Social Comparisons, Social Support, and Self-Perceptions in Group Exercise for People With Parkinson's Disease

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) may experience declining function and limited interaction with others with PD. Group exercise provides opportunities for physical accomplishment and social support, as well as potential social challenges. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine experiences of social comparison, social support, and self-perceptions of 20 people with PD in group exercise. Participants experienced (a) reticence evolving to inspiration, (b) anxiety relief through camaraderie and breaking taboos, and (c) maintaining athletic identity through participating and helping others. Practical implications include facilitating a safe space and support to alleviate anxiety and sustain participation

The effect of light on circadian entrainment: Risk mitigation techniques for shifting from day to night flight operations

Prepared for: Assistant Commandant of the Marine CorpsA midair collision in the early morning hours of December 6, 2018 resulted in the tragic deaths of six US Marine Corps aircrew members and the loss of two aircraft, a KC-130 tanker and an F/A-18. The mishap occurred around 2 AM during a routine nighttime air refueling training mission off the coast of Japan. In the investigation that followed, fatigue was identified as a major contributor; the transition from day to night flights was called out as a problem area that continues to plague aviation commands. Subsequent investigations confirmed findings and requested help from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Crew Endurance Team to study the problem and make recommendations for safer transition from day to night flight operations. The study goal was to provide recommendations to the fleet regarding the limitations and best practices for shifting aviators from day to night operations. After reviewing the scientific literature, NPS designed a study to determine the efficacy of high energy visible (HEV) light exposure in shifting the circadian rhythms of study participants. The project was a hybrid study of military aviators who, as graduate students at NPS, continued normal daily schedules but came into the laboratory for 6 to 8 hours on three consecutive evenings. The study attempted to replicate the patterns of aviators who could potentially be required to abruptly shift to night flight operations. Results showed that a single 4-hour exposure of blue-enriched white light (~1000 lux) successfully delayed the circadian phase of all participants an average of 1 hour 19 minutes (range 53 minutes to 1 hour 56 minutes). Melatonin onset was delayed in all participants. This circadian shift is estimated to be a 10-fold increase over what would be achieved without the HEV light. Light was shown to have an alerting effect with participants reporting less sleepiness and reduced subjective workload with improved flight performance. Conclusions from the literature review and our study indicate that circadian entrainment in military operational settings should use light management as the dominant method for shifting the circadian clock. In general, it is expected that higher rates of adaptation (i.e., more rapid entrainment) will occur by aligning and applying multiple synchronization methods simultaneously, i.e., light management combined with strategically timed exercise, meals, melatonin, and caffeine. Based on these conclusions, we developed general recommendations and two circadian synchronization plans for crewmembers switching from day to night operations. One plan shows a schedule that prepares for night operations shifting over multiple days. The other shows a schedule for crewmembers required to shift from abruptly without notice. These plans warrant further development in an operational environment to ensure they can be implemented safely and effectively.Assistant Commandant of the Marine CorpsAssistant Commandant of the Marine CorpsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimite

Factorial validity of an abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale for seniors in the Nurses’ Health Study

Background: Using validated measures of individuals’ perceptions of their neighborhood built environment is important for accurately estimating effects on physical activity. However, no studies to date have examined the factorial validity of a measure of perceived neighborhood environment among older adults in the United States. The purpose of this measurement study was to test the factorial validity of a version of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) modified for seniors in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS). Findings: A random sample of 2,920 female nurses (mean age = 73 ± 7 years) in the NHS cohort from California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania completed a 36-item modified NEWS-A for seniors. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test measurement models for both the modified NEWS-A for seniors and the original NEWS-A. Internal consistency within factors was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. The hypothesized 7-factor measurement model was a poor fit for the modified NEWS-A for seniors. Overall, the best-fitting measurement model was the original 6-factor solution to the NEWS-A. Factors were correlated and internally consistent. Conclusions: This study provided support for the construct validity of the original NEWS-A for assessing perceptions of neighborhood environments in older women in the United States

Walking for our health: couple-focused interventions to promote physical activity in older adults

More than 50% of U.S. adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity to meet current recommendations, making physical activity change and maintenance a priority for health promotion throughout adulthood. Among married partners, change in physical activity of one partner often is concordant with change of activity of the other. The primary purpose of this study was to examine two couple-focused interventions that capitalize on the co-occurrence of health behavior change within couples to promote physical activity in older adults. In this study, partners (N = 31 couples) participated together in assessment and intervention activities, and were randomized together into one of two couple-focused conditions. In one condition (concurrent), standard goal-setting techniques were extended to a couple-focused design with each partner setting daily step goals and monitoring her or his own progress. In the other condition (combined), partners collaborated to set and monitor shared daily step goals. Physical activity was assessed with accelerometers pre- and post-intervention. Post-intervention, average weekly physical activity increased by 58 min (p \u3c 0.001), and average body mass index (BMI) decreased by 0.50 kg/m2 (p = 0.001), from pre-intervention measures. Similar levels of change in weekly physical activity and in BMI were detected in both intervention groups. Furthermore, participants demonstrated high adherence to the intervention protocol. Results suggest that couple-focused physical activity interventions can be effective in eliciting increases in physical activity among older adults. Further research is needed to uncover interpersonal mechanisms that maximize physical activity promotion and maintenance within couples over time

Factorial Invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale among Senior Women in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohort

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) across subgroups based on demographic, health-related, behavioral, and environmental characteristics among Nurses’ Health Study participants (N = 2,919; age M = 73.0, SD = 6.9 years) living in California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. A series of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate increasingly restrictive hypotheses of factorial invariance. Factorial invariance was supported across age, walking limitations, and neighborhood walking. Only partial scalar invariance was supported across state residence and neighborhood population density. This evidence provides support for using the NEWS-A with older women of different ages, who have different degrees of walking limitations, and who engage in different amounts of neighborhood walking. Partial scalar invariance suggests that researchers should be cautious when using the NEWS-A to compare older adults living in different states and neighborhoods with different levels of population density

Youth perceptions of how neighborhood physical environment and peers affect physical activity: a focus group study

Abstract Objective There is need for a youth-informed conceptualization of how environmental and social neighborhood contexts influence physical activity. We assessed youths’ perceptions of their neighborhood physical and peer environments as affecting physical activity. Methods Thirty-three students (20 girls; ages 12-14 years) participated in focus groups about the physical environment and peers within their neighborhoods, and their understanding of how they affect physical activity. Results Inductive analysis identified themes of access (e.g., to equipment); aesthetics; physical and social safety; peer proximity and behavior (e.g., bullying); adult support or interference; and adult boundary setting. Participants also identified interconnections among themes, such as traffic shaping parent boundary setting and, in turn, access to physical spaces and peers. Conclusions Young adolescents view neighborhoods in ways similar to and different from adults. Examining physical and social environments in tandem, while mindful of how adults shape and youth perceive these environments, may enhance understanding of youth physical activity behavior

AVIATION SHIFTWORK: SAFELY TRANSITIONING FROM DAY TO NIGHT FLIGHTS

The study was requested by the Marine Corps Aviation community with a focus on risk mitigation strategies for aviators transitioning from day to night flights. Avoiding the use of stimulants and sedatives to aid in fatigue mitigation, the study instead used a four-hour period of continuous bright light exposure to shift the circadian rhythm. The main goals of this study were to determine if the light intervention protocol successfully shifted the circadian rhythm of our participants, how large of a phase delay shift was possible, and whether the light intervention affected the participants' perceived levels of fatigue. To reach these goals, we examined melatonin secretion levels to determine dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) over the course of three nights. Phase delay shift calculations were computed using differences in DLMO from night to night. Additionally, self-reported scores on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) provided insight into individual perceived levels of fatigue. Results of the study show successful implementation of the light intervention method by an average phase delay shift of 1 hour 20 minutes ± 22 minutes. However, analyzing the KSS scores did not provide statistically significant results. This study can provide a baseline for future fatigue risk mitigation strategies for military aviation.Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

The role of relatedness in physical activity motivation, behaviour, and affective experiences : a self-determination theory perspective

Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) suggests that meeting needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness will affect the type of motivation (from amotivation to intrinsic motivation) experienced, along with cognitive, affective, and behavioural outcomes. Although relatedness should play an important role in motivation, limited research has examined the role of social constructs in this process. This project investigated antecedents and outcomes of relatedness and explored whether learning structure interventions facilitate relatedness and self-determination among adult dragon boaters. These aims were addressed in two studies. The first study involved a passive observation of 558 dragon boaters aged 19-83. Friendship quality, peer acceptance, social support, and age predicted relatedness. Autonomy, competence, relatedness, age, and gender significantly predicted self-determined motivation. Age and gender did not moderate these relationships. Self-determined motivation partially mediated the relationship between psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and positive and negative affect, while competence alone predicted physical self-worth, and physical activity. The second study was an 8-week intervention involving 210 paddlers from 12 dragon boat teams. Teams were randomly assigned to a cooperative or an individualistic learning intervention, and coaches were trained to conduct the intervention with their teams. Paddlers completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the intervention period. Peer acceptance and psychological need fulfillment increased over the course of the 8 weeks similarly in both conditions. The only intervention effect was that autonomy was facilitated by the individualistic intervention. While expectations that the cooperative intervention would enhance social relationships and relatedness were not supported, mixed effects modeling analyses demonstrated a substantial within-team clustering effect, and found that changes in relatedness perceptions predicted changes in self-determined motivation. A replication of the mediator model test in Study 1 confirmed the role of self-determination as a partial mediator. Together these studies demonstrate the importance of relatedness in adult activity motivation, link social relationship constructs to relatedness and self-determination theory, and provide evidence that within-team clustering on social and motivational variables should be considered in research with in tact teams.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat

Understanding sport participation motivation in early adolescent females : the role of friendship and physical self-perceptions

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport friendship quality, athletic competence and attractiveness perceptions, global self-worth, and sport enjoyment in predicting motivation to participate in sport among young adolescent female sport participants. Two hundred and twenty-nine female team sport participants between the ages of eleven and fourteen participated in this study. Participants completed the athletic competence, physical attractiveness, and self-worth subscales of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985), the Sport Friendship Quality Scale (Weiss & Smith, 1999), the sport enjoyment and sport commitment subscales of the Sport Commitment Model (Scanlan, Simons, Carpenter, Schmidt, & Keeler, 1993), and two items assessing intention to return to the present sport and sport in general. Sport enjoyment and intention to return means were very high and the distributions highly skewed, indicating that participants enjoy sport and are highly motivated to continue playing, but also made determine predictors and outcomes of these variables difficult. Correlational and multiple regression analysis suggested that self-worth was predicted primarily by physical attractiveness perceptions, with athletic competence perceptions making a minor contribution. Sport enjoyment was partially predicted by having things in common with one's best sport friend. Sport enjoyment predicted sport commitment and intentions to return. No relationship was found between self-worth and sport enjoyment. A path analysis of two models of participation motivation found that neither model fit the data well. Model modification procedures were undertaken to find a more parsimonious model and to identify potential relationships for future research. This study did not provide strong support for a predictive role of sport friendship quality and physical self perceptions in predicting sport enjoyment and motivation, or for a model where selfesteem is a separate outcome of antecedents of motivation, rather than a mediating variable. The lack of variance on enjoyment and motivation variables greatly limited the ability of this study to determine predictors and outcomes of sport enjoyment and motivation. Future studies examining other aspects of youth peer relationships in sport are needed to explore their effects on sport related affect, motivation, and self-worth.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat

Social Support and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Identifying Predictors Using Data From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

This study examined which of nine forms of social support were the strongest predictors of physical activity in older adults, and to what degree these associations were moderated by eight demographic indicators of groups at increased risk of social isolation. Baseline data from 21,491 adults aged 65 and older who were participants of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging were analyzed using multiple regression. Greater social network size, social contact with network members, and participation in community-related activities predicted greater physical activity, whereas being in a domestic partnership and perceiving more tangible support to be available were negatively associated. The strength and direction of these associations varied by sex, living arrangement, and income. Given the findings, various forms of social support should be incorporated in physical activity interventions but tailored to meet the needs of different segments of the aging population.Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR