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A substantial amount of research has examined risk taking and sensation seeking in sport, including "extreme" sports (Breivik, 1996; Levenson, 1990; Robinson, 1985; Rossi & Cereatti, 1993; Rudestam & Slanger, 1997; Straub, 1982; Yates, 1992; Zuckerman, 1994). The growing sport of expedition-length adventure racing incorporates activities that previous research has determined to be high in risk, such as mountaineering (Breivik, 1996), kayaking, canoeing (Boga, 1988), white water rafting, and mountain biking (Schneider, 2001). Though Schneider (2001) found that adventure racers score among the highest sensation seekers, very little is known about the experiences of risk taking and sensation seeking among elite level adventure racers. Kay and Laberge (2002) qualitatively examined how adventure racers assign levels of authenticity to different events, including the popular Eco-Challenge event, but their focus was not on the psychological aspects of adventure racing. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the social and psychological phenomenon of risk in adventure racing. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten world-class Eco-Challenge participants. Following inductive analysis (CRUZ, Salmela, Baria, & Russell, 1993) five general categories emerged, including: 1) risk socialization, 2) the space of risk, 3) mediators of risk, 4) negotiating/coping with risk, and 5) sensations. These themes are discussed at length, and connected to previous research on risk-taking and sport. Finally, suggestions for future research on risk and adventure racing are proposed., A substantial amount of research has addressed risk taking and sensation seeking in sport (Bernstein, 1996; Breivik, 1996; Johnsgard & Ogilvie, 1975; Levenson, 1990; Robinson, 1985; Rossi & Cereatti, 1993; [...]

Discusses how a consumer satisfaction survey was used at Father Flanagan's Boys Home to measure student satisfaction with the quality of life at the school. Results show that teachers should smile, have fun, empathize, praise, and listen. Suggestions are given for developing and administering satisfaction surveys. (MKA)

Rehabilitation programs provided for homeless children suffering from psychological depression and family problems often seem to amplify their prevailing problems and produce fresh ones.

Many studies have been conducted to analyze the causal attributions that athletes make for successful and unsuccessful performances in sports competitions. In a research on distance runners' causal attributions for most successful and least successful races, subjects gave more internal attributions for their successful races than for their least successful races. This indicates that self-serving bias influenced the runners in making their attributions., Research in attribution theory explores the intricate process that we go through in order to identify the causes for our behaviors, the behaviors of others, and for various life events. [...]

25 competitors in the Fifth National Triathlon for the Physically Challenged responded to a questionnaire regarding their previous and current exercise and participation in sports. Analysis showed that the majority had been active before the onset of disability and that the encouragement and motivation provided by other physically disabled individuals was the consistent factor in their own initial rehabilitation and subsequent participation in sports.

A study was conducted in order to investigate the relationships among script recognition, growth need strength (GNS), feedback from the task, and intrinsic motivation. It was hypothesized that GNS would moderate the script recognition-intrinsic motivation relationship for intrinsic script recognition items. It was also hypothesized that intrinsic script recognition would be positively correlated with feedback from the task itself while extrinsic script recognition would exhibit a negative relationship with this variable. Subject were 80 male undergraduates. The hypotheses were partially supported in that intrinsic script recognition was negatively related to perceptions of feedback from the task itself. In addition, GNS did moderate the intrinsic script recognition-intrinsic motivation relationship.

Factors associated with family reunification following a short-term stay in a shelter for runaway and troubled youth were examined. Children who were not reunified with their caretakers following their stay reported more family problems, appeared to be at higher risk of suicide, and stayed longer in the shelter. Implications for delivery of shelter service programs are discussed.

Two independent studies were conducted to explore the effects of reward and social support on adherence to exercise during a university semester. Subjects from aerobic dance classes self-selected one of three groups. Group 1 worked individually for rewards of clothing based on the class attendance, Group 2 chose three-person groups to work for rewards, and Group 3 received no reward or social support. In Study 2, Group 2 was made up of two-person groups. Analysis of variance of both sets of data showed a significant difference in class attendance among groups (p

Historically, according to Metheny, the acceptability of sport for women varies across several factors including ethnicity. 111 college age men and women were asked what sports they would allow and what sports they would forbid their daughter(s) to play. Results were consistent across ethnicity, sex, and religion. This younger generation would allow young women to participate in virtually all sports including contact sports.

8 divers with disabilities and 8 able-bodied divers completed a survey regarding motivation to participate in SCUBA. Analysis showed that the two groups participated in SCUBA mainly for how it made them feel emotionally. Groups had comparable rankings of the three most and least important reasons for participation.

72 male and 26 female runners and 60 male and 30 female exercisers were tested on the Negative Addiction Scale of Hailey and Bailey along with demographic questions to examine the relationships among gender, age, years of exercise experience, and addiction to exercise. Analysis showed no differences in addiction scores by age, gender, or type of activity. A trend showed longer involvement in physical activity was associated with higher addiction scores.

Attribution of causality, based on Rotter's (1966) and Weiner's (1979) models, was investigated in a sport setting. The Wingate Sport Achievement Responsibility Scale (WSARS) was developed in order to examine attribution of causality separately for individual and team athletes after successful and unsuccessful events. The scale included feedback from the coach, audience, and teammates. Additional attributions were added in order to examine sport related properties of attributions. In order to examine the distinction between sport-specific attributions and general locus of control (LOC), 69 team athletes and 38 individual athletes were administered the Rotter I-E LOC Scale and the WSARS (Tenenbaum & Weingarten, 1983). Both Rotter's Scale and the WSARS were found to be reliable and valid scales through the probabilistic Rasch Model. Correlation analysis of both scales showed that attribution of causality in team and individual sports were positively related but produced low correlations, which suggests that sport attribution should be examined separately from general LOC. In addition, successful events should be examined separately from unsuccessful events and a distinction should be made between individual and team athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The development of a novel hybrid patient simulator was initiated to provide a safe training possibility for novice surgeons. Integrated artificial vertebrae should be able to realistically mimic the haptics of transpedicular vertebroplasty instrument insertion and pedicle screw placement. Therefore, new open-celled material compositions were developed, tested, and validated with reference to elderly human vertebrae. Methods: Vertebroplasty tool insertion force and pedicle screw torque measurements were performed. To validate the new bone surrogates for transpedicular tool insertion, a novel parametric model of the procedure was developed identifying three characteristic insertion parameters (weighting factors, cutting, and clamping forces). Furthermore, the slope of the insertion torque was used to validate the new materials against the human vertebrae for pedicle screw placement. Results: A relative error less than 6% confirmed the suitability of the parametric model for validation. The weighting factors ( ${\text{28.8}}\pm {\text{10.6}}$ ) and the clamping forces ( $\text{3.7}\pm \text{1.5}\;\text{N}/\text{mm}$ ) of the human reference were met by the bone surrogate with 1.25% of blowing agent ( ${\text{22.3}}\pm {\text{7.6}}$ and $\text{3.0}\pm \text{0.3 N/mm}$ , respectively). However, no material was able to reflect the instrument cutting forces. The slope obtained during pedicle screw placement in human vertebrae was ${\text{96.0}}\pm {\text{12.4}}$  N $\cdot$ m/m. The material composition with 1% blowing agent achieved similar results ( ${\text{97.6}}\pm {\text{14.3}}$  N $\cdot$ m/m). Conclusion: Two suitable materials that deliver realistic haptics during both instrument insertions were validated. The parametric model suitably modeled the transpedicular instrument insertion. Significance: These newly developed models provide a realistic haptic feedback during transpe-dicular instrument insertions with the potential of cement application during surgical skill training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports sections from 3 newspapers with large, medium, and small circulations were analyzed for their coverage of women's sports. Contrary to Theberge and Cronk, extent of coverage was not related to newspapers' circulation.

53 male and 53 female college students were asked how they would like to have been remembered in high school. Unlike those in previous studies, students now in college wanted to be remembered as brilliant students, popular and then as athletes, respectively. Results varied by sex and graduation date.

While numerous studies in the field of environmental psychology have investigated the effects of recreating in urban and natural settings on psychological variables, no research has involved exercise in these environments. The present study was designed to examine the complex relationship between mood and feeling states, cognitive strategies, and exercise environment. Thirty non-elite female runners completed a 4-mile run in an urban setting and a vegetated park setting, and completed measures to assess run setting preference, as well as mood and feeling states. Mood was measured using the Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1971), and feeling states were assessed using the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI; Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993). Cognitions while running were also assessed using the Thoughts During Running Scale (TDRS; Goode & Roth, 1993). Repeated measures ANOVAs determined that mood and feeling states significantly improved following the run, and that there were no significant differences in mood improvement between settings, despite the part setting being overwhelmingly preferred (93%) by participants. Pearson product-moment correlational analyses revealed a significant relationship between dissociative thoughts pertaining to interpersonal relationships, daily events, and spiritual reflection, and mood improvement in the urban setting. Results are discussed as they relate to the existing environmental and exercise psychology literature, and in terms of their relevance to safety issues in different run environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the statistical reevaluation of the State Trait Anxiety Inventory anxiety questionnaire. Until now, anxiety, as well as other psychological traits, has been assessed mainly by a deterministic approach. Thus, assuming that if the scale items are reliable, internally consistent, and valid, when analyzed by means of correlational methods, the score one obtains on such a scale is a definite measure of his/her anxiety level. The multidimensionality concept of the two anxiety constructs, based on factor analysis techniques, also is derived from the correlational method.

The purpose of the study was to examine the fit and calibration of the items in Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene's (1970) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory during measurement of actual and retrospective anxiety. Subjects in the actual anxiety situation (n = 113) and in the retrospective anxiety situation (n = 55) were administered the inventory, and 20 scale items were analyzed individually by the probabilistic Rasch Model (Wright & Masters, 1982). Comparisons between the items' values in both situations revealed that 17 of the 20 items were rated similarly. In the retrospective anxiety state, 9 items (misfits) failed to discriminate between high- and low-anxious subjects, but only 6 failed to do so in the actual anxiety state. Despite the similarities, we recommend that the scales be modified to yield a more reliable measure of anxiety and to discriminate more accurately among subjects with varying levels of anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whites and blacks in team sports tend to be distributed by positions according to stereotyped skills and abilities. This phenomenon of racial stacking has been documented for men's team sports at the professional and collegiate levels. Recently, stacking has also been found in women's collegiate basketball. The present study examines the case of women's collegiate volleyball, a sport where the positions are more likely to be stereotyped by race than basketball because the position of setter is so crucial to team effectiveness. Media guides were requested from all of the Division I schools with women's volleyball (n = 261), and 53 percent of the schools provided useable data. Of the 1,399 athletes, 89 (6 percent) were black. These blacks, as predicted, were underrepresented at the setter position (p<.01). They were also overrepresented at the hitter position (p < .02). No significant differences were found for blockers and defensive specialists. This pattern is the same found for women's basketball and consistently for the men's team sports, i.e., blacks are disproportionately found in positions requiring physical characteristics and relatively absent from positions of leadership, intelligence, and outcome control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the initial and continuing factors that influenced women and men to enter and continue in the career of collegiate sport official. Ideology of challenge and fitness; Commitment to sport; Relationships developed as an official.

This study examined the consistency of Weiner's three-dimensional attributional model using subjects who differed in situational variables (outcome, group vs. individual), psychological characteristics (perceived ability, expectations for success) and gender. A total of 138 subjects participating in competitive sport were asked to rate their own perceived ability and expectations for success prior to competition. Following competition, the subjects listed a maximum of three reasons for the outcome. A separate two-way factorial analysis on each dimension and category revealed that in each grouping variable (gender, situational or psychological) perceived locus, stability and control were inconsistent. Results generally confirmed previous research which used the first attribution. However, the second and third attributions consistently changed, and in some cases were reversed. Further attributional research using more than the first attribution is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the attributions of successful and unsuccessful male and female distance runners given after each race during a competitive season. It was hypothesized that the 8 male and 8 female runners would be inconsistent in their support of the self-serving bias. Using the Causal Dimension Scale-II, responses showed that, as a group, the runners were consistent when coding their attributions into dimensions. When divided as to perceived success, successful runners gave more internal and stable reasons for their performance, while both groups reported high personal control and low external control.