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Parents of children and youth with disabilities (CYD) have expressed unique physical activity (PA) information needs. Community-based organizations (CBOs) require assistance to meet these needs. Guided by the Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation II, this project established evidence-informed recommendations for developing PA information targeting families of CYD. This process involved a systematic scoping review to inform draft recommendations (k = 23), which were revised via a consensus meeting with researchers, knowledge users from CBOs, and families of CYD. Broader consultation with CBO knowledge users informed the final recommendations (k = 5) that fit within the following categories: (a) language and definitions, (b) program information, (c) benefits of PA, (d) barriers to PA, and (e) PA ideas and self-regulation tools. CBOs are encouraged to consider these recommendations when developing PA information for families of CYD. Future research will focus on the development of knowledge products to disseminate the recommendations to CBOs and support implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report provides an expert appraisal of the Canadian Para Report Card on physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents with disabilities. Thirteen indicators were graded by a panel of researchers, representatives from disability and PA organizations, and parents of children and adolescents with disabilities using benchmarks of the Global Matrix 4.0 and previous Canadian PA Report Cards. Facilitated panel discussions were used to appraise the available evidence based on data gaps, opportunities, and recommendations. The available data sources included four nationally generalizable or representative data sets. Grades were assigned to 8/13 indicators and ranged from B+ to F. Data gaps in measurement and national surveillance systems were identified. Ableism was an issue identified within some of the reporting benchmarks. The absence of PA from existing accessibility legislation in Canada was a policy gap of concern. Recommendations related to research, surveillance, and policy are provided to enhance PA among children and adolescents with disabilities in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to test a partnered, self-determination theory–informed mobile health intervention called SCI Step Together, using an 8-week randomized controlled trial design. The aim of SCI Step Together is to increase the quantity and quality of physical activity (PA) among adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) who walk. The SCI Step Together program provides PA modules and PA self-monitoring tools and facilitates peer and health coach support. Process, resource, management, and scientific feasibility were assessed, and participants completed questionnaires at baseline, mid-, and postintervention to assess determinants and outcomes of PA. Interviews were conducted to evaluate acceptability. Results suggest that the program demonstrated good feasibility, acceptability, and engagement. The intervention group (n = 11) had greater fulfillment of basic psychological needs and knowledge (p =.05) than the control group (n = 9). There were no significant interaction effects for other outcomes. The SCI Step Together program is feasible and acceptable and efficacious for improving some psychosocial variables. Results may inform SCI mobile health programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health and physical activity (PA) needs of people living with disabilities are underserved and understudied. This article provides an overview of research on PA and health research in people with disabilities. Research gaps and inequities are highlighted, along with their impact on advancing the fundamental rights of people with disabilities to fully participate in PA. The importance of translational PA research to disability communities is described. We provide case studies from two lines of PA and disability research that have been moved along the translational spectrum and into practice. The article concludes with three calls to action to kinesiology research and practitioners: (a) to include people with disabilities in research; (b) to advocate for adequate resources and support in alignment with equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts; and (c) to work in meaningful partnership with people with disabilities to support translational research programs that have real-world impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying as a regular exerciser has been found to effectively alter stereotypes related to warmth and competence for adults with a physical disability; however, it remains unclear how sport participation can influence this trend. Therefore, this study aimed to examine warmth and competence perceptions of adults with a physical disability portrayed as elite and nonelite athletes relative to other athletic and nonathletic subgroups of adults with and without a physical disability in the context of the stereotype content model. Using survey data from able-bodied participants (N = 302), cluster analyses were applied to a behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes map for displaying the intersection of warmth and competence perceptions. The results demonstrated that adults with a physical disability who are described as elite athletes (i.e., Paralympians) are clustered with high warmth and high competence, similar to their able-bodied athletic counterparts (i.e., Olympians). The findings suggest that perceiving athletic and elite sport statuses for adults with a physical disability may counter the stereotypes commonly applied to this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on a study by C. Carty et al on the development and implications of the 2020 guidelines on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior for people living with disabilities (PWD) released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Topics include the intention of WHO to promote inclusion in the guidelines, a definition of indirectness used in the policy and physical impairments that impact physiological responses to PA such as stroke. Also cited are the risks of the guidelines.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of depleted self-control strength on skill-based sports task performance. Sixty-two participants completed the following: a baseline dart-tossing task (20 tosses), with measures of accuracy, reaction time, and myoelectrical activity of the arms taken throughout; a self-control depletion (experimental) or a nondepletion (control) manipulation; and a second round of dart tossing. As hypothesized, participants in the experimental condition had poorer mean accuracy at Round 2 than control condition participants, and a significant decline in accuracy from Round 1 to Round 2. Experimental condition participants also demonstrated poorer consistency in accuracy compared with control condition participants at Round 2 and a significant deterioration in consistency from Round 1 to Round 2. In addition, consistency in reaction time improved significantly for the control group but not for the experimental group. The results of this study provide evidence that ego depletion effects occur in the performance of a skill-based sports task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine preferences of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and health care professionals (HCP) regarding the content and format of a SCI physical activity guide to support recently released SCI physical activity guidelines. Seventy-eight people with SCI and 80 HCP completed a survey questionnaire. Participants with SCI identified desired content items and their preferences for format. HCP rated the helpfulness of content items to prescribe physical activity. All content items were rated favorably by participants with SCI and useful by HCP. The risks and benefits of activity and inactivity, and strategies for becoming more active, were rated high by both samples. Photographs and separate information for those with paraplegia versus tetraplegia were strongly endorsed. These data were used to guide the development of an SCI physical activity guide to enhance the uptake of physical activity guidelines for people with SCI. The guide was publically released November 11, 2011. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment examined the effects of a possible selves intervention on selfregulatory efficacy and exercise behavior among 19 men and 61 women (M age = 21.43 years, SD = 3.28) who reported exercising fewer than 3 times per week. Participants were randomly assigned to a control condition, a hoped-for possible selves intervention condition, or a feared possible selves intervention condition. The hoped-for and feared possible selves interventions required participants to imagine themselves in the future as either healthy, regular exercisers or as unhealthy, inactive individuals, respectively. Participants in the control condition completed a quiz about physical activity. Measures of self-regulatory efficacy (scheduling, planning, goal setting, and barrier self-efficacy) were taken immediately before and after the intervention. Participants who received either possible selves intervention reported greater exercise behavior 4 weeks and 8 weeks postintervention than participants in the control group. Planning self-efficacy partially mediated the effects of the possible selves intervention on exercise behavior over the first 4 weeks of the study. These findings highlight the effectiveness of possible selves interventions for increasing exercise behavior and the role of self-regulatory processes for explaining such effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present experiment was to examine whether the use of self-handicapping strategies influences participants' anxiety levels before athletic performance. Seventy-one competitive basketball players participated in the study. A repeated measures design was used, such that state cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity and direction were measured before and after participants were given the opportunity to self-handicap. Overall, participants reported their cognitive anxiety to be more facilitating after they had the opportunity to self-handicap. Thus, participants who were given the opportunity to self-handicap (i.e., use claimed and behavioral self-handicaps), reported greater increases in perceptions of cognitive anxiety as facilitating their performance. This study shows the importance of looking at anxiety direction, and not just anxiety intensity, when examining self-handicapping's effects on anxiety. Implications for sport psychologists are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week body-focused physical and health education module on self-objectification and social physique anxiety (SPA) in a sample of 85 Irish schoolgirls. Classrooms were randomly assigned to receive the experimental module or the standard curriculum. Participants completed pre- and postassessments of the value they placed on objectifying and nonobjectifying physical attributes, along with a measure of SPA. Girls in the experimental condition increased the value they placed on physical health and strength, decreased the value they placed on sex appeal, and showed no change in SPA. Girls in the control condition decreased the value they placed on body weight and physical fitness and experienced a significant increase in SPA. These results suggest that a body-focused module can decrease self-objectification and prevent developmentally linked increases in SPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework, the present study examined psychosocial predictors of exercise intentions and behavior among 124 men and women with spinal cord injury. Theory of planned behavior constructs were measured using an exercise-specific questionnaire for individuals with spinal cord injury. Exercise behavior was assessed using an adapted version of the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that the theory of planned behavior had limited utility in this population. Among individuals with tetrapelgia, perceived behavioral control was the only determinant of exercise intentions and behavior. Among people with paraplegia, none of the theory of planned behavior constructs predicted exercise intentions or behavior. These results have methodological and practical implications for future research and exercise interventions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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). Over-all 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given profound physical, psychosocial, and environmental barriers to physical activity (PA), people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) are less active than virtually every other segment of the population. Nevertheless, people with SCI are not universally "sedentary." Many people with SCI live physically active lives, and behavioral interventions have proven effective at increasing and maintaining both PA and fitness. This paper discusses PA and inactivity in the SCI population and reviews the who, what, and how of effective SCI PA-enhancing interventions. The authors conclude with 3 recommendations for increasing PA in other low-active populations: Know your audience and the issues, develop audience-specific messages and tailored interventions, and use behavior-change theory to develop messages and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) tend to report poorer quality of life (QOL) than people without a physical disability. Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has been shown to improve the QOL of people with and without disabilities and chronic conditions. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the LTPA-QOL relationship among people with SCI by focusing on both objective and subjective QOL for both global QOL and domain-specific (physical, psychological, social) QOL. Results suggest that LTPA is significantly associated with increases in both objective and subjective QOL in global QOL and all three QOL domains, with relatively few studies demonstrating a negative or nonsignificant relationship. Recommendations for future QOL research and interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women who exercise in front of a mirror do not experience the psychological benefits that are typically associated with exercise (Martin Ginis et al., 2003). According to objective self-awareness theory (Duval & Wicklund, 1972), gazing into a mirror enhances self-awareness. Women with a negative sense of self as an exerciser (i.e., sedentary women) who exercise in a mirrored environment may experience heightened self-awareness, which may elicit a negative affective response. Using an interference paradigm, this experiment examined self-awareness as a potential mechanism underlying the detrimental effects of mirrored environments on sedentary women's (n = 87; M age = 20.2) psychological response to exercise. Participants performed 20 min of moderate intensity exercise either in front of a mirrored or an unmirrored wall with or without a distracter (a counting task). Participants completed the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (Gauvin & Rejeski, 1993) pre- and 15 min post-exercise. Self-awareness was assessed immediately pre- and post-exercise with the Private Self-Consciousness Scale (Fenigstein et al., 1975). Multilevel linear models revealed a trend for women in the mirrored condition without distraction to be more self-aware post-exercise than women in the unmirrored (p = .06) and mirrored conditions (p = .27) with distraction. Also, women in the mirrored condition without distraction tended to feel more exhausted post-exercise than women in the other conditions (ps < .27). Participants who were distracted scored the same or worse for positive engagement, revitalization, and tranquility than women who exercised in front of the mirror without distractions. An evaluation of the distracter task suggested that the monotony of the task may have affected these feeling states negatively. Nonetheless, results from this preliminary experiment provide some support for objective self-awareness theory, suggesting that exercising in mirrored environments may heighten self-awareness, which may increase negative affect. Further research using alternate distracter tasks is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theorists have highlighted the important conceptual distinction between claimed and behavioral self-handicaps (e.g., Leary & Shepperd, 1986), but effort has not been directed toward determining whether the two forms of self-handicapping have different determinants and consequences. Kuczka and Treasure (2005) found that the use of claimed self-handicaps prior to a tournament was positively correlated with perceptions of the team environment as being ego-oriented, and negatively correlated with perceptions of the team environment as being task-oriented. However, we are not aware of any studies that have manipulated motivational climate and directly compared the use of self-handicaps across climates. Thus, the purpose of the present experiment was to examine whether the use of claimed and behavioral self-handicaps and their correlates differed across experimentally manipulated motivational climates. Fifty-six competitive players, 25 men (M age = 20.7 years, SD = 2.6) and 31 women (M age = 20.8; SD = 3.9), participated in the study. A repeated measures design was utilized, such that all participants completed the experimental task (i.e., a test of basketball skill) in both mastery and performance climate. Questionnaire measures of anxiety direction and claimed self-handicapping were administered pretest. Behavioral self-handicapping was operationalized as the number of preparatory shots taken during a warm-up. ANOVA showed no differences in claimed self-handicapping across motivational climates (p > .05). However, greater behavioral self-handicapping occurred in the performance than the mastery climate, F(1, 54) = 46.21, p < .001. Claimed, but not behavioral was predicted by cognitive (r = -.39) and somatic (r = -.50) anxiety direction. Contrary to expectation, neither type of self-handicap was related to performance on the test in either climate (p > .05). These findings reinforce the conceptual distinction between claimed and behavioral self-handicaps and suggest that individual and environmental factors may differentially influence each type of handicap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the numerous psychosocial benefits associated with physical activity, the spinal cord injury (SCI) population remains one of the most sedentary populations in society (Tasiemski et al., 2000). Whereas most SCI research has been directed at the psychosocial determinants of physical activity, little focus has been given to the role of the physical environment. Considering the high rate of wheelchair use among the SCI population (CPA, 2002), the demands of the physical environment may pose an additional barrier to physical activity participation (Rimmer, 1999). Thus, the present cross-sectional study examined whether neighborhood perceptions of the physical environment predict leisure-time (LT) wheeling among the SCI population. Two hundred and six participants (M age = 44.57; 75% male; 56% quadriplegics) were administered measures of neighborhood perceptions (Saelens et al., 2002) and LT wheeling behavior (PARA-SCI, Martin Ginis et al., 2005) via telephone. Results revealed greater mild- and moderate-intensity LT wheeling among paraplegics than quadriplegics (ps < .05). Significant correlations were found between mild and moderate LT wheeling and the presence of paved pathways/trails for men (r = .16), and paraplegics (r = .23), whereas moderate LT wheeling was negatively related to the presence of sidewalk ramps among quadriplegics (r = -.23). Regression analyses revealed a trend for the prediction of moderate LT wheeling among men and quadriplegics (ps < .09). For men, sidewalk maintenance (β = -.19), the presence of paved pathways/trails (β = .18), and attractive buildings (β = .31) were significant predictors of moderate LT wheeling, whereas the presence of sidewalk ramps (β = -.31), and trees (β = .31) predicted moderate LT wheeling among quadriplegics. No significant model was found for mild LT wheeling or for the prediction of any intensity of LT wheeling among women and paraplegics. These findings suggest a role for the physical environment in predicting physical activity--particularly moderate intensity LT wheeling--among the SCI population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) has proven to be a useful framework for predicting physical activity (PA) intentions and behavior (Haggar, Chatzisarantis, & Biddle, 2002). However, meta-analyses (Armitage & Connor, 2001) have reported that even though the TPB predicts intentions reasonably well, it has been relatively less successful in the prediction of subsequent behavior. Thus, it seems that a disparity exists between an individual's formation of an intention and the translation of those plans into behavior (Conner & Norman, 2005). Research has shown that the use of an entreaty statement requesting participants to reflect on potential barriers to their behavior can reduce the discrepancy between individuals' reported intentions and subsequent behavior (Ajzen, Brown, & Carvajal, 2004). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of including an entreaty statement on the TPB's ability to predict moderate intensity PA. Undergraduate students (N = 107) completed an initial assessment of intentions (PRE-INT), attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control for participating in moderate PA for at least 30 min on most days of the week. After considering an entreaty statement, participants' intentions were reassessed (POST-INT). Self-reported PA was measured 1 week later. Results showed that POST-INT scores were lower than PRE-INT scores (p = .002), and hierarchical regression analysis revealed that POST-INT (R² adj. = .50) explained more variance in self-reported PA than PRE-INT (R² adj. = .46). The participants' pre-entreaty intention scores likely represented ideal plans they had regarding engaging in moderate PA over the following week. The entreaty statement possibly compelled respondents to provide a more realistic prediction of how much PA they would perform which, in turn, corresponded better with their actual behavior. This study provides evidence to support the use of entreaty statements in reducing the discrepancy between intentions and behavior and implies its utility as a tool for predicting physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-presentational efficacy (SPE) is defined as people's confidence in their ability to portray a desired image (Maddux et al., 1988). In the exercise context, SPE is described as one's confidence to present the image of a fit and competent exerciser (Gammage et al., 2004a). In young women, SPE has been found to be related to social anxiety, social physique anxiety, and exercise frequency (Gammage et al., 2004a, 2004b). Despite published use of the SPE scale, there is limited evidence of the psychometric properties of the SPE scale. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the factorial and construct validity of the SPE scale in a sample of 321 women and 155 men (M age = 20.20, SD = 2.48 years). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate model goodness of fit indices that all exceeded appropriate criterion levels (>.90). As an index of construct validity, SPE was significantly correlated (ps < .001) with theoretically meaningful variables including fear of negative evaluation (r = -.17), public self-consciousness (r = -.18), and social physique anxiety (r = -.42). Additionally, men reported greater SPE than women (M = 71.17, SD = 16.27; M = 61.90, SD = 18.88) respectively, p < .001, which is consistent with observed gender differences for other self-presentational variables. In conclusion, the results of the present study provide support for the factorial validity and construct validity of the SPE scale. Future research examining exercise behavior, and the exercise environment, is encouraged to utilize the SPE scale as a situation-specific measure of self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pain is a significant problem for most people with spinal cord injury (SCI; Turner et al., 2006) and may be a significant barrier to wheeling as a form of leisure time physical activity (LTPA). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between (a) pain and wheeling in individuals with SCI and (b) minutes of wheeling and aerobic fitness. Latimer and colleagues (2006) found that LTPA, in general, was positively correlated with physical fitness among people with SCI. However, it is not known how specific types of LTPA, such as wheeling, are associated with fitness. Individuals with SCI (N = 48, M age = 39 years, 73% male, 60% paraplegic) reported the amount of bodily pain endured over the previous week, completed a 3-day physical activity recall of their wheeling activities (Martin Ginis et al., 2004), and performed an arm ergometer test of aerobic fitness (i.e., VO2peak). Pearson's correlations demonstrated no significant relationship between pain and minutes of LTPA wheeling. However, as hypothesized, significant positive correlations were found between aerobic fitness and total LTPA wheeling (r = .38, p < .01) and specifically moderate intensity LTPA wheeling (r = .45, p < .01). Regression analyses demonstrated that combined LTPA wheeling categories explained 22% of the variance in VO2peak scores (p < .001) and 16% of the variance in peak watts achieved during VO2peak testing (p = .01). Cumulative bouts of wheeling greater than 10 min in duration were generally not stronger correlates of aerobic fitness than the sum of all wheeling. Thus, contrary to physical activity guidelines for the general population, these findings suggest that it may be suitable to encourage cumulative short bouts of wheeling (<10 min) for improving aerobic fitness among people with SCI. Short bouts of wheeling may be a manageable form of LTPA for those who suffer chronic pain and may provide important aerobic fitness and health benefits. This study contributes important information toward the development of physical activity guidelines for people with SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]