Gender Differences in Beliefs About the Influence of Ability and Effort in Sport and Physical Activity

Management Approach for Population Health Outcomes and Economic Improvement: Appointing Health Services Early Careerists to Rural Communities for Leadership Development

Securing health services administrators to manage health care organizations in rural areas and small town communities presents unique challenges; however, potential benefits abound for residents in terms of improving population health outcomes from a community-based approach and stimulating the local economy. The influx of community-based approaches to revitalize small towns and rural communities is evident in the literature. Small towns and rural areas lack advanced health care practices, which results in poor health outcomes; economic development as a result of a poorly prepared workforce; and community connection to the vast array of knowledge, activities, and other supports as a result of poor physical and virtual connectivity. An approach that prompts new health management graduates to practice where they have an opportunity to cultivate the residents, the community at large, and themselves is an optimal management method in improving rural areas. This framework places emphasis on students completing a health services administration curriculum training program and beginning their careers in underserved areas to positively impact rural communities by playing a role in revitalizing the local economy and improving population health.

Student Attitudes Toward Inclusion in Physical Education: The Impact of Ability Beliefs, Gender, and Previous Experiences

This study addresses the associations between students' ability beliefs and attitudes toward inclusion in physical education, as well as the impact of gender and previous contact/participation with children with disability on these variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 976 students (491 girls and 485 boys; age 11-16 years), who responded to ability beliefs and attitudes questionnaires. Ability beliefs (entity and incremental) and the 3 sociodemographic variables predicted 20.4% and 9% of the behavioral and cognitive subscales of attitudes, respectively. Students with higher scores for entity beliefs of ability had a less favorable attitude toward inclusion. Girls reported more favorable attitudes toward inclusion than boys. Students who indicated previous participation in physical activities with children with disabilities showed attitudes that were more favorable in both the behavioral and cognitive subscales, while those who reported previous contact had more favorable attitudes in the behavioral subscale and lower entity beliefs. However, the 3 sociodemographic variables had a lower contribution to the explained variance of attitudes.

The Importance of the Coach in Predicting Implicit Beliefs about Skill and Beliefs about the Causes of Success in Handball Players

The objective of the present study was to determine the predictive capacity of the motivational climate generated by coaches and perceived by handball players on implicit beliefs about ability and beliefs about the causes of success in sport. The sample consisted of 444 youth handball players. These players completed the Beliefs about the Causes of Success in Sport Questionnaire, the Conceptions of the Nature of Athletic Ability Questionnaire, Version Two, and the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire. The structural regression model showed that the mastery climate positively predicted the belief in incremental ability and that this in turn positively predicts both belief in athletic success through effort and ability. The results reflected the importance of the coach in the formative process of the player and the search for performance in sport.

Adolescents' perceptions of controllability and its relationship to explicit obesity bias

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to assess adolescents' perceptions of controllability and its relation to weight stereotypes as a function of gender.

METHODS

Two hundred and thirty-one seventh and eighth graders from physical education classes completed a perception of controllability questionnaire and weight stereotype explicit scale ratings.

RESULTS

Analysis of variance and chi-square analyses indicated that adolescents had high perceptions of controllability, namely the perception that one can control one's weight with diet and exercise. Perceptions of controllability were weakly associated with the endorsement of stereotypes toward the overweight. Results from chi-square analysis on individual statements related to causality of obesity indicated that participants may not have a complete understanding or be receiving appropriate messages about the etiology of obesity. Also, 2-way chi-square analyses indicated that boys more frequently believed in personal control than girls, and girls indicated more frequently that they were unsure whether obesity was children's fault.

CONCLUSION

Teachers need to be cognizant of the messages that are relayed to students about the etiology of obesity if they are looking to positively impact students' healthy lifestyle behaviors and personal and social responsibility. Also, populations (eg, gender) may need to be considered when delivering these messages.