Perceived Autonomy Support and Motivation in Young People: A Comparative Investigation of Physical Education and Leisure-Time in Four Countries.

Physical education focuses on the development of sports skills as well as fitness for health. In Central European countries there has been a shift in these focuses since the fall of Communism to follow internationally-recognised health-related physical activity recommendations, similar to Western European countries. In this study we investigated the extent to which motivation from school physical education transfers to leisure-time physical activity providing autonomy support by three social agents: school (physical education teachers), family and peers. Our study utilised the Aetological Approach (AA), Ecological Model (EM) and the Trans-Contextual Model (TCM) that consists of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to explore how autonomous motivation is transferred between contexts (physical education, leisure-time and current behaviour). Nine-hundred and seventy-four students aged 11-18 (55% girls) participated in our study from four countries: Hungary, United Kingdom, Romania and Slovakia. A prospective research design was employed, and questionnaires were administered at three time points. Using 7-point Likert scales, attitude, usefulness, and affectiveness were measured. Furthermore, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) were tested within TPB. Autonomous and controlling motivation were measured within SDT by administering the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise questionnaires (BREQ and BREQ-2). Finally, past physical activity, intention and current physical activity behaviours were tested. Results indicated that perceived autonomy support from family and friends predicted autonomous motivation towards leisure-time physical activity in all four countries. However, teachers' behaviour in some Eastern European countries did not predict this transfer. In general, in line with previous literature, boys reported more physical activity than girls. A strong influencing factor in the path model was that past behaviour predicted current behaviour, and according to that factor, boys reported being more active than girls.Boys also perceived more support from PE teachers than girls which was likely to have influenced their autonomous motivation in PE, which in turn transferred to leisure time. We discuss these results in the context of theories exploring the role of motivation and social environment on children's choices related to physical activity. In conclusion, we suggest providing more autonomy support, especially by schools, for the enhancement of autonomous motivation of young people to promote their leisure time physical activity.

Physical fitness for sedentary students: a common trend from six European countries.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have assessed the fitness level of students to evaluate physical condition, compare groups with differences in social disadvantage and to define indexes for post training programs. Often, these large surveys compared groups without normative value that could define the real, practical gaps. Thus, the aim of this study was the definition of baseline values describing the fitness level of sedentary European students. METHODS: Standing broad jump (SBJ), sit up (SUP) and sit and reach (SAR) physical fitness tests were assessed on 31,476 students (age=11-13) from 6 European countries were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The effect size for multiple groups ANOVA was obtained to verify the biological consistence of differences. Then, weighted-means were calculated and stratified for age and gender. Overall, boys obtained SAR scores close to zero, while girls obtained results between 2 and 7 cm. The SUP test revealed similar results between boys and girls (about 20). SBJ performances were similar among countries (over 160 cm for boys and 150 for girls). CONCLUSIONS: Our results were aligned to other studies performed in other Continents or Countries and can contribute to the establishment of a large and objective reference to readily evaluate the physical fitness and health-related status of young students.

An investigation into the relationship between pre-competition mood states, age, gender and a national ranking in artistic gymnastics.

This study investigated the relationship between pre-competition mood state factors in gymnastics by gender, age and a national ranking. Participant-gymnasts (total n=116, male n=49, female n=67) completed a Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) one day prior to their main competition of the year. Information was also gathered from gymnasts of gender, age and a national ranking. Consistent with theoretical predictions, results confirmed that a number of pre-competition mood states differed by age with both juniors and seniors having a higher level of anger than children (p<.05 respectively). Also, seniors demonstrated higher tension than children (p<.001). However, only anger showed significant differences by gender with male gymnasts demonstrating higher levels of anger than female gymnasts (p<.05), and with international gymnasts registering higher levels of anger compared with second class gymnasts (p<.05). Authors suggest that future research should investigate relationships between the pre-competition mood in other gymnastics-related disciplines and sports, as well as competitive performances.

The prevalence of sedentary behaviours and physical activity in Hungarian youth.

BACKGROUND: The study of sedentary behaviour is becoming much more visible, alongside research on physical activity. Few published studies, however, originate from Eastern or Central Europe. METHOD: Prevalence and point estimate data of key leisure time sedentary and active behaviours are reported from Hungary, a country that has been through an important political transition in the past two decades. Participants (n = 301) aged 13-18 years completed time-use diaries over 4 days for time outside of school. Sedentary and active behaviours were coded and analysed. RESULTS: TV viewing reflected trends found elsewhere and was the most prevalent sedentary behaviour. Physical activity levels were low. The next most time-consuming sedentary weekday activities were homework, motorized transport, sitting and talking and playing computer/video games. Gender differences were different to some other countries, with girls reporting more computer game use and boys more sitting and talking, but these may reflect cultural and reporting differences. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first comprehensive description of sedentary behavioural prevalence in Hungarian youth.

Emotional intelligence and emotions associated with optimal and dysfunctional athletic performance.

This study investigated relationships between self-report measures of emotional intelligence and memories of pre-competitive emotions before optimal and dysfunctional athletic performance. Participant-athletes (n = 284) completed a self-report measure of emotional intelligence and two measures of pre-competitive emotions; a) emotions experienced before an optimal performance, and b) emotions experienced before a dysfunctional performance. Consistent with theoretical predictions, repeated MANOVA results demonstrated pleasant emotions associated with optimal performance and unpleasant emotions associated with dysfunctional performance. Emotional intelligence correlated with pleasant emotions in both performances with individuals reporting low scores on the self-report emotional intelligence scale appearing to experience intense unpleasant emotions before dysfunctional performance. We suggest that future research should investigate relationships between emotional intelligence and emotion-regulation strategies used by athletes. Key pointsAthletes reporting high scores of self-report emotional intelligence tend to experience pleasant emotions.Optimal performance is associated with pleasant emotions and dysfunctional performance is associated with unpleasant emotions.Emotional intelligence might help athletes recognize which emotional states help performance.

Fitness test results of Hungarian and international-level soccer referees and assistants.

The aim of our research was primarily to compare the conditional abilities of European countries' Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) referees with those of Hungarian national and county referees and, secondly, to investigate whether the stop tests of FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) provide reliable discrimination criteria between the different levels of referees. The main focuses of our research were speed and endurance, which were measured by the stop tests of FIFA and UEFA-namely, 50- and 200-m sprint runs and a 12-minute run, respectively (Cooper test). In our study, the test results of 2459 soccer referees were analyzed; they include the results of the total Hungarian population of referees and the results from 17 different European countries. Referees were classified into 6 different levels according to their qualifications. The results show that in the 12-minute run, FIFA referees covered the longest distance (3043 +/- 127 m), followed by the Hungarian elite referees (2939 +/- 136 m); less distance was covered by county III-level referees (2522 +/- 270 m). Differences between groups in the endurance event were significant (p < 0.05) in all cases. In the sprint runs, there was no difference between FIFA and Hungarian elite referees. In both sprints, FIFA-level and Hungarian elite referees performed the fastest times, and county III-level referees had the slowest times. It can be concluded that the aerobic fitness level demonstrated in the 12-minute run provides the most adequate criteria for discrimination between different competitive levels. Hungarian elite referees, on the basis of their fitness test results, are comparable with international-level referees. The major quality step in a referee's career can be located at the third-division competition level.