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Current guidelines support that physical activity during the perinatal period is beneficial for the mother and the foetus. However, women during their pregnancy and postpartum limit or discontinue their exercise routine. The aim of this study was to illustrate perinatal women's views and experiences derived from an Exercise Counselling (EC) intervention and evaluate the intervention's acceptability. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with eight adult women of reproductive age recruited from obstetric care practices. Participants had just completed an EC intervention regarding the effectiveness of exercise on perinatal depressive symptoms, implemented in the context of a Randomised Control Trial. The analysis resulted in three overarching themes: main obstacles to engagement with the EC intervention, factors that enabled participation in the EC intervention and participants' suggestions to improve the EC intervention. One of the main obstacles to engagement with the EC intervention was socio-cultural factors, such as the post-birth forty-day home stay, which negatively impacted women's participation in the intervention. By contrast, obstetricians' support and the positive effect of exercise on mental well-being were enabling factors. Finally, among recommendations to improve the EC intervention, women cited the partner's involvement and engagement in the EC earlier in pregnancy. In conclusion, designing and implementing culturally sensitive interventions targeting expectant parents as a dyad is fundamental for researchers and obstetricians. Future research should focus on identifying effective strategies to educate obstetricians about perinatal exercise and to develop protocols that could support the implementation of perinatal exercise counselling sessions in public health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A British study of 90 preservice teachers, 16 preservice teachers specializing in physical education (PE), and 91 secondary PE teachers found that preservice teachers preferred students to achieve via effort rather than ability; secondary teachers preferred high ability and effort. Physical fitness tests and performance comparisons were least preferred grading methods. (SK)

Presents the results of a study that assessed the influence of individual and contextual factors on adolescent girls' interest in school physical education. Suggests that classroom environment is more important than individual goals in influencing pupil interest. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical propositions of goal perspectives theory. (MJP)

The aim of this study was to adapt the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale to the Greek language. The validity and reliability of the scale were examined in three studies with 209, 192, and 147 sixth-grade students, respectively. The subscale structure of the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale was supported through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The hypothesized two main dimensions, Prosocial and Antisocial behavior, were divided into two factors, Cooperating skills and Empathy for Prosocial behavior and Quick-temperedness and Disruptiveness for Antisocial behavior. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were high. Additionally, correlations between each factor and social desirability scores were nonsignificant. The resultant model of the present study is a behavior rating scale that should be considered a reliable choice for assessing Greek middle school students' social skills.

The present study examined effects of sex, attitude towards physical activity, perceived barriers for participation in physical activity, and students' perception of their parents' participation in physical activity on the intrinsic motivation of students participating in a health related program in physical education. 643 students (303 boys and 340 girls) responded to questionnaires measuring intrinsic motivation, attitudes towards physical activity, perceived barriers to exercise and perceived parents' participation in physical activity. Mean age was 12.9 yr. (SD=1.2, range 11-14 years). Analysis indicated that students' intrinsic motivation towards the program was influenced by perceived barriers to exercise. Sex, attitudes towards physical activity, and perceived parents' participation in physical activity seem to be less important.

A three-wave study over one year with 882 adolescents, aged 10 to 16 years at the initial testing, examined psychosocial variables regarding four health-related behaviors: exercise, eating fruit, smoking, and drug use. Analysis showed that during the stages of the study, high school students' exercise behavior decreased and their smoking behavior increased as well as their willingness to use drugs. It seems that study of physical education and health education during adolescence must take into account the possible differences in psychosocial variables associated with health-related behaviors as well as the different stages of adolescence.

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of responsibility in the context of physical education. 17 6th-grade students (7 boys and 10 girls) from 9 Greek elementary schools were interviewed. Theory and data driven thematic analysis was conducted. The Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model provided a conceptual framework to guide data analysis. Most of the students' values, motives, attitudes, intentions, and experiences reflected the foundational responsibility goals included in the TPSR model; however, students' awareness of more advanced manifestations of responsibility in physical education was weaker. Findings shed light on Greek students' perceptions of responsibility in physical education (PE) classes and other settings. The TPSR model provided a relevant framework for describing and interpreting students' perceptions of responsibility. However, there was a marked discrepancy between students' perceived values of responsibility and their reported experiences. Implications for promoting responsibility in physical education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the effect of goal-setting on reaction time 40 physical education students were tested on a reaction-time test and were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: personal goals, difficult assigned goals, easy assigned goals, and no goals. Analysis showed that goal-setting enhanced performance, and participants in the difficult assigned goals condition showed the biggest improvement.

This study examined the effects of a self-regulated learning teaching unit on students' performance calibration, goal attainment, and attributions in physical education. Participants were 101 fifth- and sixth-grade students who were randomly assigned to an experimental (57 students) and a control group (44 students). Calibration indexes were calculated based on students' estimated and actual performance in a basketball shooting test. The intervention included four sessions based on Zimmerman's four-level model of self-regulated learning. Experimental group students estimated more accurately their performance after the intervention compared to control group students while associations between calibration, goal attainment, and attributions were found. Results are discussed with reference to calibration and self-regulated learning in physical education. Practical implications and directions for future research are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A laboratory experiment was conducted (N = 40 subjects) to examine whether goal setting would be associated with reduced heart rate on an endurance task. Participants performed an endurance task on an ergometer bicycle. One week later when participants performed the task again half of them set a specific personal goal for an increase in performance. Analysis indicated that subjects who set a goal showed significant improvement in comparison with the control group. Moreover, subjects in the goal group had a significantly lower mean heart rate during the test and had a higher mean heart rate at the end of the test than on the first trial. Results are discussed in terms of combining cognitive and physiological explanations for the beneficial effects of goal setting on performance.

The present study examined the relationship between motivational climate with intrinsic motivation for athletes with high and low perceived competence. It was predicted that for highly competent athletes a motivational climate of high mastery and high performance would be associated with enhanced intrinsic motivation whereas for athletes of low competence perceptions of a motivational climate of high mastery would be associated with higher intrinsic motivation. Analysis for 100 male basketball players showed that there was no significant interaction between perceived competence and perceptions of motivational climate. Scores for perceptions of a task-involving climate were significantly correlated with intrinsic motivation.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine for a sample of 126 basketball players the psychometric properties of a Greek version of the 1995 Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 by Smith, Schutz, Smoll, and Ptacek. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural validity of the translated inventory. Moreover, six of the seven subscales showed adequate internal consistency. The discriminant validity of the scores on the inventory was supported by examining mean differences between experienced and inexperienced athletes as well as between athletes of different levels of competition. Further steps for the validation of the inventory in Greek are discussed.

Little is known about possible determinants of children's participation in physical activity. In particular, the role of adults has not been clearly identified. This study investigated contemporary social cognitive variables, in combination with likely adult influence factors, in predicting intended and self-reported vigorous physical activity for young adolescents. A questionnaire was administered to 147 boys and girls ages 13-14. Questions assessed physical activity levels, including vigorous activity, intention to take part in sports or vigorous physical activity, social cognitive variables, and adult encouragement of physical activity. A structural equation modeling analysis showed a good fit for a model in which vigorous physical activity was predicted by direct paths from adult encouragement and intention, with adult encouragement also predicting vigorous activity indirectly through perceived competence. Intention itself was predicted by adult encouragement and a task achievement goal orientation. (J Sch Health. 1996;66(2):75-78), The importance of physical activity in a healthy lifestyle has been recognized for years. However, only now has a strong scientific consensus emerged on the powerful impact of physical activity [...]

Previous research has shown that an empowering motivational climate in organized sport has been linked to attitudes favoring migrants' integration. The purpose of the present study was to further test the relationship between motivational climate and acculturation attitudes, and to explore the role of prosocial skills as potential mediators of this relationship in adolescent athletes from the host population. Participants were 338 (13.61 ±.95 years of age) Greek adolescents (167 girls) participating in organized sport. Participants' acculturation attitudes, prosocial skills, and perceptions of the coach‐created motivational climate were measured. Analysis of structural models revealed that an empowering motivational climate was positively related with prosocial skills, reflecting empathy and altruism, which in turn were positively linked with acculturation attitudes favoring migrants' integration. The results of the present study replicate previous findings regarding the links between empowering motivational climate and acculturation attitudes, and further, provide evidence that prosocial skills such as empathy and altruism mediate this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of feedback for achievement of a goal on intrinsic motivation. Analysis showed that positive feedback enhanced perceptions of competence while negative feedback lowered these. Neither condition, however, influenced intrinsic motivation.

To examine whether students' choice of a 5-wk. module is in accordance with their attitudes and whether their attitudes change after participation in the course, 50 physical education students who selected skiing as an option responded to a scale measuring their attitudes toward skiing before and after the course. 34 students who did not select skiing served as a comparison. Analysis showed that students who spent 50 hours in the course held more positive attitudes toward skiing, indicating that attitudes influenced their choice. This implies that their participation in and knowledge about skiing contributed to the alteration of their attitudes.

Examines the motivational effects of teaching style in track and field on children. Intrinsic motivation and goal involvement; Levels of competence, autonomy and task orientation; Work avoidance involvement.