Variety support and exercise adherence behavior: experimental and mediating effects.

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the provision of variety (i.e., variety support) is related to exercise behavior among physically inactive adults and the extent to which the 'experience of variety' mediates those effects. One hundred and twenty one inactive university students were randomly assigned to follow a high or low variety support exercise program for 6 weeks. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 3- and 6-weeks. Participants in the high variety support condition displayed higher levels of adherence to the exercise program than those in the low variety support condition [F(1, 116) = 5.55, p = .02, η(p)(2) = .05] and the relationship between variety support and adherence was mediated by perceived variety (ß = .16, p < .01). Exercise-related variety support holds potential to be an efficacious method for facilitating greater exercise adherence behaviors of previously inactive people by fostering perceptions of variety.

GrOup based physical Activity for oLder adults (GOAL) randomized controlled trial: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity has health benefits across the lifespan, yet only 13 % of Canadian older adults are sufficiently active. Results from a number of observational studies indicate that adults display positive preferences for exercising with others of a similar age and same gender, and that intra-group age- and gender-similarity are associated with elevated exercise adherence. However, research has yet to experimentally examine the extent to which intra-group age- and gender-related similarity affect exercise adherence behaviors. METHODS/DESIGN: The GrOup-based physical Activity for oLder adults (GOAL) trial is a three-arm randomized control trial that will examine the efficacy of two different group-based exercise programs for older adults (informed by the tenets of self-categorization theory) in relation to a standard group-based exercise program. Within this manuscript we outline the design and proposed evaluation of the GOAL trial. The first arm is comprised of exercise groups made up of participants of a similar-age and of the same gender; the second arm consists of groups with similar-aged mixed gender participants; the control arm is comprised of mixed-aged mixed gender participants. We aim to compare the adherence rates of participants across conditions, as well as potential moderation effects and mediating mechanisms. DISCUSSION: Results from this trial will inform intervention designs to improve the exercise adherence behaviors of older adult. At a systems-level, should support be derived for the efficacy of the interventions tested in this trial, changing group composition (i.e., age, gender) represents a feasible program adaptation for physical activity centers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT02023632 . Registered December 13, 2013.

Assessing what generates precompetitive emotions: development of the precompetitive appraisal measure.

Athletes' precompetitive appraisal determines which emotion they experience with regard to an upcoming competition. Such precompetitive emotions have powerful and potentially destructive consequences for performance. To control and optimise these consequences, it is important to examine precompetitive appraisal. Currently, such efforts are hampered by the lack of a valid measurement tool. The present study aimed to develop a novel measure of precompetitive appraisal. Specifically, the Precompetitive Appraisal Measure (PAM) was constructed by adapting an existing self-report scale. Female and male intercollegiate team sport athletes (N = 384) completed the PAM, along with a measure of intensity and interpretation of precompetitive anxiety symptoms (CSAI-2D) prior to competition. On these responses, (a) a Principal Component Analysis and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the PAM's suggested two-factor structure (Primary and Secondary Appraisal), (b) cluster analyses indicated the measure's ability to distinguish theoretically congruent appraisal profiles (Threat and Challenge) and (c) a MANOVA and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that PAM-responses predicted precompetitive symptom intensity and interpretation. Further, analyses revealed that the majority of athletes appraised the upcoming competition as a challenge.

Appraisal in a Team Context: Perceptions of Cohesion Predict Competition Importance and Prospects for Coping.

Athletes' precompetitive appraisal is important because it determines emotions, which may impact performance. When part of a team, athletes make their appraisal within a social context, and in this study we examined whether perceived team cohesion, as a characteristic of this context, related to appraisal. We asked 386 male and female intercollegiate team-sport athletes to respond to measures of cohesion and precompetitive appraisal before an in-season game. For males and females, across all teams, (a) an appraisal of increased competition importance was predicted by perceptions of higher task cohesion (individual level), better previous team performance, and a weaker opponent (team level) and (b) an appraisal of more positive prospects for coping with competitive demands was predicted by higher individual attractions to the group (individual level). Consequently, athletes who perceive their team as more cohesive likely appraise the pending competition as a challenge, which would benefit both emotions and performance.

Everything is cool when you're part of a team? The effects of outcome interdependence on appraisal, emotions, and performance under pressure.

Pressure is an innate feature of competition and stimulates cognitions and emotions that can both reduce and enhance performance. Similarly, teams are ubiquitous in sport and influence their members in various ways. Yet, we know little about the ways in which teams influence their members' responses to pressure, whether they are an added demand, inducing social indispensability and exacerbating the effects of pressure, or a resource, providing shared responsibility and buffering pressure effects. We conducted a field experiment across two samples of skilled handball players (N = 189) to test how outcome interdependence vs. independence influenced athletes' appraisals of task importance and coping prospects, anxiety and excitement, and penalty shooting performance under lower vs. higher situational pressure, and to what extent performance order and teammate skill moderated these effects. We found that pressure increased task importance and emotional intensity yet being part of a team or not made little difference. Descriptively, interdependence did attenuate the increase in anxiety under higher pressure and, if paired with skilled teammates, strengthen the increase in excitement. Yet, weak pressure manipulations, insensitive samples and measures require replication and prohibit conclusive interpretations regarding the influence of teams on members' responses to pressure.

"Switching the mind off completely" - Understanding the psychology of rest in coaches.

OBJECTIVES: To better understand the psychology of rest in coaches. Rest appears to be important for coping, recovery, and well-being in coaches, yet there is limited research on and in turn understanding of this concept in this population. DESIGN: A qualitative description study design was employed. METHOD: 22 NCAA Division I coaches were interviewed about what rest means to them, key barriers to rest in coaching, and strategies employed to obtain rest in the face of these barriers. A codebook thematic analysis was undertaken to examine the analytical generalizability (Smith, 2018) to the coaching context of an extant model of the psychology of rest in athletes (Eccles & Kazmier, 2019). RESULTS: The Eccles-Kazmier model appears to offer some analytical generalizability to the coaching context. Consistent with the model, the process of resting in coaches involves both sleep and resting while awake. Resting while awake involves (a) a break from thinking about work, (b) a break from effortful thinking generally, and (c) engaging in life outside coaching. However, departures from the model were also observed; specifically, unlike for athletes, the wakeful resting process for coaches does not appear to involve assuming control or experiencing variety. CONCLUSION: The findings advance the current understanding of the constituents of rest in coaches and can inform coach education about how to obtain the rest needed to perform effectively and stay healthy.

Psychological mediators of exercise adherence among older adults in a group-based randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychological mediators of exercise adherence among older adults in a group-based physical activity randomized controlled trial. METHOD: Older adults (≥65 years) were randomized to one of three conditions as part of the "GrOup-based physical Activity for oLder adults" (GOAL) randomized controlled trial. These included similar age same gender (SASG) and similar age mixed gender (SAMG) exercise programs that were informed by the tenets of self-categorization theory, and a "standard" mixed age mixed gender (MAMG) exercise program. Participants represented a subgroup (n = 483, Mage = 71.41 years) from the larger trial (n = 627) who completed measures of the trial's putative psychological mediators (i.e., group cohesion and affective attitudes) over the course of the 24-week exercise programs. RESULTS: Piecewise latent growth modeling revealed different trajectories between participants in the two intervention conditions (SASG, SAMG) when compared with the comparison MAMG condition with regard to perceptions of group cohesion and affective attitudes. Results of subsequent cross-lagged panel modeling revealed that better program adherence in the two intervention conditions, when compared with the referent MAMG condition, was mediated by perceptions of group cohesion. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide insight into how the two intervention programs differentially strengthened perceptions of group cohesion and affective attitudes over time. Consistent with self-categorization theory, the results also shed light on the role of group cohesion, in particular, as a psychological mechanism of action to promote older adults' exercise adherence behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Group-Based Exercise on Flourishing and Stigma Consciousness among Older Adults: Findings from a Randomised Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: To examine the extent to which group-based exercise programs, informed by self-categorisation theory, result in improvements in psychological flourishing and reductions in age- and gender-related stigma consciousness among older adults. METHODS: In the study, older adults (N = 485, ≥ 65 years) were randomised to similar age same gender (SASG), similar age mixed gender (SAMG), or "standard" mixed age mixed gender (MAMG) group-based exercise programs. Flourishing and stigma consciousness were assessed on six occasions during the 24-week intervention and represented secondary trial outcomes. Multilevel growth models examined the effects of the interventions on flourishing and stigma consciousness over time. RESULTS: Participants in the SASG and SAMG conditions demonstrated, on average, higher levels of flourishing, relative to the MAMG condition, over the course of the 24 weeks (p < .05). Additionally, participants demonstrated lower levels of age- and gender-related stigma consciousness in both the SASG and SAMG conditions relative to the MAMG condition (p < .05). No time by group interaction effects were observed for either flourishing or stigma consciousness. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide some support for the utility of group exercise programs, informed by self-categorisation theory, to enhance psychological flourishing and reduce stigma consciousness among older adults.

Group-based physical activity for older adults (GOAL) randomized controlled trial: Exercise adherence outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Despite the health benefits of regular physical activity, across the globe older adults represent the least active section of society. PURPOSE: The GrOup-based physical Activity for oLder adults (GOAL) trial was a three-arm parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) that was designed to test the efficacy of two group-based exercise programs for older adults, informed by self-categorization theory (SCT), in comparison to a standard group-based exercise program. METHODS: RCT conducted in Greater Vancouver, Canada, enrolled 627 older adults (Mage = 71.57 years, SD = 5.41; 71.0% female). Participants were randomized to similar age same gender (SASG), similar age mixed gender (SAMG), or 'standard' mixed age mixed gender (MAMG) exercise group conditions. In addition to group composition, the intervention programs operationalized principles from SCT designed to foster a sense of social connectedness among participants. The primary outcome of the trial was exercise adherence behavior over 12 and 24 weeks. RESULTS: Analyses of variance revealed that older adults randomized to the SAMG (12-weeks d = .51, p < .001; 24-weeks d = .47, p < .001) and SASG (12-weeks d = .28, p = .012; 24-weeks d = .29, p = .016) conditions adhered to a greater extent than those in the MAMG comparison condition. There were no significant differences between the SAMG and SASG conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide support for the efficacy of group-based physical activity programs informed by SCT. Furthermore, the results suggest that community group-based exercise programs should attempt to engage in age-targeting but not necessarily gender-targeting among older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record

Effects of Variety Support on Exercise-Related Well-Being.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to experimentally examine the extent to which variety support in a resistance exercise program influences exercise-related well-being among inactive adults. METHODS: A sample of 121 inactive university students were randomly assigned and participated in either a high or low variety support 6-week exercise program. Measures of exercise-related perceived variety, positive affect, negative affect, and subjective vitality were completed at baseline, after 3 weeks, and after 6 weeks (i.e. post-test). RESULTS: Through use of structural equation modelling, the results showed that for those who completed measures at post-test (i.e. n = 55), and for all participants who received variety support (i.e. a modified intention-to-treat analysis; N = 121), exercise-related variety support indirectly explained higher levels of exercise-related positive affect, and subjective vitality, and lower levels of negative affect, through the mediating role of perceived variety. CONCLUSIONS: The provision of variety support in a resistance exercise program influences exercise-related well-being through perceptions of variety. Results are discussed in relation to the potential utility of providing variety support to promote exercise-related well-being in people who are physically inactive.