Developmental Trajectories of Motivation in Physical Education: Course, Demographic Differences and Antecedents

This study investigated changes in student motivation to participate in physical education and some determinants of these changes over a period of three years. Measures were taken twice a year, from the age of 13 until the age of 15 years, from a sample of Greek junior high school students. Multilevel modeling analyses showed significant decreases in task-involving teacher climate, relatedness, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation. In contrast, there were significant increases in ego-involving climate and amotivation. For some of these variables the observed linear decreases or increases were somewhat reversed by the beginning of the last year of the junior high school. No significant changes were observed in competence need satisfaction and in extrinsic and introjected regulations. We found substantial between-student variability in the intercepts and growth trajectories of most variables and, therefore, we tested a number of theoretical and demographic predictors to partly account for such variations. The results indicated that increases in maladaptive motivation in physical education over time are not uniform across all students and may be partly tackled by facilitating competence need satisfaction. Keywords: Self-determination theory, changes in motivation, Greek students, psychological need satisfaction, motivational regulation

Developmental changes in achievement motivation and affect in physical education: Growth trajectories and demographic differences.

Objective: We examined changes in student achievement goals, perceptions of motivational climate and affective responses in secondary school physical education. Method: Greek junior high school students (N ¼ 394; 191 males and 203 females) responded to a multisection questionnaire twice a year from the ages of 12 to 15 years. Results: Multilevel modeling analyses showed significant linear decreases in perceptions of taskinvolving teacher climate, task and ego goal orientations, which were somewhat reversed by the beginning of the last year of the junior high school. Significant linear decreases were also observed for enjoyment whereas there were significant linear increases for perceptions of ego-involving climate and boredom. There was significant variability in the intercepts and/or average changes over time for all variables and, therefore, we included demographic and theoretical predictors in an attempt to account for such variations. Conclusion: The results indicated that decreases in adaptive motivation over time vary across students and in some cases may be tackled by fostering a task-involving teacher climate

Achievement Goals and Sportspersonship Orientations in Team Sports. The Moderating Role of Demographic Characteristics

The present study investigated whether achievement goals have differential effect on sportspersonship orientations in competitive sport and the moderating role of several demographic characteristics. Participants were 407 team sport athletes. The athletes completed a questionnaire including measures of achievement goals, dosage sportspersonship orientations and demographic characteristics. The results of the analyses indicated that all achievement goals were significant predictors of sportspersonship orientations. Furthermore, medications demographic characteristics moderated several achievement goals ? sportspersonship orientations relationships. These findings provide insightful information on the application of the 2×2 achievement goal approach in sports and the role of athletes? demographic characteristics

Self-affirmation and performance enhancement substance use in sport and exercise

Abstract Doping use is among the most important threats of modern competitive and amateur sports, with increasingly more competitive and recreational athletes using performance and image enhancing drugs. Over the last decade, a large body of evidence has shown that social-cognitive theories can be usefully applied to better understand the psychological processes underlying doping use, and researchers in this area have called for behaviour change interventions. Health risk communication represents an important area for intervention and is especially pertinent to the moral and health risk associated with doping use, and self-affirmation theory presents a relevant framework for communicating health and moral messages against doping use. The present thesis examined, for the first time, the effectiveness of self-affirmation manipulations in changing key social cognitive variables that have been associated with doping use in competitive and recreational sports. For that purpose, three experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 investigated the effects of a self-affirmation intervention on the decision making process towards doping use among 60 exercisers who self-reported nutritional supplement use - a known risk factor for doping use. Participants in the intervention group engaged in a kindness affirmation task and control participants were asked to respond to questions on a range of unrelated issues. Both groups completed a set of social cognitive variables derived from the theory of planned behaviour. Independent samples t-tests showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups in moral norms, descriptive norms, and anticipated regret. Situational temptation and anticipated regret significantly predicted doping use intentions. Study 2 was designed to test the effect of self-affirmation on the decision making process towards doping use among 60 elite athletes privately admitting doping use. The same manipulation with study 1 was used. After the manipulation participants read a message about the health and moral hazards of doping use, and completed measures of intentions and attitudes towards doping use, social and moral norms, self-efficacy beliefs, and anticipated regret. The results of the analyses showed that self-affirmed athletes reported weaker intentions and situational temptation scores as compared to non-affirmed participants. In addition, the self-affirmation manipulation demonstrated a significant effect on doping use intentions over and above the effect of the social-cognitive variables. Study 3 investigated whether self-affirmation induces message acceptance through mental construal in recreational exercisers who admitted doping use. Participants were exposed to the same manipulation and message used in study 1. After reading the message they completed the Construal Level Identification Form, a measure of message acceptance, and the measures of social-cognitive variables assessed in study 1. The results of the analyses did not indicate statistically significant effects. It was concluded that the effect of self-affirmation manipulation and social cognition on doping use intentions varies to a notable extend implying a different mechanism associated with the formation of doping use intentions among dopers and non-dopers, as well as among competitive athletes and exercisers. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for doping-related prevention interventions

Personal and psychosocial predictors of doping use in physical activity settings: a meta-analysis.

Background: There is a growing body of empirical evidence on demographic and psychosocial predictors of doping intentions and behaviors utilizing a variety of variables and conceptual models. However, to date there has been no attempt to quantitatively synthesize the available evidence and identify the strongest predictors of doping. Objectives: Using meta-analysis, we aimed to (i) determine effect sizes of psychological (e.g. attitudes) and social-contextual factors (e.g. social norms), and demographic (e.g. sex and age) variables on doping intentions and use; (ii) examine variables that moderate such effect sizes; and (iii) test a path analysis model, using the meta-analyzed effect sizes, based on variables from the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data Sources: Articles were identified from online databases, by contacting experts in the field, and searching the World Anti-Doping Agency website. Study Eligibility Criteria and Participants: Studies that measured doping behaviors and/or doping intentions, and at least one other demographic, psychological, or social-contextual variable were included. We identified 63 independent datasets. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Method: Study information was extracted by using predefined data fields and taking into account study quality indicators. A random effects meta-analysis was carried out, correcting for sampling and measurement error, and identifying moderator variables. Path analysis was conducted on a subset of studies that utilized the TPB. Results: Use of legal supplements, perceived social norms, and positive attitudes towards doping were the strongest positive correlates of doping intentions and behaviors. In contrast, morality and self-efficacy to refrain from doping had the strongest negative association with doping intentions and behaviors. Furthermore, path analysis suggested that attitudes, perceived norms, and self-efficacy to refrain from doping predicted intentions to dope and, indirectly, doping behaviors. Limitations: Various meta-analyzed effect sizes were based on a small number of studies, which were correlational in nature. This is a limitation of the extant literature. Conclusions: This review identifies a number of important correlates of doping intention and behavior, many of which were measured via self-reports and were drawn from an extended TPB framework. Future research might benefit from embracing other conceptual models of doping behavior and adopting experimental methodologies that will test some of the identified correlates in an effort to develop targeted anti-doping policies and programs

Effects of a Music-Movement Program in Elementary School Physical Education Classes on Pupils’ Rhythmic Ability

The aim of this study was to develop a short music-movement program and evaluate its effectiveness in improving elementary school pupils’ rhythmic ability. The sample of the study comprised two hundred forty-five pupils (10.5±.526 years) assigned to control and experimental group. Pupils were tested on their ability to synchronize hand clapping and walking to 48beats at the rhythmic patterns of 2/4, 7/8, and 9/8 using the Digital Rhythmic Ability Evaluation Tool (DRAET). Participants completed DRAET before, immediately after and two months after the implementation of the program. Pupils in the intervention group attended the music-movement program during the warm-up phase of the lesson, whereas those in the control group attended the regular warming up proposed in the national curriculum. The program was implemented twice a week for 13 weeks. The results of the ANOVA with repeated measures on time revealed a significant improvement of rhythmic ability in intervention group pupils as compared to control group pupils. The effect of the program was retained in the follow-up measurement. The findings of the study support the effectiveness of a music-movement program on pupils’ rhythmic ability. Keywords: rhythmic ability, physical education, music-movement, intervention program

The relation between student motivation and student grades in physical education: A 3-year investigation

Enhancing students’ academic engagement is the key element of the educational process; hence, research in this area has focused on understanding the mechanisms that can lead to increased academic engagement. The present study investigated the relation between motivation and grades in physical education (PE) employing a 3-yearlongitudinal design. Three hundred fifty-four Greek high school students participated in the study. Students completed measures of motivation to participate in PE on six occasions; namely, at the start and the end of the school year in the first, second, and third year of junior high school. Students’ PE grades were also recorded at these time points. The results of the multilevel growth models indicated that students’ PE grades increased over the 3years and students had better PE grades at the end of each year than at the beginning of the subsequent year. In general, students and classes with higher levels of controlling motivation achieved lower PE grades, whereas higher levels of autonomous motivation were associated with higher PE grades. These findings provide new insight on the associations between class- and individual-level motivation with objectively assessed achievement in PE

Effects of a Music-Movement Program in Elementary School Physical Education Classes on Pupils’ Motor Skills

This study aimed to develop a short music-movement program and evaluate its effectiveness in improving elementary school pupils’ motor skills. Two hundred forty-five pupils (10.5±.526 years) randomly assigned into intervention and control group participated in the study. The pupils performed two tasks, selected from the Bruinninks Oseretsky Motor Proficiency Test (2nd edition) related to rhythmic coordination: (a) Dribbling a ball-Alternating hands and (b) Stepping sideways over a balance beam. All Participants completed the tests before, immediately after and two months after the implementation of the program. Pupils in the intervention group attended the music-movement program during the warm-up phase of the standard Physical Education (PE) lesson, whereas those in the control group attended the regular PE warming up according to the national curriculum. The program was implemented for 13 weeks twice a week. The results of the ANOVA with repeated measures on time revealed a significant improvement of both motor skills in intervention group pupils as compared to control group pupils. A follow-up measurement indicated that the effect of the program was maintained two months after the intervention. The findings of the study support the effectiveness of a music-movement program during the warm-up phase of the PE lesson on fifth and sixth grade pupils’ motor skills. Keywords: motor skills, physical education, music-movement, intervention program, warm-up phase, rhythmic coordination DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-21-11 Publication date:July 31st 201

Moral Disengagement and Risk Prototypes in the Context of Adolescent Cyberbullying: Findings From Two Countries

Cyberbullying is associated with a wide range of mental health difficulties and behavioral problems in adolescents and research is needed to better understand psychological correlates of this behavior. The present study used a novel model that incorporated Social Cognitive Theory and the prototype/willingness model to identify the correlates of behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying in two countries. Adolescent students were randomly selected from secondary schools in Italy (n = 1710) and Greece (n = 355), and completed anonymous measures of moral disengagement, descriptive norms, risk prototype evaluations and behavioral willingness to engage in cyberbullying. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that willingness to engage in cyberbullying was associated with moral disengagement, prototype evaluations and descriptive social norms in Italy, and with gender, moral disengagement and descriptive social norms in Greece. Regression-based multiple mediation modeling further showed that the association between moral disengagement and cyberbullying willingness was mediated by prototype evaluations in Italy and by descriptive norms in Greece. The implications of our findings are discussed in the context of self-regulating cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents and informing school-based policies and interventions to prevent cyberbullying behavior