvement in 36 organized and unorganized physical activities three times/year from grades 5 to 12 (24 data collection cycles; 2011-2018). At each school grade, we derived four categorical variables of sport involvement: number of organized sports, number of unorganized activities, weekly sessions, and number of year-round activities. To identify sport participation profiles, we used latent class analysis at each grade. To characterize transitions between sport participation profiles across grades, we used latent transition analysis. Five distinct sport participation profiles emerged: "non-participants", "unorganized activities only", "single-sport low frequency", "single sport high frequency", and "multi-sport". Only "multi-sport" participants were unlikely to be classified as "non-participants" over time. Encouraging multi-sport participation might help protect against later non-participation. This study helps identify important times to intervene for improving physical activity levels.

Understanding Relationships Between Social Identity, Sport Enjoyment, and Dropout in Adolescent Girl Athletes.

The sport team social environment plays an important role in athletes' experiences, including their enjoyment of sport, and these experiences may influence athletes' decision to continue or dropout of sport. In the current study, enjoyment was examined as a mediator of the relationship between social identity and sport dropout. Adolescent girls (N = 150) who participated on a community sports team completed a questionnaire assessing social identity with their team and enjoyment of sport, and their sport participation status was measured 1 year later. Controlling for age and socioeconomic position, a path model showed that enjoyment mediated the relationship between social identity and sport dropout, bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect = -0.04, 95% confidence interval [-0.08, -0.01]; p < .01. Fostering social identity with one's sport team may contribute to greater enjoyment of sport and reductions in sport dropout in adolescent girls.

Association between pattern of team sport participation from adolescence to young adulthood and mental health.

We examined relationships between pattern of team sport participation during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (ie, non-participants, initiators, discontinuers, sustainers) and indicators of mental health. Data on team sport participation and mental health from high school to young adulthood were drawn from the longitudinal NDIT study. After controlling for demographics, physical activity, and previous mental health, one-way MANCOVA and ANCOVAs indicated that pattern of team sport participation was associated with stress, F(2,706) =8.28, p < .01, and coping, F(2,706) = 10.66, p < .01 in young adulthood. Compared to non-participants (24% of sample) or those who discontinued team sport after adolescence (51%), individuals who sustained team sport participation from adolescence to young adulthood (22%) reported lower stress and better coping levels. Bivariate regression analysis indicated that, compared to non-participants, team sport sustainers were less likely to experience panic disorder symptoms (OR =0.57, 95% CI [0.34, 0.94], p = .03). There were too few team sport initiators (2%) to be included in analyses. Sustained team sport participation during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood may promote better mental health. Further research is needed to ascertain causality and develop strategies to encourage individuals to join sport teams during adolescence and sustain participation while transitioning to young adulthood.

Only my group will do: Evidence that social support protects athletes from burnout when they identify with those who provide it.

Perceived availability of social support can reduce symptoms of burnout in athletes. As such, it is important to understand the circumstances under which perceived social support is most effective. Social influences such as strength of social identification with a particular group or identity are believed to play an important role in the provision and effectiveness of social support. Across two studies, we investigate whether social identification in a sport can strengthen the protective association between perceived social support and burnout. In Study 1, athletes completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of social support availability, social identification, and burnout. In Study 2, participants completed the same measures at systematic time points across a six-month timespan. In both studies, participants' levels of social identification moderated the association between perceived social support and burnout, whereby there was a stronger negative relationship between social support and burnout when participants reported higher levels of social identification in their sport. These results indicate that social identity may play an integral role in improving the efficacy of social support on burnout.

Varsity athletes' fitness perceptions, fitness-related self-conscious emotions and depression when sidelined from play.

OBJECTIVE: Explore the association between varsity athletes' fitness perceptions and symptoms of depression while sidelined from sport for an extended period, and test whether fitness-related self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame, guilt, authentic pride, and hubristic pride) mediate this relationship. PARTICIPANTS: Varsity athletes (N = 124) from a large university in Canada where sports had been restricted for the past year due to the pandemic. METHOD: Participants completed a cross-sectional self-report survey. Regression analyses testing mediation (i.e., direct and indirect effects) were used to explore the main research aim. RESULTS: Controlling for age and gender, separate models demonstrated significant indirect effects of fitness perceptions on depression symptoms through shame, guilt, and authentic pride, but not through hubristic pride. CONCLUSION: Self-conscious emotions may be used as a tool to mitigate depression symptoms when varsity athletes are sidelined from sport for an extended period. Further research is needed to understand how self-conscious emotions develop when athletes are injured or retired.

Understanding Girls' Motivation to Participate in Sport: The Effects of Social Identity and Physical Self-Concept.

Introduction: Girls are often less motivated to participate in community sport compared to boys. Having a strong social identity with a sports team is positively associated with motivation to continue participation in sport, yet the mechanisms explaining this association are not well-known. In the current study, physical self-concept is tested as a mediator of the association between social identity and motivation. Method: Girl badminton athletes were recruited to examine how the team environment shapes physical self-concept, and whether this association relates to motivation to participate in sport. Ninety-two girls completed a self-report survey to measure social identity, physical self-perceptions, and motivation. Two mediation models were conducted to examine whether physical self-concept mediated the relationship between social identity and autonomous motivation and controlled motivation. Results: Physical self-concept partially mediated the relationship between social identity and autonomous motivation. The bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect was, b = 0.05, 95% CI = 0.002 to.14. Physical self-concept fully mediated the relationship between social identity and controlled motivation. The bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect was, b = -0.13, 95% CI = -0.30 to -0.01, p = 0.04. Discussion: These results highlight the importance of the group context in relation to individual physical self-concept and motivation. Overall, targeting aspects of the team environment in community-level sport may be an important strategy to improve girls' physical self-concept, and autonomous motivation to continue sport participation.

Longitudinal associations between team sport participation and substance use in adolescents and young adults.

BACKGROUND: Team sport participation contributes to positive outcomes, including increased physical activity, better mental health, and enhanced social engagement. However, longitudinal studies show that team sport participation during adolescence is also associated with unhealthy lifestyle habits, including harmful substance use behaviors. Our objectives were to examine these associations in an adolescent sample, assess differences between sexes, examine the association by sport type, and investigate whether associations carry into young adulthood. METHOD: Over five years of high school participants reported team sport participation, smoking status, and frequency of alcohol use, three years post-high school participants reported the same behaviors as well as marijuana use. RESULTS: Regression analyses accounting for individual clustering revealed that participation in team sport during high school was associated with an increased likelihood of current smoking in males and more frequent drinking in both sexes during adolescence. These relationships were strongest in individuals who participated in football. Further analyses revealed that team sport participation in high school was associated with an increased likelihood of more frequent binge drinking in young adulthood; however, team sport participation in young adulthood was associated with a decrease in the likelihood of cigarette smoking and marijuana use in young adulthood. CONCLUSION: Overall, results confirm that team sport participation in adolescence is positively associated with substance use in adolescence, and this association differs by sex. However, team sport participation in young adulthood is negatively associated with harmful substance use. Further research is needed to understand if these trends generalize beyond White adolescents and young adults.

Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age.

Both parent and coach leadership behaviours are instrumental to adolescent athlete development. Researchers, however, are yet to examine parent and coach leadership influences simultaneously, and at different stages of adolescents' psychological and physical development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand if the effects of transformational parenting, and transformational coaching on mental toughness and performance varied at different ages during adolescence. Early adolescent (ages 10-14) and late adolescent (ages 15-18) soccer players (n = 334) completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of their mother's, father's, and coach's transformational leadership, as well as a questionnaire assessing mental toughness. Participants also completed a comprehensive battery of physical fitness tests relevant to soccer. Results indicated that transformational fathering was more strongly associated with levels of mental toughness for early adolescent athletes than it was for later adolescent athletes. Results also indicated that transformational coaching was more strongly associated with physical performance for later adolescent athletes than it was for early adolescents. Overall, these results can inform development models and provide support for future longitudinal studies to assess the impact of parent and coach transformational leadership across different stages of athlete development.