Promoting physical activity among university students: a systematic review of controlled trials

Objective: University study is often accompanied by a decline in physical activity (PA) levels but can offer the opportunity to promote a lifelong active lifestyle. This review aims to summarize controlled trials of interventions promoting PA among uni- versity students, describing the quality of the evidence, effective strategies, and deficiencies in the interventions employed, to provide directions for future research and for practical implementations. Data Source: PubMed, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, Education Source, and SPORTDiscus. Study Inclusion Criteria: Randomized or nonrandomized controlled trial, describing an intervention to promote PA in uni- versity students, where PA was one of the outcomes and results were published in English. Data Extraction: Country, study design, participants\u2019 inclusion criteria, participation rate and characteristics, randomization, blinding, theoretical framework, intervention characteristics, participant retention rate and withdrawal reasons, measures employed, data analysis, PA results, and findings regarding PA correlates. Data Synthesis: Data were synthetized considering study characteristics, strategies used, and outcomes. Results: Two thousand five hundred eighty-five articles were identified. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen studies reported an increase in PA levels. Conclusion: Physical Activity promotion interventions should address a range of behavioral determinants. Personalized approaches and PA sessions should be considered in future studies. The high risk of bias of many studies (mainly due to attrition and poor reporting) and missing information about intervention components limit the strength of conclusions about the most effective strategies and the evidence of effectiveness, highlighting the need for further high-quality studies

Introduction to the Special Issue on Surf Therapy Around the Globe

This Special Issue on Surf Therapy Around the Globe in the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice is devoted to advancing the science and practice of surf therapy for diverse populations around the world. This introductory article provides a framework for this Special Issue. Surf therapy’s beginnings as a small group intervention that served a variety of marginalized populations over the past fifteen years is outlined. Next, a description of how surf therapy programs utilize four community psychology practice competencies – empowerment, mentorship, community inclusion and partnership, and health promotion – in the delivery of surf therapy is detailed. A brief overview of each article in this Special Issue is provided, linked to three practice competency categories – collaboration and coalition development, participatory research, and program evaluation. Finally, videos ancillary to three of the articles are introduced and a fourth video without an accompanying article is also outlined

Surf Therapy Practice, Research, and Coalition Building: Future Directions

Articles in this Special Issue of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice on Surf Therapy Around the Globe have focused on theory development, practice considerations, empirical research, and coalition building in order to advance the field of surf therapy. In this concluding article, the Guest Editors highlight the ways in which the collective work in this Special Issue expands on the current literature in terms of theory, as well as processes and outcomes for different programs across a variety of populations across the globe. Suggestions for conducting future studies on surf therapy are provided in order to build an even stronger knowledge base in this area. Finally, initiatives set forth by the International Surf Therapy Organization are presented in order to foster coalition building, participant inclusion, social justice, research and evaluation, and public advocacy. Collectively, this article aims to summarize the work highlighted in this Special Issue and pave a path for surf therapy practice and research going forward

Introduction to the Special Issue on Surf Therapy Around the Globe

This Special Issue on Surf Therapy Around the Globe in the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice is devoted to advancing the science and practice of surf therapy for diverse populations around the world. This introductory article provides a framework for this Special Issue. Surf therapy’s beginnings as a small group intervention that served a variety of marginalized populations over the past fifteen years is outlined. Next, a description of how surf therapy programs utilize four community psychology practice competencies – empowerment, mentorship, community inclusion and partnership, and health promotion – in the delivery of surf therapy is detailed. A brief overview of each article in this Special Issue is provided, linked to three practice competency categories – collaboration and coalition development, participatory research, and program evaluation. Finally, videos ancillary to three of the articles are introduced and a fourth video without an accompanying article is also outlined

Surf Therapy Practice, Research, and Coalition Building: Future Directions

Articles in this Special Issue of the Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice on Surf Therapy Around the Globe have focused on theory development, practice considerations, empirical research, and coalition building in order to advance the field of surf therapy. In this concluding article, the Guest Editors highlight the ways in which the collective work in this Special Issue expands on the current literature in terms of theory, as well as processes and outcomes for different programs across a variety of populations across the globe. Suggestions for conducting future studies on surf therapy are provided in order to build an even stronger knowledge base in this area. Finally, initiatives set forth by the International Surf Therapy Organization are presented in order to foster coalition building, participant inclusion, social justice, research and evaluation, and public advocacy. Collectively, this article aims to summarize the work highlighted in this Special Issue and pave a path for surf therapy practice and research going forward

Does Infall End Before the Class I Stage?

We have observed HCO+ J=3-2 toward 16 Class I sources and 18 Class 0 sources, many of which were selected from Mardones et al. (1997). Eight sources have profiles significantly skewed to the blue relative to optically thin lines. We suggest six sources as new infall candidates. We find an equal "blue excess" among Class 0 and Class I sources after combining this sample with that of Gregersen et al. (1997). We used a Monte Carlo code to simulate the temporal evolution of line profiles of optically thick lines of HCO+, CS and H2CO in a collapsing cloud and found that HCO+ had the strongest asymmetry at late times. If a blue-peaked line profile implies infall, then the dividing line between the two classes does not trace the end of the infall stage.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, accepted by ApJ for April 20, 2000, added acknowledgmen

Inner Structure of Protostellar Collapse Candidate B335 Derived from Millimeter-Wave Interferometry

We present a study of the density structure of the protostellar collapse candidate B335 using continuum observations from the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer made at wavelengths of 1.2mm and 3.0mm. We analyze these data, which probe spatial scales from 5000 AU to 500 AU, directly in the visibility domain by comparison to synthetic observations constructed from models that assume different physical conditions. This approach allows for much more stringent constraints to be derived from the data than from analysis of images. A single radial power law in density provides a good description of the data, with best fit power law index p=1.65+/-0.05. Through simulations, we quantify the sensitivity of this result to various model uncertainties, including assumptions of temperature distribution, outer boundary, dust opacity spectral index, and an unresolved central component. The largest uncertainty comes from the unknown presence of a centralized point source. A point source with 1.2mm flux of F=12+/-7 mJy reduces the density index to p=1.47+/-0.07. The remaining sources of systematic uncertainty, the most important of which is the temperature distribution, likely contribute a total uncertainty of < 0.2. We therefore find strong evidence that the power law index of the density distribution within 5000 AU is significantly less than the value at larger radii, close to 2.0 from previous studies of dust emission and extinction. These results conform well to the generic paradigm of isolated, low-mass star formation which predicts a power law density index close to p=1.5 for an inner region of gravitational free fall onto the protostar.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal; 27 pages, 3 figure

The validity and reliability characteristics of the M-BACK Questionnaire to assess the barriers, attitudes, confidence, and knowledge of mental health staff regarding metabolic health of mental health service users

Background: Addressing the burden of poor physical health and the subsequent gap in life expectancy experienced by people with mental illness is a major priority in mental health services. To equip mental health staff with the competence to deliver evidence-based interventions, targeted staff training regarding metabolic health is required. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of staff training regarding metabolic health, we aimed to develop a succinct measure to determine the barriers, attitudes, confidence, and knowledge of health practitioners through the development and test–retest reliability of the Metabolic-Barriers, Attitudes, Confidence, and Knowledge Questionnaire (M-BACK). Methods: The M-BACK questionnaire was developed to evaluate the impact of special-ized training in metabolic health care for mental health nurses. Content of the M-BACK was developed from a literature review and refined by an expert review panel and validated via a piloting process. To determine the test–retest reliability of the M-BACK, 31 nursing students recruited from the University of Notre Dame, Sydney completed the questionnaire on two separate occasions, 7 days apart. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated for the total score, as well as each of the four domains. Results: Pilot testing was undertaken with a sample of 106 mental health nurses with a mean age 48.2, ranging from 24 to 63 years of age, who participated in six training courses. Questionnaire development resulted in a 16-item instrument, with each item is scored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Test–retest reliability of the M-BACK was completed by 30 of 31 nursing students recruited, ICCs ranged from 0.62 to 0.96. Conclusion: The M-BACK is a reliable measure of the key elements of practitioner perceptions of barriers, and their knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding metabolic monitoring in people with mental illness. It can be used to assess the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing uptake of metabolic monitoring, a key component of programs to reduce the life expectancy gap in people living with severe mental illness

Negative symptoms are associated with lower autonomous motivation towards physical activity in people with schizophrenia

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined the association between psychiatric symptoms and motivation for physical activity within the self-determination theory (SDT) framework in people with schizophrenia. Method: Over a 4-month period, 55 (17♀) inpatients with a DSM-V diagnosis of schizophrenia were assessed with the Psychosis Evaluation tool for Common use by Caregivers (PECC) and the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-2), that provided separate scores for amotivation, external, introjected and autonomous regulation. Spearman correlations coefficients were examined between these motivation scores and symptom ratings. Results: The BREQ-2 score for autonomous regulations (2.6 ± 1.1) was significantly correlated with the PECC negative symptoms score (10.3 ± 4.1) (r = -0.34, p = 0.011). No other significant correlations between BREQ-2 and PECC scores were found. The BREQ-2 score for external regulations (0.7 ± 0.9) was associated with older age (35.2 ± 11.3 years) (r = -0.30, p = 0.024). Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that negative symptoms are associated with lower autonomous motivation towards physical activity in inpatients with schizophrenia. Future longitudinal research should confirm the current findings. Such research will guide physical activity approaches aimed at facilitating enhanced physical and mental health outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia