The longitudinal relationship between generalized self-efficacy and physical activity in school-aged children

Relationship of Social-Emotional Learning, Resilience, Psychological Well-Being, and Depressive Symptoms with Physical Activity in School-Aged Children

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the association of psychological well-being (PWB), resilience, depressive symptoms, and social-emotional learning (SEL) with physical activity (PA) in school-aged children. The objective was to understand how these psychosocial factors influence PA levels and identify gender-specific differences in these relationships.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 534 fourth grade and sixth grade students from eight schools in the Midwest region of the United States, with data collected through a Qualtrics survey. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the data, with gender-specific analyses conducted to identify differences between boys and girls.

RESULTS

The models indicated that all psychosocial factors taken together are significantly associated with PA (F = 26.937, p < 0.001). Of the factors, PWB and resilience were associated with higher PA individually for the total sample (β = 0.383, p = 0.001; β = 0.146, p = 0.005). A gender-specific analysis revealed that all factors collectively were significantly associated with PA in boys and girls (F = 15.846, p < 0.001; F = 6.869, p < 0.001). Individually, PWB and resilience were significantly associated with PA in boys (β = 0.358, p = 0.001; β = 0.171, p = 0.013), while only PWB was significantly associated with PA in girls (β = -0.355, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the necessity of promoting resilience and psychological well-being through structured physical activities, aiming to reduce the risk of obesity and improve mental health among children. Future research should consider longitudinal designs and objective measures to further elucidate these relationships and inform effective educational strategies.

The relationships between emerging adults self-efficacy and motivation levels and physical activity: a cross-sectional study based on the self-determination theory

Objectives

The study aims to examine the associations between exercise self-efficacy, motivation, physical activity, and body composition among emerging adults.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Methods

A convenience sample of 147 emerging adults participated in the Releasing Weight (RELEW) project. The InBody720 analyzer was used to measure body composition, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short, the Shortened Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire were used to measure self-reported physical activity, self-efficacy, and motivation. Structural Equation Modeling was used to exam the complex relationships among multiple variables. in this study. The Partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis with bootstrapping in Smart PLS 3 was employed to explore the path coefficients and t-values for the relationships that were thought to exist. Significance was determined using a threshold of p < 0.05.

Results

The mean age of 147 participants was 18.5 ± 1.87, of whom 51.7% were female, recruited for this study. Exercise self-efficacy has a significant positive correlation with exercise motivation (r = 0.220, p = 0.008) and physical activity (r = 0.279, p < 0.001). Exercise motivation does not demonstrate significant associations with physical activity (r = 0.094, p = 0.298). Utilizing SEM, the model explained 9.2% of exercise self-efficacy, 11.8% of physical activity, and 68.3% of body composition variance. Mediation analysis revealed that exercise self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between exercise motivation and physical activity (β = 0.106, t = 2.538, p < 0.05), and physical activity partially mediated the relationship between exercise self-efficacy and body composition (β = -0.296, t = 4.280, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This study sheds light on the complex relationships among motivation, self-efficacy, physical activity and body composition during emerging adulthood. Our results highlight the mediating role of self-efficacy and its impact on physical activity behaviors, offering valuable insights for targeted interventions and policy development to improve health outcomes in this demographic.

Perceived self-efficacy by Under-10 tennis players when scaling the equipment and play area

The modification of child-sports aims to develop an optimal learning environment that facilitates the emergence of desirable psychological outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy). The aim of the study was to assess the effect of reducing net height and court size on self-efficacy and shot-efficacy of U-10 tennis players in a real-game context. Twenty U-10 tennis players (M = 9.46, SD = 0.66 years of age; M = 3.65, SD = 1.53 years of tennis experience) played two round-robin tournaments one week apart in the same order and schedule. The first tournament was played under the International Tennis Federation's Tennis 10s regulation at green stage (GT). Afterwards, the modified tournament (MT) was played with the same regulation GT, however, net height (0.91 m-0.80 m) and court size (23.77 m × 8.23 m-18.00 m × 8.23 m) were reduced. Results accomplished using Bayesian and Frequentist inferences showed an increase in players' self-efficacy when serving in MT than GT (BF10 = 4.796; δ = -0.576; and p = .011). This is increase may be due to a reduction in their serving faults in MT (BF10 = 6.169; δ = -0.591; and p = .010). Therefore, reducing net height and court size enhances the serve performance and self-efficacy and thus promotes positive tennis experiences.

The Influence of Physical Education on Self-Efficacy in Overweight Schoolgirls: A 12-Week Training Program

The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to investigate the impact of a 12-week physical education (PE) program on the self-efficacy of overweight schoolgirls. We randomly assigned 60 overweight schoolgirls (15–17 years) to either an experimental moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise (∼90 min, three times a week) group (n = 30) or a control group (CG) (n = 30) that received non-specific regular PE lessons with activities chosen by the curricular teacher mainly focused on team games and sports skills that aimed to achieve general psycho-physical wellness (∼90 min, three times a week). To assess the starting level of students and significant changes reached, at baseline and after training, a battery of standardized assessment motor tests and a psychometric scale (generalized self-efficacy scale, GES) were administered. At the end of the intervention, the experimental group reported a considerable decrease in body mass index (BMI) and a large improvement in self-efficacy (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in the CG. The results suggested that the 12-week moderate to a vigorous aerobic exercise program is an effective weight loss intervention and a vehicle to promote a range of outcomes important to the qualitative growth of adolescents. In fact, it could provide a positive and significant impact on the self-efficacy of overweight schoolgirls.

Reliability, validity and internal consistency of social support and self-efficacy scales for physical activity in adolescents with 10 to 14 years of age

Objective:

To analyze the reliability, validity and internal consistency of the physical activity social support (SSS) and self-efficacy (SES) scales among adolescents aged 10–14 years.

Methods:

The reliability study included 171 adolescents (mean age=12.3±1.0 years, 59.6% female) and validity and consistency study with 1,107 (mean age=12.0±1.0 years, 52.7% female). The SSS had 15 items and the SES eight items. Reliability was determined by Spearman's correlation analysis (rho) and validity and internal consistency by factor analysis (exploratory — EFA and confirmatory — CFA) and the composite reliability (CR), respectively.

Results:

The reliability of SSS (father: rho=0.80; p<0.001 | mother: rho=0.76; p<0.001 | friends: rho=0.75; p<0.001) and SES (rho=0.72; p<0.001) were considered high. In the EFA, three factors were identified for the SSS (father, mother and friends — five items each) and one factor for SES (five items), confirmed in the CFA. Quality parameters of adjustment in the final models were satisfactory for SSS (chi-square=240.5 [p<0.001]; root mean square residual — RMR=0.05; root mean square error of approximation — RMSEA=0.04 [90%CI 0.04–0.05]; goodness of fit index — GFI=0.97; adjusted goodness of fit index — AGFI=0.96 and comparative fit index — CFI=0.97) and SES (chi-square=5.4 [p=0.07]; RMR=0.01; RMSEA=0.04 [90%CI 0.00–0.08]; GFI=0.99; AGFI=0.99 and CFI=0.97). Internal consistency was considered satisfactory for SSS (CR: father=0.79, mother=0.77, friends=0.78) and low for SES (CR=0.38).

Conclusions:

The scales showed satisfactory levels of reliability and of construct validity. However, only the SSS showed adequate levels of internal consistency.%