"Are we working (too) comfortably?”:Understanding the nature of and factors associated with sedentary behaviour when working in the home environment

Home working has increased due to COVID-19, but little is known about how this change has impacted the health risk behaviour of elevated sedentary time. The aim of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to assess occupational sitting behaviour when working at home, and use the Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model to identify influences on this behaviour. University staff (n = 267; 69% female; 92% white) who were predominantly working from home completed a questionnaire to assess sitting time, sitting breaks, demographic and occupational characteristics, and a 7-item COM-B questionnaire and open-ended questions to assess influences on time spent sitting whilst working from home. Data were analysed descriptively, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine differences in the COM-B items, and binary logistic regression was used to examine predictors of sitting time. Staff spent on average 89.5% (SD = 17.1) of their time sitting whilst working at home, and took an average of 1.36 (1.38) sitting breaks per hour. There were significant and meaningful differences in the influence of the COM factors on ability and willingness to reduce sitting behaviour (p < .0001; η(p)(2) = .38), and the open-ended responses added further context. The included variables accounted for 20.7% of variance in sitting behaviour, with age, sitting breaks, motivation-automatic, and opportunity-physical contributing significantly. Working from home leads to elevated levels of sitting, and the COM-B provides a useful model to identify key influences on ability and willingness to reduce sitting. Strategies incorporating regular breaks, habit formation/reversal, and restructuring the physical environment may be beneficial

A grounded theory of how social support influences physical activity in adolescent girls

Purpose: Adolescent girls are not sufficiently active to achieve health benefits. Social support from friends and family has been positively associated with physical activity in adolescent girls; however it is unclear how social support influences physical activity behaviour. This study aimed to develop a grounded theory of how social support influences physical activity in adolescent girls. Methods: A qualitative, constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted. Individual interviews explored adolescent girls’ perspectives of how significant others’ influenced their physical activity through providing social support, and through modelling physical activity. Results: Participants perceived social support to influence physical activity behaviour through performance improvements, self-efficacy, enjoyment, motivation and by enabling physical activity. Improvements in performance and self-efficacy were also linked to motivation to be active. Girls perceived modelling to influence behaviour through providing opportunities for them to be physically active, and by inspiring them to be active. Conclusion: The grounded theory outlines adolescent girls’ perceptions of how significant others influence their physical activity and provides a framework for future research examining the role of social support on physical activity

Using self-determination theory to understand motivation for walking:Instrument development and model testing using Bayesian structural equation modelling

The motivational processes underpinning walking behaviour are not well understood. This study aimed to develop walking-specific motivation measures drawn from self-determination theory (SDT), assess the psychometric properties of the measures, incorporating Baysesian structural equation modelling (BSEM), and examine how these variables relate to walking behaviour

A qualitative examination of factors related to the decrease in physical activity behavior in adolescent girls during the transition from primary to secondary school

During secondary school, a positive environment can be created by ensuring a choice of activities in Physical Education lessons; allowing a girls-only environment, to reduce the focus on competence and competition, and recognizing the importance of social support. These could enhance self-perceptions, reduce self-presentational concerns, increase enjoyment, and subsequently reduce the decrease in physical activity behavior during this key transitional period

Sources of strain among elite U.K. track athletes.

Following the theoretical framework of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), recently adapted to sport (Fletcher, Hanton, & Mellalieu, 2006), 12 elite UK track athletes (M age = 22.7; SD = 2.4 years) participated in semistructured interviews to identify sources of strain. Inductive content analysis identified 11 general dimensions of sources of strain from 664 meaning units, which were subsequently categorized into competitive, organizational, and personal domains. Several sources of strain (e.g., competitive concerns, pressure to perform) were consistent with previous research supporting the suggestion that a core group of stressors may be evident across sports although several sources of strain appeared to be more pertinent to track athletes (e.g., social evaluation and self-presentation concerns) highlighting the need to consider group differences