Youth who report prosocial relationships with natural mentors show increased social and academic success and life satisfaction. However, little research investigates how mentors impact aspects of youth identity such as athleticism or religiosity. The present study applies a Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) analysis model to data from a…

Sport involvement may offer physical and psychological benefits to early adolescents beyond those accrued through physical activity (PA). Those benefits, though, may be moderated by gender. The purpose of this study was to examine these potential benefits in a middle school population. The sample consisted of 629 sixth graders enrolled in a…

This study investigated the experience of and effect created by a team sport and coaching intervention upon the self-concept of male school students (age: 12-16; n = 129) from diverse backgrounds. A convergent parallel mixed-method design was used to compare and relate a questionnaire study and an interview study in a quasi-experimental design,…

Introduction: This study explored the relationship between first-time or repeat participation at a sports education camp and demographic variables of gender, age, race or ethnicity, measures of self-perception, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity in participants' communities. Methods: The study was a secondary data analysis of interview…

Drawing on longitudinal, qualitative research into girls' participation in physical activity and sport in the UK, this article will explore girls' embodied constructions of 'healthy' identities. My research with girls (aged 10-13) found that over the transition to secondary school, classed and gendered healthism discourses had come to powerfully…

Girls' identity constructions are influenced by the dominant sport, health and beauty discourses in their society. Recent research indicates that sport and health discourses embedded in physical education (PE) compete for influence. Some of these studies have illustrated how these discourses inform girls' social construction of body ideals and…

"Her Life Depends On It III" is the Women's Sports Foundation's comprehensive report that reviews existing and emerging research on the links between participation in sport and physical activity and the health and wellbeing of American girls and women. As with the previous editions in 2004 and 2009, this study also confirms that physical…

This three-paper format dissertation explores three topics relevant to participating in a short-term model Sports Education Camp for youth with vision impairments. The three papers are independent studies, yet build upon each other by first measuring physical performance in certain skills, then exploring their levels of self-perception, body mass…

Purpose: As there is little research that investigates the experiences of minority boys participating in youth development programs (Fashola, 2003), the current research focused on a sport-based youth development program for early adolescent Black and Latino boys in Hartford, CT. Specifically, the present study explored (a) what attracted minority…

The current study explored specific aspects of sports and individuals on 4 domains of the self-system (physical competence and physical appearance self-concept, global physical and general self-esteem). Participants were 351 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.45, SD = 1.25 years, males n = 132) recruited from elite sports and regular school…

Stereotypes and self-perceptions are important in understanding how people develop their self-knowledge and social identity, become members of groups, and view groups and their members. While we have some understanding of the stereotypical view of the physical education teacher, we currently have little knowledge of how physical education…

In this article we examine the importance of sensation seeking and pragmatism in the steroids and sports supplements behavior and attitudes of high school and junior high school students on Long Island, New York. Steroid use is much less acceptable than sports supplement use, although the reasons for use are similar. Respondents use supplements…

Examined the direction of causal flow between global and specific dimensions of self-concept. Adolescent girls completed the Physical Self-Perception Profile and a global self-esteem scale in 9th and 10th grade. Results showed little support for top-down or bottom-up effects over the year. When self-concept was examined over time, there was…

A physical fitness program centered around running for awareness of inner feelings self, body, breathing, others, and physical surroundings is described. (MM)

This study was designed to explore the relationships among individuals' dispositional ability conceptions, intrinsic motivation, experience, perceived competence, persistence, and performance. Participants practiced a novel task, completed surveys before instruction and after practicing the task, and completed a skill test. The results indicated…