Sports Investment, Beliefs about Food-related Behaviors, and Engagement in Problematic Eating Behaviors during Adolescence

Involvement in sport is the most widely reported organized activity among children and adolescents. To date, organized sports also represent the only organized activity examined in conjunction with youths\u27 eating behaviors. Organized sports serve as contexts where messages about healthy eating and body image are communicated, and adolescents\u27 beliefs about food and their bodies\u27 degree of thinness and muscularity has the potential to be amplified in such settings as youth strive to perform at high levels during athletic competitions. However, inconsistency in the measurement of both organized sports participation and adolescents\u27 engagement in problematic under- and over-eating behaviors has resulted in a more limited understanding of the developmental trajectories of both constructs during adolescence. Moreover, explanatory mechanisms, specifically adolescents\u27 belief systems about food and their bodies, may explain associations between sports involvement and problematic eating behaviors, and such associations may be especially prevalent for youth involved in multiple organized activities simultaneously (e.g., sports and church activities). Therefore, the goals of current study were threefold: (1) examine associations between multidimensional constructs of sports investment and problematic under- and over-eating behaviors, (2) examine explanatory associations between sports investment and problematic under- and over-eating behaviors through adolescents\u27 beliefs about food, and their bodies\u27 degree of thinness and muscularity, and (3) examine whether explanatory associations vary as a function of adolescents\u27 participation in additional organized activities simultaneously with sports. Participants included 610 adolescents (M = 15.93, SD = 1.10, Range = 14 -- 19 years, 58.6% female) who completed measures assessing participation in organized activities, athletic identity status, beliefs about thinness, muscularity, and under- and over-eating behaviors, and engagement in problematic under- and over-eating behaviors. Across all youth, sports investment was associated with binge eating and over-eating behaviors, and such associations were explained by beliefs about the body\u27s degree of muscularity. In addition, being highly invested in sports was associated with higher levels of moderate and severe under-eating behaviors through lower food autonomy of over-eating behaviors. Several significant gender differences also emerged. Sports investment was directly associated with binge eating for boys, while sports investment was indirectly associated with both under- and over-eating behaviors for girls. Finally, involvement in additional organized activities simultaneously with sports was associated with protective and adverse outcomes. Results indicate that church activities are a context promoting healthy eating habits, while participation in club-related activities may lead to increased scheduling demands, and a decreased focus on healthy eating patterns. Overall, these findings indicate that organized sports represent an important context contributing to adolescents\u27 conceptualizations of food-related behaviors and the body\u27s degree of muscularity and, as well differences in problematic under- and over-eating behaviors

Adolescent Autonomy Development and Problematic Eating Patterns

Adolescence is a developmental time period associated with increased autonomy from parents and more independent decision-making. Adolescents strive to control areas of their life once solely controlled by parents, and food and eating decisions are two areas over which adolescents may want to have sole control. In addition, there may be heterogeneity in adolescents\u27 beliefs about food-related behavior as well as adolescents\u27 actual eating patterns. The current study examined parents\u27 and adolescents\u27 domain beliefs about food and whether adolescents\u27 domain beliefs about such behaviors were associated with problematic eating patterns. Participants included 102 female caregiver-adolescent dyads with children between the ages of 12-17 years (M = 14.65) and female caregivers between the ages of 29 to 65 years (M = 43.79). Female caregivers and adolescents completed self-report measures which assessed decision-making about various food-related behaviors, the harmfulness of different eating behaviors, and adolescents\u27 engagement in problematic (under-/over-eating) eating patterns. Female caregivers viewed decisions about food-related issues as requiring more parental input than adolescents, while older teens viewed food-related issues as up to them to decide compared to younger teens. Female caregivers and adolescents, regardless of age, did not differ in their harmfulness judgments about food and eating behavior. Additionally, increased adolescent decision-making about food-related behavior was associated with increased over-eating behavior, while increased adolescent harmfulness ratings of food were associated with increased restrictive eating

Character Development Through Youth Sport: High School Coaches’ Perspectives about a Character-based Education Program

This study examined high school sports coaches’ perspectives about a character-based coach education workshop designed to promote positive coaching practices and transform the culture of youth sports. Fifteen coaches (Mage = 42.07, SD = 14.62, 73.3% male) provided feedback about Positive Coaching Alliance’s (PCA) “Double-Goal Coach” training program and what aspects of the workshop they applied to their coaching practices. Results indicated that coaches believed that participation in PCA workshops contributed to the value coaches attributed to individuals, to coach-oriented character development, and to positive relationships within youth sports. The coaches also suggested changes in future PCA workshops. These findings provide preliminary evidence that coaches’ incorporate skills acquired through participation in character-based coach education programs. We discuss implications for coaches and athletes, and for policies aimed at enhancing positive youth attributes developed through sport

Character Development among Youth of Color from Low-SES Backgrounds: An Examination of Boy Scouts of America’s ScoutReach Program

This study examined character attributes associated with participation in ScoutReach, Boy Scouts of America’s recent program innovation created to deliver Scouting curriculum to underserved populations. Participants were predominantly Black/African American (72.9%; N = 266, Mage = 10.54, SD = 1.58) and resided in low-income urban communities. Youth completed surveys assessing how much they embody different character attributes (e.g., kindness, helpfulness, hopeful future expectations), and a subset of youth (n = 22) also participated in semi-structured interviews examining character-shaping experiences within the program. Results replicated an eight-factor character structure established with youth involved in traditional Scouting programs, and indicated that involvement in ScoutReach may positively contribute to the development in youth of prosocial behaviors, future career goals, tolerance beliefs, and the manifestation of character attributes across Scouting and non-Scouting contexts. Together, these findings have implications for measuring character constructs among youth of color from low-SES backgrounds, and for the conduct of youth-serving character development programs more generally

Program Innovations and Character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a Mixed-Methods, Longitudinal Study

Youth development programs seek to promote positive development through mentoring and engaging youth in opportunities for individual growth and community connectedness. We present findings from the initial phase of a mixed-methods, longitudinal study aimed at assessing the impact of one such program, Cub Scouts, on character development. We assessed if Scouting, and a recent innovation in Scouting focused on program quality, are associated with the development of character and other positive youth outcomes. Participants were 1,083 Scouts and non-Scouts, aged 5-12 years. At the start of the study, there was no difference in indicators of character between Scouts and non-Scouts, once matched through propensity score analyses. Through content analyses of interviews and short- answer questionnaires administered to leaders, we found that leaders’ views of character and of their roles corresponded to those envisioned by Cub Scouts. Implications for character development, and for the role of program components in character development, are discussed

Developmental Trajectories of Youth Character: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Study of Cub Scouts and Non-Scout Boys

Youth development programs, such as the Boy Scouts of America, aim to develop positive attributes in youth (e.g., character virtues, prosocial behaviors, and positive civic actions), which are necessary for individuals and societies to flourish. However, few developmental studies have focused on how specific positive attributes develop through participation in programs such as the Boy Scouts of America. As part of the Character and Merit Project, this article examined the developmental trajectories of character and other positive attributes, which are of focal concern of the Boy Scouts of America and the developmental literature. Data were collected from 1398 Scouts (M = 8.59 years, SD = 1.29 years, Range 6.17-11.92 years) and 325 non-Scout boys (M = 9.06 years, SD = 1.43 years, Range 6.20-11.81 years) over five waves of testing across a two-and-half-year period. Latent growth-curve analyses of self-report survey data examined the developmental trajectories of the attributes. Older youth rated themselves lower than younger participants on helpfulness, reverence, thriftiness, and school performance. However, all youth had moderately high self-ratings on all the attributes. Across waves, Scouts\u27 self-ratings increased significantly for cheerfulness, helpfulness, kindness, obedience, trustworthiness, and hopeful future expectations. Non-Scout boys\u27 self-ratings showed no significant change for any attributes except for a significant decrease in religious reverence among non-Scout boys from religious institutions. We discuss implications for positive youth development and for the role of the Boy Scouts of America programming in character development

Character Development among Youth of Color from Low-SES Backgrounds: An Examination of Boy Scouts of America’s ScoutReach Program

This study examined character attributes associated with participation in ScoutReach, Boy Scouts of America’s recent program innovation created to deliver Scouting curriculum to underserved populations. Participants were predominantly Black/African American (72.9%; N = 266, Mage = 10.54, SD = 1.58) and resided in low-income urban communities. Youth completed surveys assessing how much they embody different character attributes (e.g., kindness, helpfulness, hopeful future expectations), and a subset of youth (n = 22) also participated in semi-structured interviews examining character-shaping experiences within the program. Results replicated an eight-factor character structure established with youth involved in traditional Scouting programs, and indicated that involvement in ScoutReach may positively contribute to the development in youth of prosocial behaviors, future career goals, tolerance beliefs, and the manifestation of character attributes across Scouting and non-Scouting contexts. Together, these findings have implications for measuring character constructs among youth of color from low-SES backgrounds, and for the conduct of youth-serving character development programs more generally

The Study of the Development of Civic Engagement Within Contemporary Developmental Science: Theory, Method, and Application

Within contemporary developmental science, models derived from relational developmental systems metatheory emphasize that the basic process involved in the ontogeny of civic engagement involves mutually-influential and beneficial relations between the developing individual and his or her complex and changing social, cultural, and physical contexts (represented as individual ← → context relations). The authors suggest that research on the development of civic engagement should be theoretically predicated, use change-sensitive, longitudinal methods, and be comparative across time and place. Using these facets of scholarship as a lens, we discuss the contributions to this special issue. We conclude that the present set of studies provides a useful basis for future research and applications aimed at understanding and promoting individuals’ civic contributions, and their support of social organizations promoting individual thriving and freedom, liberty, and social justice

Physical Activity and Quit Motivation Moderators of Adolescent Smoking Reduction

Objectives—We examined participant characteristics as moderators of adolescents’ smoking cessation outcomes as a function of intervention: Not-on-Tobacco (N-O-T), N-O-T with a physical activity (PA) module (N-O-T+FIT), or Brief Intervention (BI). Methods—We randomly assigned youth (N = 232) recruited from public high schools to an intervention, and measured their baseline levels of PA and motivation to quit. The number of cigarettes/day for weekdays and weekends was obtained at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Results—Across time-points, cigarette use declined for youth in N-O-T (p = .007) and N-O-T +FIT (ps \u3c .02), but not BI (n.s.). For N-O-T+FIT youth, the steepest declines in weekday smoking occurred for those with high PA levels (p = .02). Weekend cigarette use decreased for NO-T+FIT youth with moderate-high levels of intrinsic motivation to quit (ps \u3c .04). Conclusions—Adolescents may benefit from interventions designed to address the barriers faced during a quit attempt, including their motivation to make a change and their engagement in other healthy behaviors such as physical activity

Program innovations and character in Cub Scouts: Findings from Year 1 of a mixed-methods, longitudinal study

Youth development programs seek to promote positive development through mentoring and engaging youth in opportunities for individual growth and community connectedness. We present findings from the initial phase of a mixed-method, longitudinal study aimed at assessing the impact of one such program, Cub Scouts, on character development. We assessed if Scouting, and a recent innovation focused on program quality, are associated with the development of character and other positive outcomes. Participants were 1,083 Scouts and non-Scouts, aged 5-12 years. At the start of the study, there was no difference in indicators of character between Scouts and non-Scouts, once matched through propensity score analyses. Through content analyses of interviews and short-answer questionnaires administered to leaders, we found that leaders’ views of character and of their roles corresponded to those envisioned by Cub Scouts. Implications for character development, and for the role of program components in character development, are discussed