Is a female physical empowerment campaign effective in improving positive body image, motivation for physical activity, and physical activity behavior in young female adults? A two-study experimental test of "This Girl Can".

This Girl Can is a campaign designed to empower women to increase physical activity. The campaign uses images/videos of women of diverse body weights/shapes, ages and ethnicities being physically active, emphasizing body functionality. First, we examined the effects of multi-session (N = 3) exposures to This Girl Can on body functionality, body appreciation and self-compassion (Study 1). Second, we explored if autonomous motivation for physical activity mediated effects of This Girl Can on physical activity (Study 2). Women (Study 1: N = 186, M (SD) age = 27.55 (14.01); Study 2: N = 153, M (SD) age = 28.31 (11.70)) were randomized to This Girl Can, or control videos/images depicting idealized women of thin/athletic body types being physically active (Study 1), or control videos highlighting physical activity benefits (Study 2). Outcomes were measured at baseline, post-test and 1-week follow-up. Study 1 results showed significant group by time interactions for body functionality (decreasing in the control group), body appreciation and self-compassion (both increased only in the experimental conditions). In Study 2, path analysis revealed no statistically significant mediation effect (ab = 13.18, 95 % CI [-107.92, 152.59]) of autonomous motivation. Future interventions designed to promote positive body image and self-compassion should incorporate media focusing on diverse women engaging in self-chosen physical activity.

Investigating the influence of intraindividual changes in perceived stress symptoms on injury risk in soccer.

Research has shown that high levels of stress and stress responsivity can increase the risk of injuries. However, most of the research that has supported this notion has focused on between-person relationships, ignoring the relationships at the within-person level. As a result, the objective of this study was to investigate if within-person changes in perceived stress symptoms over a 1-month time period could predict injury rates during the subsequent 3 months. A prospective design with two measurement points (Time 1-at the beginning of the season and Time 2-1 month into the season) was utilized. A total of 121 competitive soccer players (85 males and 36 females; Mage  = 18.39, SD = 3.08) from Sweden and the United States completed the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (KPDS) and a demographic sheet at Time 1. The KPDS was also completed at Time 2, and all acute injuries that occurred during the subsequent 3-month period were recorded. A Bayesian latent change scores model was used to determine whether within-person changes in stress symptoms could predict the risk of injury. Results revealed that there was a credible positive effect of changes in stress symptoms on injury rates, indicating that an increase in reported stress symptoms was related to an increased risk for injury. This finding highlights the importance of creating caring and supportive sporting environments and relationships and teaching stress management techniques, especially during the earlier portion of competitive seasons, to possibly reduce the occurrence of injuries.

Longitudinal associations between exercise identity and exercise motivation: A multilevel growth curve model approach.

Past work linking exercise identity and exercise motivation has been cross-sectional. This is the first study to model the relations between different types of exercise identity and exercise motivation longitudinally. Understanding the dynamic associations between these sets of variables has implications for theory development and applied research. This was a longitudinal survey study. Participants were 180 exercisers (79 men, 101 women) from Greece, who were recruited from fitness centers and were asked to complete questionnaires assessing exercise identity (exercise beliefs and role-identity) and exercise motivation (intrinsic, identified, introjected, external motivation, and amotivation) three times within a 6 month period. Multilevel growth curve modeling examined the role of motivational regulations as within- and between-level predictors of exercise identity, and a model in which exercise identity predicted exercise motivation at the within- and between-person levels. Results showed that within-person changes in intrinsic motivation, introjected, and identified regulations were positively and reciprocally related to within-person changes in exercise beliefs; intrinsic motivation was also a positive predictor of within-person changes in role-identity but not vice versa. Between-person differences in the means of predictor variables were predictive of initial levels and average rates of change in the outcome variables. The findings show support to the proposition that a strong exercise identity (particularly exercise beliefs) can foster motivation for behaviors that reinforce this identity. We also demonstrate that such relations can be reciprocal overtime and can depend on the type of motivation in question as well as between-person differences in absolute levels of these variables.

Fear of failure, psychological stress, and burnout among adolescent athletes competing in high level sport.

The purpose of this study was to investigate fear of failure in highly competitive junior athletes and the association with psychological stress and burnout. In total 258 athletes (152 males and 108 females) ranged in age from 15 to 19 years (M = 17.4 years, SD = 1.08) participated. Athletes competed in variety of sports including both team and individual sports. Results showed in a variable-oriented approach using regression analyses that one dimension, fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment had a statistically significant effect on perceived psychological stress and one dimension of burnout, reduced sense of accomplishment. However, adopting a person-oriented approach using latent class analysis, we found that athletes with high levels of fear failure on all dimensions scored high on burnout. We also found another class with high scores on burnout. These athletes had high scores on the individual-oriented dimensions of fear of failure and low scores on the other oriented fear of failure dimensions. The findings indicate that fear of failure is related to burnout and psychological stress in athletes and that this association is mainly associated with the individual-oriented dimensions of fear of failure.

Profiles of perfectionism, parental climate, and burnout among competitive junior athletes.

Recent research suggests that groups of athletes which differ in terms of perfectionism and perceptions of achievement climate can be identified. Moreover, these groups also differ in terms of burnout symptoms. The purpose of the current study was to extend this research by examining whether discernible groups can be identified based on scores of perfectionism and perceptions of parent-initiated climate and, then, whether these groups differ in terms of burnout. Two-hundred and thirty-seven Swedish junior athletes (124 males and 113 females aged 16-19) from a variety of sports completed measures of athlete burnout, multidimensional perfectionism, and parent-initiated motivational climate. Latent profile analysis identified four groups: non-perfectionistic athletes in a task-involving climate, moderately perfectionistic athletes in a task-involving climate, highly perfectionistic athletes in a task-involving climate, and highly perfectionistic athletes in a mixed climate. The latter two groups reported higher levels of burnout in comparison to other groups. The findings suggest that junior athletes high in perfectionism may be at comparatively greater risk to burnout and that this may especially be the case when they perceive their parents to emphasize concerns about failure and winning without trying one's best.