Physical activity and affect of the elderly: Contribution to the validation of the Positive and Negative Affect Shedule (PANAS) in the Portuguese population

The concept of affect corresponds to the emotional dimension of subjective well-being (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). It is represented by two dimensions (negative affect and positive affect), which were the basis of the development of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - PANAS (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). It was translated and validated for the Portuguese population by Galinha and Pais-Ribeiro (2005b). Nevertheless, because the Portuguese version was not validated in a sample of Portuguese elderly, the goals of this study consisted in the translation of the scale (PANAS) from the original version of 20 items and the validation of its measurement model (including a shortened version) for a sample of Portuguese elderly (n = 311), aged 60 years or older (M = 68.53; DP = 6.69); it was then tested by a confirmatory factorial analysis. The results demonstrated that the measurement model (two factors and 10 items) of the shortened Portuguese version of the PANAS presented acceptable psychometric qualities, which adjusted to the data in a satisfactory way (factorial weights ranging between .57 and .70 in positive affect and between .52 and .68 in negative affect). We also concluded that older adults who practice more physical activity perceive higher levels of positive affect F(2, 297) = 3,78, p < .05; η2 = .025, and lower levels of negative affect F (2, 297) = 6,24, p < .001; η2 = .040).This project was supported by the National Funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/DTP/04045/2019) - and the European Fund for regional development (FEDER) allocated by European Union through the COMPETE 2020 Programme (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006969).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Goal Content for the practice of physical activity and the impact on subjective well-being in older adults

The main goal of this study consisted in an analysis of the impact that the goal content that leads to the practice of physical activity in the elderly population can play on the variables that constitute subjective well-being, as well as to analyze the differences in these variables’ levels according to the amount of physical activity practiced. A total of 300 individuals participated in this study (n=300), including 238 females and 62 males, aged between 60 and 90 years old (M = 68.59; DP = 6.54), who practice differing levels of physical activity. The results enable us to conclude that the goal content for the practice of physical activity has positive effects on the perception of satisfaction with life and on affect. To the same extent, they verify that health is the motivation that has the greatest weight on the practice of physical activity. We also concluded that elderly people who practice more physical activity perceive higher levels of satisfaction with life and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affectinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reasons for dropout in swimmers, differences between gender and age and intentions to return to competition

BACKGROUND: This study’s main purpose was to analyze reasons for dropout in competitive swimmers and differences between gender and age groups. The influence of dropout on swimmers intentions to return to competition, invariance across gender and validation of Questionnaire of Reasons for Attrition were also analyzed. METHODS: Study 1 – 366 athletes participated (N.=366; mean age 15.96, SD 5.99) and the data gathered was used for the exploratory analysis, and data gathered on 1008 athletes were used for the confirmatory analysis and the structural equations (N.=1008; mean age 16.26, SD 6.12); Study 2: 1008 athletes participated (N.=1008; mean age 16.26, SD 6.12) on the descriptive and inferential analysis of the reasons behind the practice dropout. The Questionnaire of Reasons Attrition was used in both studies to assess the reasons associated with the practice dropout. RESULTS: In study 1, the results showed an acceptable fit of the measurement model and invariance across gender and also predictive validity regarding swimmers intentions to return to competition (e.g., demands/pressure” negatively predict intentions). In study 2, the main results showed that the most significant reason for dropout in both genders and all age groups was “dissatisfaction/other priorities”; the study also showed there to be differences between gender and age groups (e.g., female and younger athletes valued “demands/ pressure “more). CONCLUSIONS: This study offers useful guidelines for the training process and to support decisions on sports politics to be implemented to overcome the dropout rate. However, it is important to broaden the evidence to other sports and implement programs on identified priority areas based on longitudinal perspectives.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relação entre imagem corporal e motivação em bailarinos

Considering the importance of understanding how dancers perceive their body image, it is important to analyse the relationships that are established with other factors, namely with the way dancers regulate their behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to analyse the relationship between the way dancers regulate their behaviour and their satisfaction with body image, including a comparison between adolescents and adults.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Practice of Physical Exercise and Sports in Portuguese Trans Youth: A Case Study

The following case study aims to analyze the experience of a Portuguese trans individual regarding their practice of physical exercise (PE) and sports in Portuguese gyms and sports clubs. A 30-min interview was conducted through the Zoom platform. Before the interview, four questionnaires—Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index—were also applied, all in their Portuguese version. The interview was digitally video recorded after consent was obtained, transcribed verbatim, and subject to thematic analysis. Findings suggest positive values for satisfaction with life and quality of life. The values of positive affect were higher than those of negative affect, and there was an absence of depressive and anxious symptomatology. In the qualitative analysis, mental health was the main motive for the practice, while locker rooms separated by gender and university life were the main barriers mentioned. Mixed changing rooms were identified as facilitators of PE practice. This study highlights the importance of developing strategies for the creation of mixed changing rooms and sports teams in order to promote a comfortable and safe practice for all individuals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prevalence and characteristics of chronic pain among patients in Portuguese primary care units

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.Introduction: Chronic pain (CP) negatively impacts the lives of almost 2 billion people worldwide, including approximately 37% of adults in Portugal. As most of these patients are followed by a general practitioner, identifying the prevalence and characterizing the pain of patients who visit primary care units will provide valuable insights into the CP landscape in Portugal. Methods: To achieve this goal, an observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 58 primary care units of mainland Portugal between June 2017 and March 2018. Interviews were conducted with 8445 patients, and 578 CP patients were characterized. Results: We observed that one third of patients suffered from CP, and of these, approximately one third felt that their pain management was insufficient. Most of the population was 55 years old or older, retired, and had more than three comorbidities. However, age and the number and type of comorbidities were not predictors of pain intensity. Additionally, most of the population had pain or discomfort that hindered their mobility and the performance of their everyday activities. This decrease in the quality of life led to feelings of anxiety and depression, which were associated with pain intensity. Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of CP, strategies to improve the quality of life of these patients and decrease the negative impacts, as well as awareness campaigns to increase the populations' knowledge of this condition, are essential for the suitable and timely treatment of CP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Conteúdo dos objetivos para a prática e o seu impacto na atividade física, satisfação com a vida e afeto

As alterações demográficas que se verificam, não só no nosso país, mas à escala global, são caracterizadas pelo envelhecimento da população, levando a que a investigação se centre nos aspetos que podem contribuir para uma melhoria deste processo. Muitos têm sido os dados referentes ao impacto do envelhecimento na saúde dos sujeitos, mas também ao nível económico e social. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho centra-se na compreensão do conteúdo dos objetivos que levam os idosos a praticar atividade física, bem como na análise dos efeitos que podem desempenhar nas variáveis que constituem o bem-estar subjetivo (satisfação com a vida e afeto positivo e negativo), bem como, analisar as diferenças ao nível destas variáveis em função da quantidade de prática de atividade física. Para tal, adotámos as seguintes etapas no nosso trabalho: i) introdução geral; ii) estudos de validação dos instrumentos para uma amostra de idosos portugueses (Goal Content for Exercise Questionnaire – GCEQ; Satisfaction with Life Scale – SWLS; Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - PANAS); iii) análise do conteúdo dos objetivos para a prática de atividade física e do impacto no bem-estar subjetivo. As principais conclusões que resultam deste trabalho são as seguintes: os instrumentos apresentaram boas qualidades psicométricas para avaliar os respetivos construtos na população sénior; a saúde foi o motivo que se revelou mais importante para a prática de atividade física; foram encontrados efeitos positivos e significativos do conteúdo dos objetivos que levam os idosos à prática de atividade física sobre as variáveis do bem-estar; os idosos que praticam maior quantidade de atividade física percecionam níveis mais elevados de satisfação com a vida e afeto positivo, e níveis mais reduzidos de afeto negativo. Estes dados permitem aprofundar o conhecimento dos profissionais que trabalham com idosos no âmbito de programas de atividade física, acerca do conteúdo dos objetivos que os levam à prática, bem como, o impacto ao nível do seu bemestar subjetivo.The demographic changes that occur, not only in our country, but globally are characterized by an aging population, what leads the investigation to focus on the aspects that can improve this process. There’s a lot of data about the impact of aging on health, as well as on financial and social level. Therefore, the goal of this project is to fully understand what motivates older adults to practice physical activity, and how it affects the subject well-being, (satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect), and how the amount of exercise can also affect those variables. Bearing this in mind, we adopted the following steps to conclude our work: i) general introduction; ii) validation studies of the instruments for a sample of older Portuguese people (Goal Content for Exercise Questionnaire – GCEQ; Satisfaction with Life Scale – SWLS; Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - PANAS); iii) analysis of goal content for physical activity and its impact on subjective well-being; The main conclusions that result from this work are: the instruments have good psychometric skills to evaluate the respective constructs in older population; health was the main motive when it comes to physical activity practice; there were found positive and significant effects of the goal content that lead older people to practice physical activity on variables of well-being. Older people who practice more physical activity perceive higher levels of satisfaction with life and positive affect, as well as lower levels of negative affect. This data helps the professionals that work with older people in the context of physical activity programs to understand the goal content that lead them to practice exercise as well as its impact on the subjective well-being.Motivação, atividade física, bem-estar subjetivo, idosos

Gold Medals, Silver Medals, Bronze Medals, and Total Medals: An Analysis of Summer Paralympic Games from 1992 to 2016

The Paralympic Games (PG) are considered one of the biggest events in the world, with increasing coverage by media and participation. The present study aimed to investigate the variation in the number of gold, silver, bronze, and totals medals in the Summer PG from 1992 to 2016. Data related to the results were extracted from the International Paralympic Committee to an SPSS database. Descriptive statistics and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance by ranks were used to check the differences across medals in seven editions of the Summer PG, with the correspondent effect sizes. There was a peak in the maximum number of any type of medal between the 1996 and 2000 Summer PG and a decrease until 2008. After that, the number of any kind of medals has been increasing again. There were also significant differences with intermediate to large effect sizes when comparing more distant PG with more recent events. Several external factors can influence performance indicators (e.g., the number of medals) in a negative or positive way. An increase in the number of participants and a greater and better investment by the countries may explain part of our results. The preparation of an athlete must be based on a multidisciplinary team, and future organizing countries must take into account reports of previous events.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physical exercise and vitality: multigroup analysis according to sex and practice experience

The subjective perception of vitality is an indicator of well-being that can translate into improved quality of life. A valid and reliable instrument will allow researchers to accurately measure vitality in the context of exercise. Thus, the objective ofthe present study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS) in a Portuguese sample of physical exercise practitioners according to gender and practice experience. Data were collected from a sample of a total of 330 adults (women = 145; men = 185). Participants were aged between 18 and 64 years (M = 28.52; SD = 9.86), with a mean exercise experience of 8.14 months (SD = 6.14), and with a weekly frequency of between 1–7 times (M = 4.42; SD = 1.35). A confirmatory factor analysis of the scale's six-item measurement model and an analysis of invariance as a function of gender and practice experience were performed. The results of bivariate correlations were also analyzed toassess the nomological validity of the instrument with enjoyment and with the intention of continuing in practice. The SVS measurement model demonstrated an acceptable fit in each of the samples and the composite reliability coefficients were adequate. Correlations indicated that higher levels of vitality were associated with higher levels of enjoyment and intention to continue to practice physical exercise in the future. The measurement model proved to be invariant between samples, thus adding greater support to its validity to assess the subjective perception of vitality in the context of physical exercise. The SVS thus seems to be a reliable instrument for assessing vitality, in both sexes, as well as in people with different practiceexperiencesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Atividade física adaptada: Estratégias de intervenção com a deficiência

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio