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Biomedical subjects

A V Carron

Publications and source records attributed to A V Carron.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Development and initial validation of the Brunel lifestyle physical activity questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a valid and reliable internet based lifestyle physical activity questionnaire suitable for use among the United Kingdom population. METHODS: After a detailed content analysis and item generation using a panel of experts, an internet based measure of lifestyle physical activity behaviour was developed. Data were collected from 1369 subjects in total. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the two subscales of the Brunel lifestyle physical activity questionnaire among independent samples and by use of multisample analyses. RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analysis showed the psychometric integrity of two subscales: planned physical activity and unplanned physical activity. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument designed to provide an online behavioural assessment to be used in conjunction with a 12 week personalised fitness programme delivered through the internet.

Adult↗

Group cohesion in older adult exercisers: prediction and intervention effects.

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationship between class cohesion and exercise adherence in older adult exercisers. Study 1 examined the predictive ability of four dimensions of cohesion on exercise participation at 1, 6, and 12 months following the initial assessment of cohesion. Study 2 examined the effectiveness of a team-building intervention, designed to enhance class cohesion (and based on Study 1 results), on improving exercise adherence and return rates. Participants were assigned to a team-building, placebo, or control condition. Study 1 showed that three measures of cohesion, Individual attractions to the group-social, Group integration-social, and Group integration-task, were all significantly related to exercise class attendance following a 1-month interval. Group integration-task was significantly related to class attendance following a 6- and a 12-month interval. Study 2 showed that participants in the team-building condition (a) attended more classes than the control and placebo conditions and (b) had a higher return rate following a 10-week hiatus than the control condition. It was concluded that (a) class cohesion plays a significant role in exercise class participation, both short- and long-term, and (b) samples of older adult exercisers are appropriate groups for interventions based on developing class cohesion.

Aged↗

Strategic decisions of ice hockey coaches as a function of game location.

Two studies were performed to determine the influence of game location on the strategic decisions of ice hockey coaches. In study 1, coaches from the National (n = 23) and Ontario Hockey Leagues (n = 17) indicated the degree to which they had their teams forecheck assertively at home versus away. In study 2, video analysis of 62 National Hockey League games was used to verify the extent to which teams in this league use an assertive forechecking strategy at home versus away. In study 1, coaches reported that they implemented a more assertive forechecking style at home versus away (P < 0.001). The results of the video analysis in study 2 were consistent with the coaches' reports: teams used a more assertive forechecking style at home versus away (P < 0.03). The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the home advantage in the National Hockey League.

Competitive Behavior↗

The influence of game location on athletes' psychological states.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between game location and precompetition psychological states. Male rugby players (N = 100) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and the Profile of Mood States approximately 1 hr before a home and an away game. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance of mood and anxiety scores indicated significant differences between home and away locations. Participants scored higher on Vigor and Self-confidence, and lower on Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion, Cognitive Anxiety, and Somatic Anxiety when competing at home. The findings support the proposal (Courneya & Carron, 1992) that psychological states are influenced by game location.

Adult↗

The association between status and cohesion in sport teams.

The main objective of this study was to establish the relationship between perceptions of status attributes and cohesion and status ranking and cohesion. A secondary aim was to determine whether age (operationalized by scholastic levels) or culture serves as a moderator in the relationship between either status attributes or status ranking and cohesion. Another secondary aim was to determine if differences are present in the importance attached by athletes to status attributes. Canadian and Indian athletes were tested. Although perceptions of the importance of status attributes and cohesiveness were related, the effect size was small (Green, 1991); perceptions of status ranking and cohesiveness were not related. Neither scholastic level nor culture served as a moderator in the association between either status attributes or status rank and cohesion. The importance that athletes attach to status attributes is similar between scholastic levels and across cultures. The results are discussed in terms of the role of status in sport teams.

Adolescent↗

The conceptualization and effect of control beliefs on exercise attendance in the elderly.

The purpose of the study was to compare the relative merits of two approaches to the measurement of perceived behavioral control for the prediction of attendance in an exercise program in an elderly population. The first approach was to conceptualize perceived behavioral control in the traditional manner outlined by Ajzen (1987). The second approach was to conceptualize control beliefs as two distinct constructs: scheduling self-efficacy and perceived barriers to exercise. Participants (N = 157, average age = 68 years +/-7.87, 74% female) were volunteers from elderly exercise classes. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires assessing the constructs at Weeks 5 and 9 of a 16-week exercise program. Attendance was monitored and used as the dependent variable. Results revealed that in an active elderly sample, (a) scheduling self-efficacy is a superior conceptualization for control beliefs than perceived behavioral control, (b) neither attitude nor subjective norm predict intention or attendance in an exercise program, and (c) perceived barriers to exercise are not related to exercise intention or attendance.

Aged↗

Travel and the home advantage.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative contributions of various travel related variables to visiting team success in the National Hockey League. A multiple regression design was used with game outcome as the dependent variable. The independent variables of interest included, as main effects and interactions, number of time zones crossed, direction of travel, distance traveled, preparation/adjustment time, time of season, game number on the road trip, and the home stand. Visiting team success was negatively associated with the interaction of number of time zones crossed and increased preparation time between games, and was positively associated with game number on the road. It was concluded that only a small portion of the variance in the home advantage/visitor disadvantage can be explained by travel related factors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Personality status of wrestlers of varying abilities as measured by a sport specific version of a personality inventory.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between personality and ability in wrestling. A wrestling-specific version of the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI-W) was constructed and compared to the parent JPI. Wrestlers were categorized as qualifiers (N = 46) or nonqualifiers (N = 52) on the basis of an ability classification scheme which involved the previous year's performance at specified tournaments. These two groups were then examined for differences on eight JPI scales (anxiety, energy level, interpersonal affect, organization, risk taking, self esteem, social participation, and tolerance), eight corresponding JPI-W scales, wrestling age category (senior, junior, and juvenile), and wrestling experience. The results indicated that in comparison to nonqualifiers, qualifiers had significantly greater wrestling experience and higher self esteem as measured by the JPI-W.

Adolescent↗

Impact of coaching certification on coaching attitudes.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the impact of coaching certification upon coaching attitudes toward important social psychological correlates of involvement in sport. Specifically, 249 coaches with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 levels of certification in the National Coaching Certification Program for Hockey were compared on attitudes toward important social psychological correlates of athletic involvement. As a consequence of anomalies in the sample, the six levels of certification were collapsed to form a factorial design comprising 2 levels of certification (coaches with 0.1 and 2 levels versus coaches with 3, 4, and 5 levels) and 2 levels of competition (house league versus competitive league coaches). The results revealed that coaches with greater certification were older and more experienced. Also, coaches in competitive leagues were more experienced, attached more importance to setting realistic objectives and playing well, but less importance to providing a recreational experience for players than house league coaches. Also, with increasing certification, coaches in competitive leagues attached increased importance to beating an opponent and having a winning team while house league coaches showed a decrease. Finally, the emphasis planed upon providing equal ice time for all players remained low over the two levels of certification in the competitive league coaches; it showed a decrease with greater certification in the house league coaches.

Adult↗

The stability of causal attributions.

The stability of causal attribution over repeated test days was examined using a 2 (win, loss) X 2 (immediate, one day delay) X 3 (post game, 2 weeks, 4 weeks) design. Male high school football players outlined the degree of causality attributed to ability, effort, luck, task difficulty and officiating. The results from an ANOVA analysis supported a view that attributions are stable over a four week interval. However, a correlational analysis revealed that there is only a moderate to low consistency of individual differences in attribution over repeated tests. Thus, retrospective judgements for causality may not be reliable.

Adolescent↗

Comparisons of personality for selected groups of fifteen-year-old males.

Cattell's High School Personality Questionnaire and Gough's Adjective Checklist were administered to 73 15-yr.-old boys to compare personality for groups selected on the basis of extreme scores on maturation (skeletal development, age at achievement of peak height velocity), body type (body somatotype, body skinfolds), performance (body reaction time), strength, physical fitness and socioeconomic status. Multiple discriminant analyses indicated that the only significant difference in personality between groups was for early versus late maturers (skeletal development) on Cattell's scale. The personality scores for the remaining extreme groups did not differ on either of the scales, Cattell's or Gough's.

Adolescent↗

Motor performance and response consistency as a function of age.

The specificity versus generality of motor performance and motor response consistency ws investigated as a function of age. 120 Ss, 30 each at age 7, 11, 15 and 19 yr., were given 120 practice trials (60 trials per session with 24 hr. interpolated between sessions) on both simple and choice RT tasks. For motor performance the reliability of individual differences were high in both tasks at all ages, while the amount of generality was moderately high in the two younger groups but diminished with age. The reliability coefficients for motor response consistency were low for both tasks but, with two exceptions, statistically significant. There was no evidences for generality in motor response consistency at any age.

Journal Article↗