Discriminant validity of the positive and negative processes in the C–A–P Questionnaire

Globally, youth sport is highly valued and prevalent. Coaches, athletes, and parents are the main players. To date no one measure quantifies these vital interactions. To rectify this surprising omission, the Positive and Negative Processes in the C–A–P Questionnaire (PNPCAP) was developed in the Lithuanian language. This study sought to further the development of the PNPCAP by providing evidence for discriminant validity. To achieve this purpose, 192 females (M age = 13.64, SD = 1.59) and 239 males (M age = 14.02, SD = 1.50) completed the PNPCAP measure along with the Perceptions of Success Questionnaire, Sport Climate Questionnaire, Self-Determination Scale and provided some youth sport participation information. The resultant correlation matrix provided evidence of discriminant validity as the pattern verified the hypothesized relationship in that positive and significant correlations were found with the C–A–P positive process scale and the task orientation, self-determined awareness of self and perceived choice, and perceived autonomy support. Negative and significant correlations were found with the C–A–P negative process scale and the task orientation, self-determined awareness of self and perceived choice, and perceived autonomy support. Researchers are encouraged to translate and use the PNPCAP in youth sport settings to better the youth sport experience for athletes and their parents and coaches.This Project/Research was funded by the European Social Fund (Project No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-02-0083)

Physical Activity and Healthy Habits Influence Mood Profile Clusters in a Lithuanian Population

Moods have been investigated previously in a range of cultural contexts. In our study, we investigated if six mood profiles previously identified, termed the iceberg, inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, shark fin, submerged, and surface profiles, were also evident among a Lithuanian sample. A Lithuanian translation of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS-LTU) was completed by a sample of 746 participants (male = 199, female = 547) aged from 17–78 years (M = 41.8 years, SD = 11.4 year). Seeded k-means cluster analysis clearly identified the six hypothesized mood profiles, the prevalence of which reflected previous findings. Cluster prevalence varied significantly by sex, age, exercise and smoking status, frequency of overeating, and self-rated health of participants. Male participants and older adults were under-represented for the inverse Everest profile and over-represented for the iceberg profile. Those who reported more healthy habits (i.e., exerciser, non-smoker, rarely overeat) and those reporting better self-rated health were over-represented for the iceberg profile and under-represented for negative mood profiles; namely, the inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, and shark fin profiles. Findings supported the cross-cultural invariance of the mood profile clusters and confirmed the link between unhealthy habits and negative mood profile

A Qualitative Study Examining Parental Involvement in Youth Sports over a One-Year Intervention Program

The purpose of this 12-month intervention program was to examine parent–child relationship changes within the sports context. A qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for the study design. Ten families consented to in-depth interviews. The participants were 10 youth sport parents who had one child each aged 5–6 years. The intervention program involved the participation of all the parents and children. The program integrated psychological, educational, and sports skills into pre-organized sports training sessions. The study results revealed that the intervention program had a positive impact on the parent–child relationship in the sports context. Additionally, the study results suggest that parental involvement in the intervention program positively affected parent–child attachment, the quality of interpersonal relationships between the parent and the child, and effective parenting strategies. Future intervention programs should include both parent and children dyads

The Effect of a 6-Month Coach Educational Program on Strengthening Coach-Athlete Interpersonal Relationships in Individual Youth Sport

The purpose of this intervention study was to develop an educational program for coaches to strengthen the coach–athlete interpersonal relationship in individual youth sport. To obtain data in the qualitative interpretative phenomenology phase, 10 youth sports coaches took part in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The educational program was developed by integrating psychological, educational and social skills into the educational coaching sessions. The program involved a detailed video analysis, theoretical classes, and individual consultations. The qualitative interpretative phenomenology research design was used and enabled to evaluate the program. The study results revealed that the program had a positive impact on the transformation of the coach–athlete interpersonal relationship in sport. Behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and social strategies changes occured. The quality of the coach–athlete relationship changed: trust, communication, cooperation, encouragement, and a connection between athletes and the coaches appeared. The study’s results showed that the educational program for coaches had a positive effect on the quality of interpersonal relationships between athletes and the coaches and increased positive coaching strategies in youth sport

Links between Adolescents’ Engagement in Physical Activity and Their Attachment to Mothers, Fathers, and Peers

Physical activity (PA) is one of the key components in promoting a healthy lifestyle in children. PA offers a number of health benefits to children and their families. However, a large proportion of children do not meet the current PA guidelines (at least 60 min of PA daily). The problem of insufficient PA could be explained in relation to early childhood when attachment between the child and the parent begins and family habits are formed. As a result, physical inactivity in adolescence is associated with negative health outcomes such as obesity, heart diseases, and cardiometabolic risk. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the links between adolescents’ engagement in physical activity and their attachment to their mother, father, and peers (trust, communication, alienation) as well as their socio-economic status (SES). We applied a quantitative cross-sectional study design. A total of 835 students aged from 15 to 18 (females = 480 and males = 355, M age = 16.0, SD = 1.1) completed the questionnaire. This study revealed that physical activity had a weak positive correlation to mother (r = 0.13, p = 0.01) and father attachment (r = 0.18, p = 0.01), trust (r = 0.17, p = 0.01), and communication (r = 0.16, p = 0.01) with both parents and a weak negative correlation with father alienation (r = 0.13, p = 0.01). The overall study results show that adolescent communication to father, male gender, a younger age, and a higher SES are important factors in relation to adolescent physical activity

The Coach–Athlete–Parent Relationship: The Importance of the Sex, Sport Type, and Family Composition

Interpersonal relationships exist in many forms within the sport environment. Athlete performance and career direction, at times, depend on their formed sport relationships. Positive and negative interpersonal relationships among the coach, the athlete, and the parent affects many athletes’ behavioral outcomes, such as continued participation. Our research aimed to understand whether the positive and negative processes in the coach, athlete, and parent interpersonal relationships depend on athletes’ sex, age, family composition, sport experience, and the type of sport. To achieve our research purpose, 632 volunteer student-athletes (aged 11–19) completed our survey. Our survey included the Positive and Negative Processes in the Coach–Athlete–Parent (PNPCAP) relationship scale and demographics (i.e., sex, age, family composition, years in competitive sport, and sport type). The study results revealed that positive processes, as measured by the positive PNPCAP subscale, were invariant to our categorical variables. However, participants’ self-ratings of negative PNPCAP-measured processes depended upon sex, sport type, and family makeup. Significant (p < 0.05) two-way interactions revealed boys involved in individual sports and residing without their parents or with one self-reported a higher level of the negative processes. The calculated effect size values with the other groupings were mostly medium in magnitude. The third significant two-way interaction resulted for sport type by family makeup. This two-way interaction revealed individual sport participants without or residing with one parent reported higher levels of negative processes. The effect size values were a mix of small and medium in meaningfulness. In conclusion, while positive Coach–Athlete–Parent processes appear invariant to our measured categorical variables, sex, sport type, and family makeup moderated the negative processes. Further research, such as mixed methods, is required to best understand and provide direction for intervention research to reduce negative processes in youth sport

The effect of COVID-19 restrictions on changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was "A Double-Edged Sword": it improved for some and worsened for others

The objective was to determine the contributions to changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the COVID-19 restrictions by age, gender, education, place of residence, type of work, type of sport, Body Mass Index (BMI), subjective health status, smoking, alcohol consumption, overeating, impulsivity, depression symptoms, stress level, sleep duration and emotional intelligence (EI). We interviewed 6369 people in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic and 2392 during the COVID-19 restrictions, and they were 18–4 years old. The initial COVID-19 restrictions reduced MVPA. This decrease was greater in individuals with lower education levels, higher BMI, higher stress levels and higher self-rated health status. MVPA decreased among those whose self-rated health status was the poorest but increased among those whose self-rated health status was the best. MVPA decreased among young women, women whose work was mostly sedentary and smoking women, and it decreased among overeating men. The particularity of sport, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, EI, impulsivity and depression symptoms did not have a significant effect on changes in MVPA during the COVID-19 restrictions, among either gender or any age group

Validation of a Lithuanian-Language Version of the Brunel Mood Scale: The BRUMS-LTU

Mood can be considered as a diffuse and global emotional state, with both valence and arousal characteristics, that is not directed towards a specific object. Investigation of moods in specific language and cultural contexts relies on the availability of appropriately validated measures. The current study involved the translation and validation of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) from English into Lithuanian. The 24-item, 6-factor scale, referred to as the BRUMS-LTU, was administered to 746 participants who were fluent in Lithuanian (nmen = 199 (26.7%), nwomen = 547 (73.3%); age range = 17–78 years, M = 41.8 years, SD = 11.4 years). Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit of the hypothesized measurement model to the data (CFI  =  0.954, TLI  = 0 .944, RMSEA  = 0 .060 [CI 0.056, 0.064], SRMR = 0.070) and multi-sample analysis supported configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance across genders. Concurrent measures (i.e., Perceived Stress Scale, Big Five Personality Test) correlated with subscale scores in line with theoretical predictions, supporting both convergent and divergent validity. Internal consistency coefficients of the six subscales were satisfactory. Mood scores varied significantly by gender, with men generally reporting more positive moods than women. Findings support the adequacy of the psychometric properties of the BRUMS-LTU. Thus, the scale can be recommended for use in further psychological studies of mood in Lithuania and may also be useful for applied practitioner

Did COVID-19 pandemic change people’s physical activity distribution, eating, and alcohol consumption habits as well as body mass index?

This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate whether COVID-19 had an impact on people’s (aged 18–74) physical activity distribution, eating, and alcohol consumption habits as well as body mass index. We interviewed 6369 people (4545 women and 1824 men) in Lithuania before the COVID-19 pandemic started and 2392 during COVID-19 (1856 women and 536 men). They were aged 18–74 years. We found that both genders had not stopped their physical activity (PA) completely because of lockdown imitations (for example, prohibition from attending sport clubs), but they started doing different physical exercises at sport clubs. We determined the PA distribution according to the Danish Physical Activity Questionnaire (DPAQ). Despite increases in independent PA and the quantity of light PA, the amount of total energy used in metabolic equivalent of task (MET) units per day decreased significantly for both genders irrespective of age. Although the amounts of sedentary behavior, moderate PA (MPA), vigorous PA (VPA) or a combination of MPA and VPA (MVPA) did not change significantly. Surprisingly, lockdown reduced the duration of sleep for older women but increased their amount of intense VPA (>6 METs). However, the amount of intense VPA decreased for men. Both genders reported overeating less during the pandemic than before it, but did not start consuming more alcohol, and their body mass index did not change. Thus, the COVID-19 in Lithuania represented ‘good stress’ that mobilized these individuals to exercise more independently and overeat less

What types of exercise are best for emotional intelligence and logical thinking?

The aim of our study was to determine whether EI and LT vs. intuitive thinking (CRT score) are related to participation in professional sports, independent exercise, and exercise at a gym/health center compared with no exercise. We selected 20 of the most popular types of exercise in Lithuania among respondents who exercise independently or at a gym/health center, and we ranked these types of exercise according to the participants’ emotional intelligence and logical thinking. We studied 4545 women and 1824 men aged 18–74 years with a focus on whether emotional intelligence and logical thinking are related to type of exercise. Participation in any exercise was significantly related to emotional intelligence in men and women. Women in professional sports solved the lowest number of logic tasks. Women who exercise independently or at a gym/health center had better logical thinking than those who do not exercise. Among men, logical thinking was not associated with the type of exercise. We found the tendency for a negative correlation between EI and LT in the 20 most popular types of exercise. Emotional intelligence correlated positively with participation in MVPA. The highest emotional intelligence was in women who participate in dance or Pilates and in men who participate in martial arts, wrestling, boxing, or yoga. Logical thinking was the highest in men who participate in triathlon and in women who perform CrossFit. Men who practice martial arts or track and field and women who participate in cycling were in the top five for emotional intelligence and logical thinking