Transcontextual development of motivation in sport injury prevention among elite athletes

The present study investigated the transcontextual process of motivation in sport injury prevention. We examined whether general causality orientation, perceived autonomy support from coaches (PAS), self-determined motivation (SD-Mtv), and basic need satisfaction in a sport context predicted SD-Mtv, beliefs, and adherence with respect to sport injury prevention. Elite athletes (N = 533) completed self-report measures of the predictors (Week 1) and the dependent variables (Week 2). Variance-based structural equation modeling supported hypotheses: SD-Mtv in a sport context was significantly predicted by PAS and basic need satisfaction and was positively associated with SD-Mtv for sport injury prevention when controlling for general causality orientation. SD-Mtv for sport injury prevention was a significant predictor of adherence to injury-preventive behaviors and beliefs regarding safety in sport. In conclusion, the transcontextual mechanism of motivation may explain the process by which distal motivational factors in sport direct the formation of proximal motivation, beliefs, and behaviors of sport injury prevention

Self-determined forms of motivation predict sport injury prevention and rehabilitation intentions

Objectives: Two studies were conducted to examine how motivational regulations from self-determination theory (SDT) influenced athletes’ intentions towards sport-injury rehabilitation (Study 1) and prevention behaviours (Study 2) using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a framework. Design: A cross-sectional survey was employed. Methods: Elite athletes (Study 1: N = 214; Study 2: N = 533) completed the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire and psychometric measures of constructs from the TPB, with respect to their rehabilitation from sport injury in a hypothetical scenario (Study 1), or their injury prevention experiences (Study 2). Results: Partial least squares path analytic models indicated acceptable fit of the hypothesised model in all samples, and consistently found in both studies that autonomous motivation from SDT was positively associated with attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control from the TPB, and these three TPB variables positively predicted intentions of injury rehabilitation and prevention. Controlled motivation from SDT was, unexpectedly, positively linked to intentions, but the effect was smaller than that for autonomous motivation. Conclusions: Motivational regulations from SDT might serve as sources of information that influence athletes’ intentions through their impact on the attitude, perceived social norm and controllability of injury rehabilitation and prevention

Autonomous forms of motivation underpinning injury prevention and rehabilitation among police officers: An application of the trans-contextual model

The present study applied the trans-contextual model (TCM) to understand the motivational processes underpinning workers’ injury prevention and rehabilitation intentions and behavior. Full-time police officers (N = 207; M age = 37.24, SD = 9.93) completed questionnaire measures of the TCM variables. Covariance-based SEM for the full sample revealed that the effect of autonomy support from supervisor on autonomous motivation for injury prevention (M-injury) was fully mediated by autonomous work motivation (M-work), and the effect of M-injury on intention was fully mediated by attitude and subjective norm. Variance-based SEM for the 87 participants who had recent occupational injury showed that the effect of autonomy support from supervisor on autonomous treatment motivation (M-treatment) was partially mediated by M-work, and the effect of perceived autonomy support from physician on treatment adherence was fully mediated by M-treatment. There was no effect of treatment adherence on recovery length. Findings support the motivational sequence of the TCM in an occupational context

Integrating social psychological theories of motivation and intention to explain health and safety behaviours

The work within the thesis aimed to integrate concepts from three psychological frameworks, including self-determination theory (SDT), the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and the hierarchical model of motivation (HMM), into a model to understand the processes that underpin motivation and intention toward health and safety behaviours. The first tenet of the model (derived from SDT and HMM), namely the trans-contextual effect of motivation, hypothesised that self-determined motivation for a given activity related to self-determined motivation for undertaking health-promoting behaviour associated with the activity. The second tenet of the model (derived from the strength, limitation, and theoretical assumptions of SDT and the TPB) speculates that the effects of self-determined motivation for health and safety behaviour on intention and behaviour were mediated by social cognitive variables. A total of eight studies were employed to test the two tenets of the integrated model across various health contexts (i.e., sport injury rehabilitation and prevention (Study 1 to 5), occupational injury rehabilitation and prevention (Study 6 and 7), and myopia prevention (Study 8), and these studies are presented in five related research chapters (Chapters 2 to 6) in this thesis. The results provided preliminary evidence in support of both tenets of the integrated model, in which motivation from a general life domain is transferred to motivation, and antecedent social cognitive variables, for behaviour in a health and safety domain. The final chapter (Chapter 7) of the thesis summarises the findings of the eight studies and offers explanations and interpretations of the overall pattern of results. Conclusions were then drawn with respect to the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. Consideration was also given to the methodological limitations of the thesis and the scope for further studies to improve the predictive power, utility, measurement reliability, and evidence base for the model

Integrating social psychological theories of motivation and intention to explain health and safety behaviours

The work within the thesis aimed to integrate concepts from three psychological frameworks, including self-determination theory (SDT), the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and the hierarchical model of motivation (HMM), into a model to understand the processes that underpin motivation and intention toward health and safety behaviours. The first tenet of the model (derived from SDT and HMM), namely the trans-contextual effect of motivation, hypothesised that self-determined motivation for a given activity related to self-determined motivation for undertaking health-promoting behaviour associated with the activity. The second tenet of the model (derived from the strength, limitation, and theoretical assumptions of SDT and the TPB) speculates that the effects of self-determined motivation for health and safety behaviour on intention and behaviour were mediated by social cognitive variables. A total of eight studies were employed to test the two tenets of the integrated model across various health contexts (i.e., sport injury rehabilitation and prevention (Study 1 to 5), occupational injury rehabilitation and prevention (Study 6 and 7), and myopia prevention (Study 8), and these studies are presented in five related research chapters (Chapters 2 to 6) in this thesis. The results provided preliminary evidence in support of both tenets of the integrated model, in which motivation from a general life domain is transferred to motivation, and antecedent social cognitive variables, for behaviour in a health and safety domain. The final chapter (Chapter 7) of the thesis summarises the findings of the eight studies and offers explanations and interpretations of the overall pattern of results. Conclusions were then drawn with respect to the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. Consideration was also given to the methodological limitations of the thesis and the scope for further studies to improve the predictive power, utility, measurement reliability, and evidence base for the model

Is the wheelchair fencing classification fair enough? A kinematic analysis among world-class wheelchair fencers

The purpose of this study was to employ a kinematic analysis to determine the extent to which the Wheelchair Fencing Classification (WFC) can reliably predict and classify wheelchair fencers’ trunk functional ability, during WFC functional classification assessment condition (without supporting bar) and competition condition (with supporting bar). Participants were 14 world-class wheelchair fencers from Hong Kong, with 9 WFC category A and 5 WFC category B fencers. Participants performed wheelchair fencing actions (i.e., lunge and fast-return) in two conditions (i.e., standard WFC testing condition and wheelchair fencing in competition condition). The maximum trunk velocity and maximum trunk angle (i.e., range of movement) were motion-captured and analyzed by kinematic analysis. The results showed that WFC classification significantly correlated with the trunk functional ability in the WFC testing condition, but not in the competition condition. The functional ability indices were significantly higher in the competition condition than that in the WFC testing condition for fencers of both category A and B. The trunk functional ability of category A fencers was significantly higher than that of category B fencers in a WFC testing condition, but such patterns were not observed in the competition condition. We concluded that the WFC test might not be fair and reliable enough to classify fencers according to the impact of their impairments on wheelchair fencing competitive performance

Children infected vs. uninfected with COVID-19: Differences in parent reports of the use of mobile phones to calm children, routines, parent–child relationship, and developmental outcomes

Children were suggested to be at lower risk of developing the severe form of the COVID-19. However, children infected with COVID-19 may be more likely to experience biopsychosocial stressors associated with the pandemic and display poorer developmental outcomes. The current study is among the first to compare children infected and uninfected with COVID-19 on outcomes related to parents’ use of mobile phones to calm children, routines, parent–child relationship, externalizing and internalizing problems, prosocial behavior, gratitude, and happiness. A total of 1,187 parents (88.6% mothers) of children aged 5 to 12 completed an online survey between April 2022 and May 2022 when schools were suspended during the 5th wave of resurgence in Hong Kong. Our findings showed no substantial differences in various psychological, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes between infected and uninfected children. Our findings can be used to educate parents to reduce their fear and anxieties associated with their children’s COVID-19 infection. Our findings also suggested that support during the pandemic should be provided to children and families regardless of whether children have been infected with COVID-19

Implicit versus explicit attitude to doping: which better predicts athletes’ vigilance towards unintentional doping?

Objectives: This preliminary study examined whether implicit doping attitude, explicit doping attitude, or both, predicted athletes’ vigilance towards unintentional doping. Design: A cross-sectional correlational design. Methods: Australian athletes (N = 143; Mage = 18.13, SD = 4.63) completed measures of implicit doping attitude (brief single-category implicit association test), explicit doping attitude (Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale), avoidance of unintentional doping (Self-Reported Treatment Adherence Scale), and behavioural vigilance task of unintentional doping (reading the ingredients of an unfamiliar food product). Results: Positive implicit doping attitude and explicit doping attitude were negatively related to athletes’ likelihood of reading the ingredients table of an unfamiliar food product, and positively related to athletes’ vigilance toward unintentional doping. Neither attitude measures predicted avoidance of unintentional doping. Overall, the magnitude of associations by implicit doping attitude appeared to be stronger than that of explicit doping attitude. Conclusions: Athletes with positive implicit and explicit doping attitudes were less likely to read the ingredients table of an unknown food product, but were more likely to be aware of the possible presence of banned substances in a certain food product. Implicit doping attitude appeared to explain athletes’ behavioural response to the avoidance of unintentional doping beyond variance explained by explicit doping attitude

Arthroscopic repair of isolated type II superior labrum anterior–posterior lesion

The effectiveness of arthroscopic repair of type II superior labrum anterior-posterior lesion (SLAP) was unclear as previous studies examined this treatment with patients of combined types of SLAP lesions. To address this research gap, we evaluated the clinical and functional outcomes of arthroscopic repair for 16 patients (mean = 24.2, SD = 6.5) with clinical evidence of isolated type II SLAP lesion. After having arthroscopic stabilizations with Bioknotless suture anchors (Mitek), the patients were offered post-operative rehabilitation programs (e.g., physiotherapy) for 6 months. The symptoms of SLAP lesion and the functions of the shoulder were assessed pre-operatively and 28-month post-operatively by O'Brien test, Speed test, Yergason test, and University of California at Los Angeles rating for pain and function of the shoulder. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and McNemar test were employed to analyze the difference between assessment in pre-operation and post-operation phases. The result showed that patients' shoulder functions improved (UCLA Shoulder Score), and symptoms of SLAP lesion reduced (O'Brien test, Speed test, and Yergason test) significantly (P < 0.05). Time for returning to play with pre-injury level was in average 9.4 months (range 4-24), and no complication or recurrence was detected. We concluded that arthroscopic repair is an effective operation of type II SLAP lesion with good clinical and functional outcomes; however, athletes with high demand of overhead throwing activities are likely to take longer duration of rehabilitation to attain full recovery