Evaluating the Stroop Test With Older Adults: Construct Validity, Short Term Test-Retest Reliability, and Sensitivity to Mental Fatigue.

We conducted two studies to evaluate the construct validity, short term test-retest reliability, and sensitivity to mental fatigue of the Stroop task when used with older adults. In Study 1, 40 participants visited our lab on two separate days. On the first visit, they took five screening scales, and we measured their height and body mass. On the second visit, they completed the Stroop task twice with a 30-minute interval between assessments. In Study 2, 15 different participants took a 30-minute Flanker/Reverse Flanker task during the interval between the two administrations of the Stroop tasks and they gave subjective ratings of their mental fatigue on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) prior to taking either of the Stroop tasks. In Study 1, participants showed a ceiling effect on the Stroop accuracy measure, there was strong concurrent validity for the Stroop with significant score differences between the Stroop's congruent and incongruent conditions (p < .001), and there was excellent response time reliability (ICC = 0.926) on day two when participants took the Stroop twice within a 30-minute inter-test interval. However, there were significant test-retest performance differences with respect to cognitive inhibition (p < .001). In Study 2, mental fatigue from the Flanker/Reverse Flanker test resulted in a significantly worse second Stroop performance (p = .045). We concluded that the Stroop task demonstrated strong concurrent validity and response time reliability among older adults, but it showed sensitivity to mental fatigue, and repeated administrations within the short 30-minute test-retest interval revealed that the most important Stroop measure (cognitive inhibition) was unreliable. We discuss the implications of these findings.

Are COMT Val158Met (rs4680), DRD2 TaqIA (rs1800497), and BDNF Val66Met (rs6265) polymorphisms associated with executive functions performance at rest and during physical exercise?

Executive functions (EFs) encompass a wide array of cognitive processes, which appear to be influenced by genetic variants of the COMT, DRD2/ANKK1, and BDNF polymorphisms. The present study aimed to investigate whether COMT Val158Met (rs4680), DRD2/ANKK1 (rs1800497), and BDNF Val66Met (rs6265) polymorphisms were associated with EFs assessed at rest and during moderate acute physical exercise. Sixty physically active individuals underwent four laboratory visits. First, they filled out the pre-exercise survey, researchers collected their anthropometric data, and then performed a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. In the second and third sessions, participants performed EFs test in a randomized order: while the individual was seated on a cycle ergometer without pedaling (i.e., rest condition); and during physical exercise (pedaling for 30 minutes at moderate intensity before starting the EFs test during exercising). On the fourth day, blood samples were drawn. Our results showed that the response time of the COMT Val homozygotes group was significantly shorter than the COMT Met-carrier group [t(39.78) = 2.13, p = .039,d = 0.56] at rest condition. No significant association was found for the other analyses (DRD2/ANKK1 and BDNF). In conclusion, the present study suggests that COMT Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphisms may be associated with EFs at rest condition. However, further studies are needed to validate this association.

Discentes de educação física de universidades públicas conceituadas sabem parcialmente o conceito de bullying / Students of physical education from concepted public universities partially know the bullying concept

RESUMO Bullying pode ser conceituado como todas as atitudes agressivas, intencionais e repetidas que causam dor e angústia, sendo executadas dentro de uma relação desigual de poder. Deste modo, parece que três elementos são cruciais (agressão; repetição; dor e desconforto) na conceituação do fenômeno, no qual precisam aparecer de modo articulado, tornando o conceito complexo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi verificar o conhecimento de acadêmicos de licenciatura em Educação Física sobre o conceito de bullying. Participaram do estudo 191 estudantes. Utilizou-se de entrevista estruturada, sendo a mesma gravada e posteriormente transcrita. As estatísticas utilizadas foram o teste de Qui-quadrado, o cálculo da Razão de Possibilidades (OR) e o Intervalo de Confiança (CI). Os resultados apontaram que os alunos de Educação Física, sabem parcialmente, em sua maioria, o conceito de bullying [χ²(2) = 237,25; p < 0,001]. Os sujeitos não apresentaram ou apresentaram de modo incompleto as unidades que caracterizam o fenômeno. Em conclusão, sugere-se que os cursos de Educação Física devam ampliar as discussões e estudos a cerca do bullying.

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to verify the knowledge of undergraduate students in physical education about the concept of bullying. The sample consisted of 191 students. We used a structured interview, which was recorded and later transcribed. The statistics used were the chi-square test, the odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI). The results showed that the physical education undergraduate students who participated in this study, partially know the concept of bullying [χ² (2) = 237,25; p <0.001]. The subjects did not present or incompletely presented the units that characterize the phenomenon. Thus, it is suggested that undergraduate physical education courses should broaden discussions and studies about bullying.