Athletic identity affects prevalence and disclosure of emotional abuse in Finnish athletes.

The present study offers novel insight into the topic of experienced and observed emotional abuse by researching factors that affect athletes' responses to emotional abuse by coaches. The research aimed to explore three main questions: (1) whether athletic identity was associated with the prevalence of emotionally abusive coaching practices, and (2) disclosure of emotional abuse, and (3) whether demographic variations existed in the frequency of emotional abuse, athletic identity, and disclosure of the abuse. Study participants who filled in an anonymous digital survey consisted of athletes from elite to leisure levels living in Finland (N = 3687, aged 12-80, gender 61% female, 37.7% male, 0.8% other genders). The research findings highlighted three key insights. Firstly, Pearson correlations revealed that a salient athletic identity was related to a higher prevalence of emotional abuse. Secondly, ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests between-groups indicated that particularly children were susceptible to the abuse. Thirdly, a mediation analysis showed that self-identity (aspect of athletic identity) influenced the relationship between experienced emotional abuse and disclosure, by reducing disclosure. As a result, holistic identity development is recommended for athletes and particularly children in sports.

Social media threats and health among adolescents: evidence from the health behaviour in school-aged children study.

BACKGROUND: Social media are immensely popular among adolescents. Thus, concerns have been raised about the threats adolescents encounter on social media and the possible negative health consequences, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety. This study investigated the prevalence of nine social media threats: (1) cyberbullying, (2) sexual harassment, (3) racism, (4) unauthorized distribution of sensitive material, (5) phishing attempts, (6) misinformation, (7) the sale or distribution of drugs, (8) harmful or dangerous social media challenges, (9) content causing appearance pressures. The study also investigated how individual and social factors, problematic social media use (PSMU), and online communication with strangers are associated with social media threat exposure, as well as the association between social media threats and self-rated health, depressive feelings, and anxiety symptoms. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Nationally representative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) data from Finland were obtained from 2288 respondents aged 11, 13, and 15 years. Fixed effects regression models were applied. The most common threat, encountered daily and weekly, was misinformation. Regression models showed that individual and social factors, PSMU, and online communication with strangers explained adolescent exposure to social media threats in differing ways. Furthermore, certain factors (e.g., emotional intelligence, family support) were associated with encountering social media threats less frequently, whereas other factors (e.g., PSMU, online communication with strangers) were associated with more frequent encounters. Daily and weekly exposure to social media threats was systematically associated with poor self-rated health, frequent depressive feelings, and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the need for intervention and health promotion efforts to mitigate adolescent exposure to social media threats and ensuing negative health consequences.

Leadership in Finnish elite football: associations between players' self-assessed leadership roles and player-assessed head coach leadership behavior by player gender and age.

We investigated the associations between Finnish top tier footballers' self-assessed leadership roles (task, motivational, social, external) and player-assessed head coach leadership behavior (supportiveness/emotional composure, negative activation) and leadership role in both practices and games. We also explored the player age- and gender-related differences. Online survey data were anonymously collected from 53 male and 91 female footballers. One player did not identify as male or female, and one chose not to answer the question. Spearman rank-order correlations revealed that players' self-assessed leadership roles correlated positively with their evaluation of their head coach's supportiveness/emotional composure and negatively with negative activation during practices and games. Independent samples T-tests showed that male footballers rated their head coaches lower on negative activation during games and practices and themselves higher on external leadership than female players. The youngest age group, aged 17-20, rated themselves also lower on external leadership than the three older groups.

Associations between Teacher- and Student-directed Sexual and Physical Violence in Physical Education.

This study examined relationships between teachers' perceptions of verbal and non-verbal sexual harassment and physical violence against teachers and among students in physical education (PE). Participants were 175 (females 122, males 53) Finnish PE teachers between 27 and 62 years (M = 44.8 ± 9.2 years). The cross-sectional data were collected by an anonymous online survey in the fall semester 2018. The findings showed that (a) higher levels of verbal sexual harassment and physical violence among students were associated with higher levels of equivalent types of violence against PE teachers, (b) higher levels of verbal and non-verbal sexual harassment among students were associated with higher levels of physical assaults among students, whereas only non-verbal sexual harassment was associated with physical violence against teachers, and (c) verbal sexual harassment and physical violence among students occurred more frequently in PE classes instructed by less experienced teachers. The results indicated that to prevent both teacher- and student-directed verbal sexual harassment and physical violence in school PE, special attention could be given to the positive development of student-student relationships.

Contribution of Motivational Climates and Social Competence in Physical Education on Overall Physical Activity: A Self-Determination Theory Approach with a Creative Physical Education Twist.

Using a cross-sectional study design, we tested a structural equation model of hypothesized relationships among a group of variables: motivational climate in physical education (PE), students' social competence in PE, out of-school physical activity (PA) motivation, PA intention and their moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). Based on the self-reports of 363 fourth to sixth grade elementary school students (172 girls, 191 boys), the model revealed that the task-involving motivational climate in PE was linked to higher MVPA via cooperation in PE, and also via extrinsic motivation and PA intention. Ego-involving motivational climate was related to higher extrinsic motivation and amotivation, further to higher PA intention and, finally, to higher MVPA. Task-involving motivational climate was positively linked to students' social competence markers of cooperation and empathy, and negatively to disruptiveness. Ego-involving motivational climate was positively related to disruptiveness and impulsivity, the markers of low social competence. The study showed that the motivational climate and co-operational aspect of social competence both played significant roles in students' PA motivation, PA intention and MVPA. A pedagogical model that brings the learning of social competence relevant skills to the fore is creative physical education (CPE). Analysis of CPE is provided which highlights teaching behaviors which contribute to the students' MVPA through motivational climates, co-operation, PA motivation and PA intention.

The Effects of Intensive Weight Reduction on Body Composition and Serum Hormones in Female Fitness Competitors.

Worries about the potential negative consequences of popular fat loss regimens for aesthetic purposes in normal weight females have been surfacing in the media. However, longitudinal studies investigating these kinds of diets are lacking. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a 4-month fat-loss diet in normal weight females competing in fitness-sport. In total 50 participants finished the study with 27 females (27.2 ± 4.1 years) dieting for a competition and 23 (27.7 ± 3.7 years) acting as weight-stable controls. The energy deficit of the diet group was achieved by reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing aerobic exercise while maintaining a high level of protein intake and resistance training in addition to moderate fat intake. The diet led to a ~12% decrease in body weight (P < 0.001) and a ~35-50% decrease in fat mass (DXA, bioimpedance, skinfolds, P < 0.001) whereas the control group maintained their body and fat mass (diet × group interaction P < 0.001). A small decrease in lean mass (bioimpedance and skinfolds) and in vastus lateralis muscle cross-sectional area (ultrasound) were observed in diet (P < 0.05), whereas other results were unaltered (DXA: lean mass, ultrasound: triceps brachii thickness). The hormonal system was altered during the diet with decreased serum concentrations of leptin, triiodothyronine (T3), testosterone (P < 0.001), and estradiol (P < 0.01) coinciding with an increased incidence of menstrual irregularities (P < 0.05). Body weight and all hormones except T3 and testosterone returned to baseline during a 3-4 month recovery period including increased energy intake and decreased levels aerobic exercise. This study shows for the first time that most of the hormonal changes after a 35-50% decrease in body fat in previously normal-weight females can recover within 3-4 months of increased energy intake.

Low serum HDL-cholesterol levels are associated with long symptom duration in patients with major depressive disorder.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the association between depression and the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is modified by symptom duration. METHODS: Depressed patients (n = 88) and an age- and sex-matched group of healthy general population controls (n = 88) underwent a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), and depressed participants reported the duration of their symptoms. The serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG) and non-HDL, and the ratios of LDL-C/HDL and TC/HDL-C were assessed. RESULTS: Major depressive disorder (MDD) subjects with a long symptom duration (>or=3 years) had lower levels of HDL-C compared with healthy controls or MDD subjects with a symptom duration <3 years. The likelihood for long symptom duration doubled for each 0.5-mmol/L decrease in HDL-C levels in regression models adjusted for age, gender, marital status, overweight, symptom severity, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical exercise, medication use, and non-HDL-C (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a low serum HDL-C level, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, is specifically associated with long-term depressive symptomatology.

The associations of emotion regulation and dysregulation with the metabolic syndrome factor.

OBJECTIVE: Emotion regulation has been associated with good, and dysregulation with poor subjective health; but it is unclear if emotion regulation is related to metabolic syndrome. METHODS: Associations between the metabolic syndrome factor (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and glucose), emotion regulation (the strategies of repair and maintenance, self-perceived emotion regulation) and dysregulation (emotional ambivalence); and subjective health (self-rated health and psychosomatic symptoms) were studied using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. The participants (96 women, 85 men) were drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS). RESULTS: High repair was associated directly to the low metabolic syndrome factor, while high maintenance, high self-perceived emotion regulation, and low emotional ambivalence were related indirectly to the low metabolic syndrome factor through good subjective health. CONCLUSIONS: Successful emotion regulation may have an association not only with the subjective experience of health, but also with physiological regulation systems, leading to a reduced risk for metabolic syndrome.