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Sport is critical to the health and well-being of youth, especially those who are socially vulnerable. COVID-19, however, brought challenges to the design and implementation of youth sport programs. The paper details the three adaptions of LiFEsports that ensured youth could continue to learn social skills through sport during the pandemic. In addition to describing how the programs were modified, we provide descriptive findings showing how youth participants responded to the adapted programs and compare participant responses to those from pre-pandemic versions of LiFEsports camps to illustrate the quality of the adapted programs were comparable. Efforts to improve implementation fidelity are needed, yet some innovations are important to leverage for virtual and at-home sport programming. Keywords: COVID-19; youth sports; positive youth development, Participation in sport, recreation, and leisure activities contributes to the overall health and well-being of youth, especially those living in poverty and/or identify as people of color (Whitley et al., [...]

The last several years have been met with increased instances of athlete activism among college athletes. Little research, though, has investigated athlete activism among white college athletes. The present study adopted an interpretive-constructivist approach to conduct semistructured interviews with 12 white college athletes engaging in racial justice activism. Interviews aimed to develop a heightened understanding of the challenges and supports they experienced in their activism. White college athletes cited several challenges to and supports for engaging in racial justice activism. Challenges included resource deficits (e.g., lack of support), intrapersonal concerns (e.g., lack of confidence), and other external threats (e.g., difficulty balancing social justice with preexisting relationships with loved ones). Supports included individual-level support (e.g., advice from others) and institutional-level support (e.g., resources from university administrators). Findings show participants experienced more challenges than supports. Further, some challenges are unique to white athletes including struggles in engaging in racial justice activism with ingroup members (i.e., other white people). Meanwhile, support from universities, mentors, and family members was important to encouraging racial justice activism among the participants. Higher education administrators, sport psychology consultants, and other sport leaders can use this information to empower white college athletes to navigate the challenges associated with engaging in racial justice activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to examine how athletes holding privileged racial identities understand their whiteness as they engage in racial justice activism. Drawing from 12 semistructured interviews with white collegiate athletes who have engaged in activism for racial justice, we identified four higher order themes which we situate within a broader discussion of how each theme either reinforces or disrupts racial power: articulations of (a) racial consciousness, (b) white privilege, (c) white empathy, and (d) white accountability. While the white accountability theme has the potential to disrupt racial power due to its relying on rigorous self-critique, the remaining themes pointed to limited understandings of the systemic nature of racism, which can thus inadvertently (re)produce white supremacy even when engaging in activism for racial justice. Limitations, implications, and future directions for research are discussed to empower more white athletes to reflect critically on whiteness and facilitate systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport-based positive youth development programs focus on life skill development and transfer. However, few long-term follow-up studies examine life skill transfer and application of skills from the perspective of sport-based positive youth development participants who are now young adults. To explore long-term skill development, transfer, and factors influencing long-term skill application, researchers conducted interviews with 13 young adults who participated in an SBPYD program 4 or more years ago. All participants self-identified as Black/African American and cisgender. A majority of participants were male, with ages ranging from 19 to 25 (M = 21). Thematic qualitative analysis revealed four contexts in which participants transferred life skills learned, including individually in relation to their health and well-being, interpersonally in relationships, in social settings such as work and at school, and during their involvement in social justice or civic activities in their communities. Five primary facilitators of life skill transfer were described by young adults, including socialization with other youth, staff support, reinforcements of skills during program activities, participation in other positive youth development programs, and family support. Findings demonstrate the value of sport-based positive youth development many years post-participation and shed light on factors that contribute to youths' developmental assets that persist beyond their engagement in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosexual-identified men who have sex with men (H-MSM) are a unique population difficult to identify and recruit for research and practice. Yet, engaging H-MSM remains a top research priority to learn more about this population’s health needs. A scoping review was conducted to develop a stronger understanding of recruitment patterns involving H-MSM in research. The search and screening procedures yielded 160 total articles included in the present study. Most studies relied on venue-based and internet-based recruitment strategies. Thematic analysis was then used to identify three themes. Locations of H-MSM’s sexual encounters related to where sex researchers may recruit participants; sociocultural backgrounds of H-MSM related to important characteristics researchers should acknowledge and consider when working with H-MSM; and engagement with health services related to how H-MSM interact with or avoid HIV/STI testing and treatment and other public health services. Findings suggest H-MSM have sex with other men in a variety of venues (e.g. bathhouses, saunas) but tend to avoid gay-centric venues. H-MSM also are diverse, and these unique identities should be accounted for when engaging them. Finally, H-MSM are less likely to access healthcare services than other MSM, highlighting the need for targeted advertisements and interventions specific for H-MSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by an interpretivist–constructivist paradigm and phenomenological framework, this study explored sport psychology professionals' lived experiences to better understand their multicultural training and competence within the field of sport psychology. Twelve sport psychology professionals participated in semistructured interviews from March 2020 to May 2020. The following four themes emerged: (a) a call to reform training programs, (b) a shift from multicultural competence to cultural humility, (c) professional and ethical responsibilities of sport psychology practitioners, and (d) reflexive practice and culturally sensitive interventions. Study findings support expanding multicultural training for students of sport psychology graduate programs and suggest that sport psychology professionals have an ethical responsibility to be culturally aware. Further study findings and clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to explore the attitudes of student-athletes toward gay, ally, and anti-LGBT+ coaches. A total of 143 National Collegiate Athletic Association studentathletes completed surveys that contained a randomly assigned cover letter from either a gay coach, ally coach, anti-LGBT+ coach, or a non-identified coach (i.e., control). Results from a one-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed student-athletes rated gay, ally, and nonidentified coaches statistically significantly higher than anti-LGBT+ coaches. Opportunities to share thoughts in open-ended responses also revealed several strengths and weaknesses of each of the coaches. Namely, participants valued the ally coach for having an inclusive philosophy, whereas the homonegativite values from the anti-LGBT+ coach and the sexual orientation of the gay coach were viewed as major weaknesses. Findings from this research may help us further understand the degree to which sexual prejudice is present within the elite sport community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many high-profile athletes have engaged in athlete activism and continued to remain successful both in sport and activism. Although several barriers have been documented preventing athletes from engaging in activism (e.g., public criticism, status and job loss, withdrawal of funding, anticipated distress; Cunningham & Regan, 2012), activism itself also has been connected to several positive outcomes (e.g., improved confidence, self-concept, belief in change, agency, life meaning; Klar & Kasser, 2009; Rabkin et al., 2018). Indeed, both sport and activism provide opportunities for athlete activists to develop resilience. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between athletic identity (AI), activist identity and commitment (AIC), stress control mindset (SCM), and mental toughness (MT). NCAA student-athletes (N = 204) reported low AIC overall. Regression models did not suggest that AI and AIC predict SCM or MT as expected, but correlations did provide evidence that SCM and MT are positively related. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is ongoing debate regarding the culture of competitive women's sports. On one hand, women who participate in sports are viewed as adhering to and reinforcing heteronormative stereotypes and hegemonic masculinity. Conversely, women's sports are viewed as an inherently supportive environment for those involved. The current study explored the latter phenomena, specifically related to factors that promote an inclusive and empowering community for LGBTQ+ women. Eleven individual semi-structured interviews and one follow-up focus group with six participants were conducted with women from a collegiate women's rugby club team. All participants described their sexual identities as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Queer (LGBQ). A reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collectively. Participants described their collegiate rugby team as being one of their first encounters with a safe and inclusive LGBTQ+ environment. Membership on the team also was viewed as an important experience that helped participants come to terms with their sexual identity. Specifically, findings indicate the supportive actions of teammates , an inclusive team culture , and unique factors related to the sport of rugby helped promote an inclusive and empowering community for LGBTQ+ women. Indeed, from a critical positive youth development perspective, social justice life skills (e.g., allyship) provided actionable behaviors that promote an inclusive and empowering community for LGBTQ+ women. However, future research must seek to understand the lived experiences of all women's rugby participants, particularly transgender and athletes of color.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other gender and sexual minority (LGBTQ+) individuals have a long history of mobilizing to raise awareness and initiate social and political change for LGBTQ+ related issues. The present study explored how grassroots activism impacted resilience among LGBTQ+ people. In-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 LGBTQ+ activists from one statewide grassroots organization aiming to ban conversion therapy. Grounded theory analysis was used to identify a central theme and six interrelated subthemes. The central theme was that outness, activism, and resilience have cyclical relationships. Subthemes were related to identity exploration, affirmation, and synthesis; responsibility and humility; psychological skills; coping; social support; and negative experiences. These data may be helpful for LGBTQ+ grassroots activism and community leaders aiming to boost the resilience and strengthen well-being of their organization members.