Perceptions of barriers and levers of health-enhancing physical activity policies in mid-size French municipalities.

BACKGROUND: Policy is one of the levers for initiating structural change to foster the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA). To this end, policy-makers have to deal with complex ecosystems embedded in specific contexts. However, limited research has been conducted on this topic at the local level. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived barriers and levers of HEPA policies according to department heads and elected officials across various sectors in mid-size French municipalities. METHODS: This study used a mixed method primarily based on an adaptation of the concept mapping approach. A list of statements completing the sentence: 'In a mid-size municipal context, to develop HEPA policies, it is necessary to …' was submitted to key informants of 17 mid-sized French cities. Key informants in each municipality first rated the importance of each statement without considering their local context; they then rated the feasibility of each statement given their local context. In both cases, they used a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 6. RESULTS: A total of 23 municipal department heads and 10 elected officials from the sport (n = 14), health (n = 10) and social (n = 9) sectors in 11 mid-size French cities participated in this study. A list of 84 statements, sorted into 16 categories, was rated by participants according to their importance (M = 4.52, SD = 0.86) and their feasibility (M = 3.77, SD = 0.74). Potential barriers to (n = 10) and levers of (n = 38) HEPA policy development were identified. These results varied according to the position and sector of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that local contextual factors can affect the development of HEPA policies in mid-size French municipalities. The different perceptions of the potential levers and barriers according to sector might affect intersectoral collaboration. This study contributes by enhancing understanding of how local HEPA policies are developed in the French context.

Impact of improved urban environment and coaching on physical condition and quality of life in elderly women: a controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity can slow the ageing process and preserve autonomy in the elderly. The aim of this study was to assess the combined impact of an organized urban walking circuit and individual coaching on women senior citizens' physical well-being and quality of life. METHODS: Insufficiently physically active women >65 years were included in a quasi-experimental trial. Active arm: District with improved urban environment (IUE). Control arm: District without improved urban environment (WIUE). In each district, subjects were randomly allocated to receive coaching (C+ vs. C-). The main outcome measures were endurance, physical activity score, flexibility, quality of life, physical self-esteem, ageing exercise stereotypes, functional health and perceived health at baseline, three (M3) and six (M6) months. RESULTS: Fifty-two insufficiently physically active women were included, 23 in IUE and 29 in WIUE. Groups were comparable at baseline. At M3, endurance and physical activity score significantly improved compared with baseline in the IUE group and in the C+ group while no statistically significant change was observed for the WIUE group and the C- group. Moreover, endurance score was higher in the IUE group, whether coupled with coaching or not. After the coaching was removed, the IUE group regresses to baseline overall and the WIUE shows a decrement in endurance. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the positive impact of an improved environment and of individual coaching on the level of physical activity and quality of life of insufficiently physically active elderly women.

Testing the effect of text messaging cues to promote physical activity habits: a worksite-based exploratory intervention.

This study aims to test the efficacy of text messaging cues (SMS) to promote physical activity (PA) habit formation in the workplace. Employees (N = 49; 28 females and 21 males, Mage = 47.5 ± 8.29 years) were randomized into two parallel groups: a PA group enrolled in a 28-week supervised PA program and a PA+SMS group enrolled in the same PA program with text messaging cues received before their PA sessions. The exercise habit was assessed every week from self-reports on an online application. PA maintenance and several physical fitness measures were also assessed prior to and after the intervention to evaluate its general impact. Mixed model analysis of the 603 observations indicated a small but significant effect of the SMS cues on the speed at which participants engaged in PA behaviors, as the significant interaction effect revealed that the slope of the exercise habit over time was slightly steeper in the PA+SMS group (B = 0.0462, P = 0.0001) than in the PA group (B = 0.0216, P = 0.01). SMS delivery had a marginal effect on the maintenance of PA behaviors 1 year after the intervention. The results suggest that text messaging can help to form PA habits at the workplace and might facilitate long-term maintenance of PA behaviors.

Is motivation for marathon a protective factor or a risk factor of injury?

This research investigated whether and how self-determined motivation predicts perceived susceptibility to injury during competition (marathon). Two correlational studies including 378 (Study 1) and 339 (Study 2) marathon runners were conducted. Participants filled out a questionnaire the day before the race measuring self-determined motivation, perceived susceptibilities to marathon-related injury and to keep running through pain, and control variables. Study 1 showed that self-determined motivation was negatively related to perceived susceptibility to marathon-related injury. Study 2 replicated this finding and showed that this relationship was partially mediated by perceived susceptibility to keep running through pain during the race. Moreover, results indicated that the predictive role of self-determination was mostly driven by controlled forms of motivation, and more particularly external regulation. These results suggest that self-determined motivation for sport is a protective factor of injury.

[External and internal validity of a multidimensional Locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes (LOCSCAS)]. / Étude de la validité interne et externe d'une échelle multidimensionnelle de Locus de contrôle spécifique aux comportements alimentaires des sportifs (LOCSCAS).

In the field of health psychology, the control has consistently been considered as a protective factor. This protective role has been also highlighted in eating attitudes' domain. However, current studies use the one-dimensional scale of Rotter or the multidimensional health locus of control scale, and no specific eating attitudes' scale in the sport context exists. Moreover, the social influence in previous scales is limited. According to recent works, the purpose of this study was to test the internal and external validity of a multidimensional locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were solicited. A confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted in order to test the internal validity of the scale. The scale external validity was tested in relation to eating attitudes. The internal validity of the scale was verified as well as the external validity, which confirmed the importance of taking into consideration social influences. Indeed, the 2 subscales "Trainers, friends" and "Parents, family" are related respectively positively and negatively in eating disorders.

Can exercise change the stereotypes associated with individuals with cancer?

The purpose of this study was to examine whether exercising can positively influence the stereotypes associated with individuals with cancer and, more specifically, have an effect on the impression formation related to warmth and competence. A total of 193 French college students (Mage = 21.08, SD = 1.44 years; 88 females and 105 males) were randomly assigned to one of the conditions of a 2 (participant sex) × 2 (target health status: cancer vs no information) × 3 (target exercise status: exerciser vs non-exerciser vs no information) experimental design. Results indicated that exercising target with cancer was perceived as the most competent compared with targets with cancer and those without information about cancer. These results suggest that exercising could be an effective way to undermine cancer stereotypes and reduce discrimination against people with cancer.

[Development and factorial validity of a moral disengagement in Sport Short Scale]. / Développement et validation d'une échelle courte mesurant le désengagement moral en sport (ECDMS).

BACKGROUND: According to Bandura, individuals are able to violate their personal standards, without self-sanction, by using the psychological operations of moral disengagement. For Bandura et al., moral disengagement is characterized by eight mechanisms belonging to one of the following four groups: (a) reconstructing conduct; (b) reconsideration of negative effects; (c) disqualification of the victim; and (d) obscuring of personal causal agency. Other researchers have measured moral disengagement in various contexts of everyday life using Bandura et al.'s scale and suggested that moral disengagement mechanisms would fall into two or three groups according to context. One context in which moral issues have a major role is sport. METHODS: Three complementary studies were carried out on a total of 1305 young French adult athletes to develop and validate a Short French Questionnaire of Moral Disengagement in Sport (SFQMDS) and to test its invariance according to gender. STUDY 1: With reference to the existing literature, an initial French version of the SFQDMS was developed. French university students (n=220) then voluntarily completed the questionnaire. The validity of this preliminary version and the clarity of the items were examined and ascertained, and factorial analyses identified 10 items that loaded onto two factors (i.e., projecting fault onto others or sharing of responsibility; minimization of transgression and their consequences). Each factor displayed good internal consistency. STUDY 2: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using AMOS 7.0 software. The sample included 1021 French university students (M(age)=21.52; SD=2.34). The first analysis of the data from 298 French students suggested that four items should be eliminated. The six-item model was then tested with a CFA of the data from 723 other participants (M(age)=21.51; SD=2.34) and exhibited acceptable fit indices: (χ² [8, 723]=1.54; p>0.09; GFI=0.97; TLI=0.97; CFI=0.97; RMSEA=0.03; RMSEA LO/HI=0.01/0.05). These results confirmed the bifactorial structure of the instrument, as well as its partial invariance across genders at the most complex level (i.e., strict) of its factorial structure. These statistical analyses demonstrated the excellent internal consistency and very good construct validity of the SFQDMS. STUDY 3: The third study examined the temporal stability of the SFQDMS and its theoretical validity with a sample of 221 French students (M(age)=21.00; SD=2.05). Our results were found to be stable over time. From a theoretical standpoint, the SFQDMS was related to existing instruments that measure individuals' affective self-regulatory efficacy and prosocial behavior. These results demonstrated the external validity of the instrument. CONCLUSION: The overall results presented in these studies confirmed the good psychometric properties of the SFQDMS. This questionnaire consists of two subscales of three items measuring two groups of moral disengagement. The first involves projecting the fault for one's own transgressions onto others or sharing of responsibility (e.g., "It's not my fault if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because it's my opponent who started it"). The second subscale involves the minimization of transgressions and their consequences (e.g., "It's not serious if I behave badly [cheating or aggression] because I do it to keep the advantage"). This instrument is a reliable tool that could be fruitfully used in future research addressing the moral disengagement of French adolescents or adults in sport. A deeper understanding of the processes involved in moral disengagement would facilitate the development of strategies to prevent or remediate transgressive behavior in the sport domain.

Effect of locus of control on disordered eating in athletes: the mediational role of self-regulation of eating attitudes.

This study examined the influence of locus of control on disordered eating as mediated by the self-regulation of eating attitudes. The assessment instruments were adapted for athletes as the entire sample of 179 volunteer University students (M(age)=21.12; SD=2.87) were all regularly involved in competition. The results showed that (a) an internal locus of control had a positive influence on the self-regulation of eating attitudes in social interaction contexts; (b) self-regulatory eating attitudes had a negative influence on disordered eating in contexts of negative affect, social interaction, and lack of anticipation of consequences on performance; and (c) an internal locus of control had an influence on disordered eating through the mediation of self-regulatory eating attitudes in social interaction contexts, and an external locus of control attributed to the coach and sports friends had an influence on disordered eating through the mediation of self-regulatory eating attitudes in contexts of negative affect, social interaction and lack of anticipation of consequences on performance. This study, combined with an earlier study from Scoffier, Maïano, and d'Arripe-Longueville (2009) on the antecedents of athletes' eating disorders, suggests the powerful impact of the social environment on the development of disordered eating in athletes.

Development and validation of the French Self-Regulatory Eating Attitude in Sports Scale.

In this study, the French Self-Regulatory Eating Attitude in Sports Scale (SREASS) was developed and then validated. Five subscales measure the control of eating attitude in contexts of: (a) food temptation, (b) negative affects, (c) social interaction, (d) lack of compensatory strategy, and (e) lack of anticipation of consequences on performance. The validation procedure required the participation of 527 student athletes and four successive studies to develop and present a preliminary scale and assess the clarity of the items (study 1), evaluate the factorial structure validity of the scale and test the invariance across gender (study 2), assess the time stability (study 3), and assess the external validity of the instrument (study 4). The present results provide preliminary evidence for the appropriateness of the SREASS for French student athletes. Nevertheless, further evaluation of this instrument is warranted to establish the robustness of the present findings.