Building Community via Sport for Adolescents

Sport is frequently claimed to foster a greater sense of community for participants. However, a dearth of quantifiable and empirical evidence supports this claim and even less is known about how sport impacts adolescents\u27 sense of community. The aim of this research was to assess the effectiveness of a sport program for adolescents. A pre/post research design was used to determine if any changes in sense of community were experienced for adolescents who took part in a three-week sport program. Sense of community was measured using the Sense of Community Index- 2. A total of 28 participants completed pre- and postsurveys. These data were analyzed and the findings indicated that significant increases in adolescents\u27 sense of community were observed. An analysis of the survey subscales revealed that the adolescent program participants in the study experienced significant increases related to Reinforcement of Needs, Membership, Influence, and Shared Emotional Connections. This study helps lay the foundation for better understanding of how sport can help build a sense of community for adolescents

Using Youth Sport to Enhance Parents\u27 Sense of Community

Youth sport is a large and influential sector of the sport industry. This sector has received considerable attention regarding issues such as improving participants\u27 experiences and attracting and retaining more participants. Parents are also highly involved in youth sport, yet their experiences are less understood. This study ex-amines the role a youth sport program plays in fostering a sense of community for parents. Using a qualitative interpretative design, participants were drawn from a youth sport program in the United States. The focus group data ( n = 36) revealed that The Child\u27s Experience, Clear Logistics , Administrative Consideration , and Eq-uity in Administrative Decisions were the most salient elements that influenced sense of community for youth sport parents. Implications for practice are dis-cussed

Mental Health Professionals’ Attitudes toward Clients with Antisocial Personality Disorder: An Exploratory Study

This exploratory study examined mental health professionals’ attitudes toward clients with antisocial personality disorder. Specifically, are mental health professionals’ attitudes influenced by (a) personal experiences with criminal victimization, or (b) contact with clients with antisocial personality disorder. A factorial MANOVA and follow-up univariate ANOVAs revealed a statistically significant main effect in relation to participants’ level of clinical contact with clients having antisocial personality disorder. Participants with higher levels of clinical contact were associated with more positive attitudes towards clients. Implications for mental health professionals, supervisors, and counselor educators are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided