The Camp Setting for Promoting Youth Physical Activity: Systematic Observations of Summer Day Camps

The risk for youth obesity is higher during the summer than any other time of year. Summer day camps can be ideal settings for preventing obesity through reducing youth summer sedentary behaviors. However, little-to-no research has examined the role of camps for promoting youth physical activity (PA) and other healthy behaviors. This study begins to address the gap in research by conducting systematic observations of 4 summer day camps (2 highly- resourced and 2 low-resourced) to determine: 1) the degree to which camps engage youth in moderate-to-vigorous PA, and; 2) to what extent camps provide important physical and social-motivational features for promoting PA. Results indicate camps provide opportunities for youth to meet national recommendations of daily MVPA. However, there were differences in PA and motivational features by level of camp resources. This study helps inform practice and policy through identifying strengths and needs of camps for promoting PA

Ego Integrity in the Lives of Older Women: A Follow-Up of Mothers From the Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1951) Patterns of Child Rearing Study

Ego integrity, Erik Erikson's (E. H. Erikson, 1963) concept of psychological maturity in later life and the pinnacle of 8 stages, has been one of the least studied of all his stage constructs. This paper explores the meaning of ego integrity (as assessed by C. D. Ryff & S. G. Heincke, 1983) in the lives of a sample of older women, by examining the predictors and concomitants of ego integrity (EI), using data from interviews conducted with the same women in 1951 and 1996 and a questionnaire administered in 1996. A 3-step regression model revealed that “identity” assessed in 1951 predicted generativity in 1996; the level of educational attainment and marital status were also significant predictors. In step 2, generativity alone predicted ego integrity, which in turn predicted depression. Ego integrity was associated with higher marital satisfaction in the mothers' lives, both in the past and in the present; it was implicated in better relationships with their adult children, in the mothers' willingness to both give and receive help, and in several dimensions of psychological well-being.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44633/1/10804_2005_Article_7084.pd

The Camp Setting for Promoting Youth Physical Activity: Systematic Observations of Summer Day Camps

The risk for youth obesity is higher during the summer than any other time of year. Summer day camps can be ideal settings for preventing obesity through reducing youth summer sedentary behaviors. However, little-to-no research has examined the role of camps for promoting youth physical activity (PA) and other healthy behaviors. This study begins to address the gap in research by conducting systematic observations of 4 summer day camps (2 highly- resourced and 2 low-resourced) to determine: 1) the degree to which camps engage youth in moderate-to-vigorous PA, and; 2) to what extent camps provide important physical and social-motivational features for promoting PA. Results indicate camps provide opportunities for youth to meet national recommendations of daily MVPA. However, there were differences in PA and motivational features by level of camp resources. This study helps inform practice and policy through identifying strengths and needs of camps for promoting PA

Sports and Youth Development Programs: Theoretical and Practical Implication of Early Adolescent Participation in Multiple Instances of Structured Out-of-School (OST) Activity

Among today’s youth, the most ubiquitous OST activity is sports. However, many of these youth are also participating in at least one other OST activity along with their participation in sports. Using longitudinal data from 1,622 youth (56.8% female) from the first three waves (Grades 5, 6, and 7) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), we employed a pattern-centered approach to assess differences in adolescent functioning depending on what types of OST activities youth were participating in along with their sports participation. Our findings suggest that youth benefit from their sports participation differently depending on what other types of additional activities they participate in during their out-of-school time. In particular, a participation pattern characterized by high participation in sports and Youth Development Programs was found to be the most effective activity profile for promoting PYD and preventing youth problems. Implications of these findings in research and practice are discussed

Results of the Active by Choice Today (ACT) Randomized Trial for Increasing Physical Activity in Low-Income and Minority Adolescents

Objective - This study reports the results of the Active by Choice Today (ACT) trial for increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in low-income and minority adolescents. Design - The ACT program was a randomized controlled school-based trial testing the efficacy of a motivational plus behavioral skills intervention on increasing MVPA in underserved adolescents. Twenty-four middle schools were matched on school size, percentage minorities, percentage free or reduced lunch, and urban or rural setting before randomization. A total of 1,563 6th grade students (mean age, 11.3 years, 73% African American, 71% free or reduced lunch, 55% female) participated in either a 17-week (over one academic year) intervention or comparison after-school program. Main Outcome Measure - The primary outcome measure was MVPA based on 7-day accelerometry estimates at 2-weeks postintervention and an intermediate outcome was MVPA at midintervention. Results - At midintervention students in the intervention condition engaged in 4.87 greater minutes of MVPA per day (95% CI: 1.18 to 8.57) than control students. Students in intervention schools engaged in 9.11 min (95% CI: 5.73 to 12.48) more of MVPA per day than those in control schools during the program time periods; indicating a 27 min per week increase in MVPA. No significant effect of the ACT intervention was found outside of school times or for MVPA at 2-weeks postintervention. Conclusions - Motivational and behavioral skills programs are effective at increasing MVPA in low-income and minority adolescents during program hours, but further research is needed to address home barriers to youth MVPA

The dynamic relation between out -of -school activities and adolescent development.

In keeping with organismic principles and systems theory, this dissertation approaches the issue of youth activity participation from a developmental holistic interactionistic perspective that presupposes that individual lives are supported by a network of influences. By using a carefully balanced set of pattern- and variable-centered approaches to identify activity patterns that included a wide range of structured and unstructured extracurricular activities, we captured a more complete picture of adolescents' behavioral choices and time use across the middle- and late adolescent years, examined the factors that influence these time use behaviors, and their relation to developmental outcomes. The first study (Chapter II) showed that youth engage in complex patterns of multiple activities within and across time, and, at the population-level, there are common patterns in which adolescents organize their time. Furthermore, we found longitudinal structural stability for the majority of activity patterns observed. However, there were also shifts in what defined existing patterns, and the emergence of new patterns at each grade level. In Study 2, we examined individuals' continuous participation in particular out-of-school activity patterns over the middle-to-late adolescent years and its relation to multiple indicators of positive development, demonstrating that continuous participation in different combinations of organized and unorganized activities lead to both different short- and long-term developmental outcomes. Finally, in Study 3 we examined what gets youth involved in the out-of-school activity patterns that are related to positive development. Using a mixture of pattern-centered and variable-centered analyses we considered how activity choices involve reciprocal processes between the contextual constraints and opportunities for participation within the family, the school and the neighborhood, and adolescents' own motivations. By using a unique balance of pattern- and variable-centered methods to examine both, the environmental and person-related factors that influence youth's engagement in positive activities during adolescence, and the relation of activity pattern pathways on development, this dissertation serves as an important step towards gaining a deeper understanding the dynamic and complex relations of adolescents' activity participation and their positive development.Ph.D.Behavioral psychologyDevelopmental psychologyPsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/126341/2/3238130.pd

The mediating effects of motivation on the relations between occupational stress and physical activity among underresourced afterschool program staff

Abstract Objective Guided by Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to examine the potential mediating effects of autonomous and controlled motivations on physical activity (PA) experiences of afterschool program (ASP) staff with occupational stress. Method A total of 58 ASP staff provided full data. Staff occupational stress and self-determination motivations for PA were assessed. Participants’ daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was measured using accelerometer wear. A path analysis was used to address the research purpose. Results Occupational stress negatively and indirectly predicted daily MVPA which was mediated by controlled motivation (β = − 4.15, p <.05). Autonomous motivation directly and positively predicted daily MVPA across all types and levels of ASP staff occupational stress (β = 9.93, p =.01). Conclusions Autonomous motivation is a powerful predictor of staff PA levels despite the degree to which they experience stress. In contrast, controlled motivations are more vulnerable to occupational stress, and can lead to lower MVPA. Trial registration Connect Through PLAY: A Staff-based Physical Activity Intervention for Middle School Youth (Connect). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03732144 . Registered 11/06/2018. Registration number: NCT03732144

Moderating Effects of Parental Feeding Practices and Emotional Eating on Dietary Intake among Overweight African American Adolescents

This study examined the effects of parental feeding practices and adolescent emotional eating (EE) on dietary outcomes among overweight African American adolescents. Based on Family Systems Theory, it was hypothesized that parental feeding practices, such as parental monitoring and responsibility, would buffer the effects of EE on poor dietary quality, whereas practices such as concern about a child’s weight, restriction, and pressure-to-eat would exacerbate this relationship. Adolescents (N = 127; Mage = 12.83 ± 1.74; MBMI% = 96.61 ± 4.14) provided baseline data from the Families Improving Together (FIT) for Weight Loss trial and an ancillary study. Dietary outcomes (fruit and vegetables (F&amp;Vs), energy intake, sweetened beverage, total fat, and saturated fat) were assessed using random 24-h dietary recalls. Validated surveys were used to assess adolescent-reported EE and parental feeding practices. Results demonstrated a significant interaction between EE and parental monitoring (adjusted analyses; B = 0.524, SE = 0.176, p = 0.004), restriction (B = −0.331, SE = 0.162, p = 0.043), and concern (B = −0.602, SE = 0.171, p = 0.001) on F&amp;V intake; under high monitoring, low restriction, and low concern, EE was positively associated with F&amp;V intake. There were no significant effects for the other dietary outcomes. These findings indicate that parental feeding practices and EE may be important factors to consider for dietary interventions, specifically for F&amp;V intake, among overweight African American adolescents

Brief report: Patterns of prosocial behaviors in middle childhood predicting peer relations during early adolescence.

IntroductionEarly adolescence is a developmental period in which peer victimization, bullying, relational aggression, and social exclusion are particularly prominent. As these behaviors have long-term implications for children, in this study, we investigated early variations of prosocial behaviors as one of the critical precedents that shape youth's subsequent peer relational outcomes. Specifically, we identified different profiles of prosocial behaviors in middle childhood (Grade 4) and related these profiles to peer relationships in early adolescence (Grade 6).MethodUsing longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N&nbsp;=&nbsp;914; 52% girls), a three-step latent profile analysis was conducted on Grade 4 prosocial behaviors, which were then related to Grade 6 teacher- and student-rated peer relationships (e.g., relational aggression).ResultsFour patterns of prosocial behaviors emerged: low prosocial (18%), high prosocial (67%), primarily friendly (8%), and primarily kind (7%). These four patterns of prosocial behaviors were differentially related to later problematic peer relationships: Low prosocial youth demonstrated the most problematic peer relationships (Mdiff&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.36-0.93, all p&nbsp;&lt;&nbsp;.001). Primarily friendly (but not kind) youth displayed more general and relational aggression (Mdiff&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.22, SE&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.07, p&nbsp;=&nbsp;.002; and Mdiff&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.18, SE&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.06, p&nbsp;=&nbsp;.006, respectively).ConclusionBoth low prosocial and primarily friendly youth are at risk for displaying peer-related problems; interventions that build prosocial behaviors in youth with a low prosocial or primarily friendly profile may help prevent problematic peer relationships at early adolescence