Group and Leadership Effects on Social Anxiety Experienced During an Exercise Class1

Equipping Physical Activity Leaders to Facilitate Behaviour Change: An Overview, Call to Action, and Roadmap for Future Research

Addressing high and stagnant physical inactivity rates remains a pervasive challenge for researchers, and a priority for health organisations, governments, and physical activity practitioners. Leaders are a prevailing feature of numerous physical activity contexts and can fundamentally influence people’s physical activity behaviours and experiences. In line with this, fitness companies and organisations commonly claim that the leaders of their classes, groups, or sessions will motivate, inspire, and ensure exercisers achieve their goals. We argue, however, that there is insufficient evidence regarding how leaders can best facilitate positive behaviours among, and outcomes for, group members to be confident that these claims are translating into strong physical activity leadership on the ground. In this article, we therefore call for research that equips leaders with greater knowledge and practical guidelines for how to maximise their effectiveness. To facilitate such research, we provide an overview of research that has examined the most effective ways for physical activity leaders to promote health-enhancing behaviours (e.g. greater participation) and positive experiences that may lead to such behaviours (e.g. greater exercise enjoyment) among those they lead. Then, with the shortcomings of this extant research in mind, we outline four broad recommendations for future research: (a) conduct research in novel and varied contexts, (b) focus on insufficiently active populations, (c) utilise qualitative methods, and (d) focus on translation and implementation. Such research would, we believe, generate knowledge that enables physical activity leaders to capitalise on their potential to be powerful agents of behaviour change.

Physical Activity as a Treatment for Social Anxiety in Clinical and Non-clinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Three Meta-Analyses for Different Study Designs

The fear of being in the focus of attention in social situations can develop into a social anxiety disorder (SAD). The classical treatment for SAD is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is in many cases accompanied by drug treatments. A promising alternative treatment is physical activity (PA) interventions, because regular PA has been shown to be suitable for reducing anxiety in general. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registration no. CRD42020191181) as well as two additional searches. Our aim was to investigate whether PA interventions are a suitable treatment for SAD and whether PA is suitable for reducing social anxiety (SA) in general. For studies with randomized controlled trial designs, a not statistically significant effect of medium size toward lower general SA symptomatology was found in the PA group in comparison with the control group (d = -0.24, p = 0.377). For studies with longitudinal designs, significantly lower SA symptoms were found after PA treatments (d = -0.22, p = 0.001). The effect of PA on SA was stronger for adults than for children and adolescents (p = 0.003). For cross-sectional studies, a small negative association between SA symptoms and the amount of PA was found, i.e., lower SA was found for people who were more physically active (r = -0.12, p = 0.003). We conclude that PA is a promising means for the (additional) treatment of SAD or to reduce SA in general in non-clinical samples, but more research in which high-quality studies with randomized controlled trial designs are used is needed. Furthermore, open questions with respect to moderating variables (e.g., age, sex, BMI, type of intervention, stress, amount of regular PA before the intervention, and comorbidities) remain still open.

Coach Competences to Induce Positive Affective Reactions in Sport and Exercise-A Qualitative Study

Positive affective reactions are a crucial aspect in physical activity maintenance. Affective reactions to sport and exercise were found to be important factors of physical activity. Coaches could be an important medium to induce positive affective reactions of participants in sport and exercise. Understanding how coaches trigger positive affective reactions (AR) during physical activity is a crucial aspect for increasing maintenance in sport and exercise. The aim of this study is to identify the competences of the coaches which are associated with perceived positive AR of participants during sport and exercise. To identify these factors, semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 participants, who take part in sport and exercise (nine female and nine male) of heterogeneous age (mean age 42.6; SD = 19.25; under 30 years, 30 to 60 years, 60 years and above) and who have different athletic backgrounds (individual sports, team sports, and gym classes). Four key coach competence factors were identified and used to design an integrated model. Three general competences: context sensitivity, social–emotional competences, professional competences, and the specific competences in the behaviour-related competences.

Positive affektive Reaktionen in Sport und Bewegung durch allgemeine Kompetenzen und spezifische Verhaltenskompetenzen von Trainerinnen und Trainern

Zusammenfassung. Affektive Reaktionen bei Sporttreibenden stellen wichtige Determinanten dar, die Aufrechterhaltung von Sport und Bewegung zu fördern und perspektivisch Dropouts bei Trainierenden zu vermeiden. Die Trainerinnen und Trainer eines Sport- oder Bewegungsprogramms haben dabei einen maßgeblichen Einfluss auf die positiven affektiven Reaktionen (PAR) von Trainierenden. Ein entscheidender Aspekt dabei ist, mit welchen Kompetenzen Trainerinnen und Trainer PAR während des Trainings induzieren. Das Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die allgemeinen Kompetenzen und die spezifischen Verhaltenskompetenzen der Trainerinnen und Trainer zu identifizieren, welche mit den wahrgenommenen PAR der Trainierenden in körperlicher Bewegung und Freizeitsport verbunden sind. Um diese Kompetenzen festzustellen, wurden mit 30 Trainerinnen und Trainern aus dem Freizeit- und Breitensport teilstandardisierte Leitfadeninterviews durchgeführt. Es wurden drei allgemeine Kompetenzen für Trainerinnen und Trainer identifiziert. Dabei handelt es sich um die sozial-emotionale Kompetenz, die Kontextsensibilität und die Fachkompetenz. Aus diesen allgemeinen Kompetenzen lassen sich drei spezifische Verhaltenskompetenzen für Trainerinnen und Trainer ableiten: die Motivationskompetenz, die Adaptationskompetenz und die Organisationskompetenz. Diese Kompetenzen wurden in einem Modell zusammengefasst, welches die zentralen Wirkzusammenhänge der Verhaltenskompetenzen hinsichtlich PAR aufzeigt.

An Examination of Women's Self-Presentation, Social Physique Anxiety, and Setting Preferences during Injury Rehabilitation

Objectives. This study investigated whether women experience self-presentational concerns related to rehabilitation settings and explored preferences for characteristics of the social and physical treatment environment in relation to women's Social Physique Anxiety (SPA). Methods. Two cross-sectional studies were conducted. In Study 1, female undergraduate students (n = 134) completed four questionnaires (Social Physique Anxiety Scale; three bespoke questionnaires assessing self-presentation in rehabilitation and social and physical environment preferences) with respect to hypothetical rehabilitation scenarios. Study 2 recruited injured women who were referred for physiotherapy (n = 62) to complete the same questionnaires regarding genuine rehabilitation scenarios. Results. Women with high SPA showed less preference for physique salient clothing than women with low SPA in both hypothetical (p = 0.001) and genuine settings (p = 0.01). In Study 2, women with high SPA also preferred that others in the clinic were female (p = 0.01) and reported significantly greater preference for private treatment spaces (p = 0.05). Conclusions. Self-presentational concerns exist in rehabilitation as in exercise settings. Results indicated inverse relationships between women's SPA and preference for the presence of men, physique-enhancing clothing, and open-concept treatment settings. Future studies to determine the effect of self-presentational concerns on treatment adherence are needed.

Re-Thinking Anxiety: Using Inoculation Messages to Reduce and Reinterpret Public Speaking Fears

Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be used to help individuals remain calm before and during public speaking. We aimed to test the effectiveness of an inoculation message for reducing the onset of public speaking anxiety, and helping presenters interpret their speech-related anxiety more positively. Participants (M_age = 20.14, SD = 2.72) received either an inoculation (n = 102) or control (n = 128) message prior to engaging a public speaking task and reported a range of anxiety-related perceptions. Accounting for personality characteristics and perceptions of task importance, and relative to control participants, those who received the inoculation message reported significantly lower pre-task anxiety, and following the task, reported that they had experienced lower somatic anxiety, and that the inoculation message had caused them to view their nerves in a less debilitating light. Inoculation messages may be an effective strategy for helping participants reframe and reduce their apprehension about public speaking, and investigating their efficacy in other stress-inducing contexts may be worthwhile.

Preempting performance challenges: the effects of inoculation messaging on attacks to task self-efficacy

Although inoculation messages have been shown to be effective for inducing resistance to counter-attitudinal attacks, researchers have devoted relatively little attention toward studying the way in which inoculation theory principles might support challenges to psychological phenomena other than attitudes (e.g., self-efficacy). Prior to completing a physical (i.e., balance) task, undergraduates (N = 127, M_age = 19.20, SD = 2.16) were randomly assigned to receive either a control or inoculation message, and reported their confidence in their ability regarding the upcoming task. During the task, a confederate provided standardized negative feedback to all participants regarding their performance, and following the completion of the task, participants again reported their self-efficacy along with measures assessing in-task processes. Findings supported the viability of efficacy inoculation; controlling for pre-task self-efficacy, task performance, and relevant psycho-social variables (e.g., resilience, self-confidence robustness), participants in the inoculation condition reported greater confidence in their ability (i.e., task self-efficacy) than those in the control condition at post-task. Relative to those in the inoculation condition, participants in the control condition also experienced greater concentration disruption and self-presentation concerns during the task.

What will they think? The relationship between self-presentational concerns and balance and mobility outcomes in older women

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Indirect evidence suggests that concerns over the impressions made on others (self-presentational concerns) may be associated with balance-related outcomes in older adults, but no empirical evidence exists to support this speculation. The present study examined the relationship between self-presentational concerns (social anxiety, social physique anxiety, and self-presentational efficacy) and functional mobility, accounting for age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength.

METHODS

Healthy women (60 years or older; N = 187) completed measures of self-presentational concerns, balance confidence, and fall history, and performed the timed up and go (TUG) test and a test of leg strength. Bivariate correlations were conducted. A hierarchical regression predicted TUG duration from the three self-presentational concerns, controlling for age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength to examine the unique variance in TUG duration explained by self-presentational concerns.

RESULTS

Self-presentational efficacy was a significant predictor of TUG duration over and above that of age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength. The results also showed significant correlations between social anxiety and self-presentational efficacy and TUG duration, between all three self-presentational concerns and balance confidence, and between social physique anxiety and self-presentational efficacy and falls.

CONCLUSIONS

Research is needed to examine the causal relationship between these outcomes. Investigating self-presentational concerns in older women may provide novel ways to impact balance-related outcomes in this population. Practical implications for clinicians are discussed, as the social and physical environment may influence self-presentational concerns in this population and subsequently impact assessment and treatment outcomes.

Emphasizing appearance versus health outcomes in exercise: the influence of the instructor and participants' reasons for exercise

The objectifying nature of exercise environments may prevent women from reaping psychological benefits of exercise. The present experiment manipulated self-objectification through an exercise class taught by an instructor who emphasized exercise as either a means of acquiring appearance or health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test for interactions between the class emphasis and participants' reasons for exercise (i.e., appearance, health) predicting participants' state self-objectification, state social physique anxiety, exercise class enjoyment, and future intentions of returning to a similar exercise class. Results, obtained via pre- and post-exercise questionnaires, revealed a significant interaction between class emphasis and health reasons for exercise predicting state self-objectification. Participants with lower health reasons for exercise reported greater state self-objectification in the appearance-focused class compared to those with higher health reasons for exercise. Adopting stronger health reasons for exercise may buffer exercise participants from the more objectifying aspects of the group exercise environment.

The effects of leader gender on self-presentational concerns in exercise

The present study examined the impact of the exercise leader's gender on the self-presentational concerns of women in a live exercise class. Eighty-seven college-aged non- or infrequent exercisers participated in a group exercise class led by either a female or male instructor. Participants completed measures of Self-Presentational Efficacy (SPE), State Social Anxiety (SSA) and State Social Physique Anxiety (SPA-S) prior to and following completion of a group exercise class. A repeated measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), with time as the within-subjects factor and leader gender as the between-subjects factor, was conducted. A significant main effect for time was found (F(3, 80) = 19.65, p < 0.001). Estimated marginal means indicated that all participants reported significantly higher SPE and lower SSA and SPA-S post-exercise. Completing an exercise class may override any self-presentational concerns that can arise from the exercise environment. Future studies should adopt ecologically valid research designs to gain a clearer picture of self-presentational concerns in exercise classes.

Older Women’s Reactions to Revealing and Nonrevealing Exercise Attire

This study used a between-subjects design to examine the effects of exercise attire on older women’s feelings toward exercise groups and their self-presentational efficacy (SPE). Eighty-one older women (mean age = 70.9 years) watched a 2-min videotape showing an exercise group of older adults who were dressed in either revealing exercise attire (sleeveless T-shirts and shorts) or nonrevealing attire (short-sleeved T-shirts and long trousers). Overall there was no difference in participants’ feelings toward the 2 exercise groups, but women who were more physically active had more positive feelings toward the revealingly attired group than did women who were less active (p < .01). Similarly, there was no main effect for exercise attire on women’s SPE, but after watching the revealingly attired exercisers, women with higher social physique anxiety (SPA) reported lower SPE than did women with lower SPA (p < .05). These results suggest that for some women, the attire worn by an exercise group can affect their feelings about the group, as well as about themselves.