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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
How Do Social Norms Affect Physical Activity And Performance On An Endurance Task?, Keith David Randazzo
How Do Social Norms Affect Physical Activity And Performance On An Endurance Task?, Keith David Randazzo
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Despite the extensive benefits associated with a physically active life style, less than 50% of US adults engage in recommended levels of physical activity (PA), so finding ways to structure environments to promote PA is an important concern. Social norms, conceptualized as an individual’s perception of peer behavior, provide a framework for exploring factors that influence decisions to be physically active. Although researchers have investigated how social norms influence a variety of behaviors, the PA domain has not been fully explored. The focus of this dissertation is to apply social norms theories to investigate how normative information influences PA intentions …
Principal Motives Of Positive Youth-Adult Relationships: A Model For Identifying The Motives Of Adult Volunteers And Youth-Adult Relationships In Physical Activity-Based Youth Development Programs, Stephanie Marie Goudeau
Principal Motives Of Positive Youth-Adult Relationships: A Model For Identifying The Motives Of Adult Volunteers And Youth-Adult Relationships In Physical Activity-Based Youth Development Programs, Stephanie Marie Goudeau
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The field of positive youth development has evolved in response to the growing effort to provide youth with safe and healthful activities during leisure time. Physical activity-based youth development programs (PA-based YDPs) utilize a range of individual and team sports and physical activities as tools to simultaneously teach character development and physical skills for the acquisition of life skills. The intentional focus on positive youth development provides a suitable context for the development of a youth-adult relationship (YAR). The bonding between a youth and adult is critical to the development of adaptive responses and life skills which ultimately impact the …
The Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of Vitamin D And Exercise, Laura Ann Forney
The Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of Vitamin D And Exercise, Laura Ann Forney
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Elevated inflammation is associated with several chronic diseases, including obesity. Exercise is an established effective treatment of this condition by decreasing adiposity and independently regulating inflammatory pathways. The potential for vitamin D to confer anti-inflammatory benefits has been explored in cell culture studies, but few have explored its action at the whole body level. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between inflammatory markers in trained and untrained individuals with vitamin D levels either above or below a suggested optimal concentration. METHODS: College-aged females (N = 63), both trained and untrained, reported to the lab four times: to assess body size and …
Sources Of Self-Efficacy In Distance Runners, Ashley Ann Samson
Sources Of Self-Efficacy In Distance Runners, Ashley Ann Samson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) asserts that people will be more likely to engage in behaviors that they believe they can successfully perform and avoid behaviors in which they feel that they will be unsuccessful. Researchers have concluded that individuals with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to pursue challenging goals, cope with pain, and persevere through setbacks, while those with low self-efficacy avoid challenges and tend to give up when confronted with obstacles (Llewellyn, Sanchez, Asghar, & Jones, 2008). Endurance sport, particularly distance running, is a domain in which being able to cope with pain and persevere through setbacks …
Physical Activity And Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Elementary Students: An Integrated Perspective, Xiangli Gu
Physical Activity And Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Elementary Students: An Integrated Perspective, Xiangli Gu
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
School physical education (PE) not only offers and promotes health-related physical activity, but also encompasses the promotion and development of perceptions of mental health (USDHHS, 2010). It has been suggested that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) can predict future health, monitor children’s psychosocial health, and identify those most at risk or in need of support at an early stage. Assessing physical activity (PA) and health-related quality of life have become major issues in pediatric public health and also serve as a major goal of Health people 2020 (USDHHS, 2010). Research including assessment of theory-based mediators of health-related outcomes is needed …
Identification Of Falls Risk Factors In Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Validation Of The Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument, Jennifer Marie Fabre
Identification Of Falls Risk Factors In Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Validation Of The Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument, Jennifer Marie Fabre
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Identifying risk factors and those at risk for falls is necessary. The first purpose of the dissertation was to validate the Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument (CFRSI) that weights falls risk factors and includes the subscale scores of history, physical, vision, medication, and environment, and a total falls risk score. The CFRSI total falls risk score was compared to subscale scores, physical activity, physical function, health-related quality of life (HRQL), and history of falls (Study 1). The second purpose of the dissertation was to determine associations between the CFRSI total falls risk score, race, education, and income (Study 2). Data …
College Student's Motivation For Physical Activity, Lori Lynn Delong
College Student's Motivation For Physical Activity, Lori Lynn Delong
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine college students' motivations to be physically active by merging the perspectives of self-determination theory and the transtheoretical model. The secondary purpose was to examine the effects of a required physical activity course on college students' levels of physical activity. The premise is that both the theory and model can be used to help predict physical activity outcomes. Participants were 277 male and female students at a small private college. Motivation, self-determination, stage of change, self-efficacy, decisional balance, and leisure time activity levels were assessed using an online survey. Results revealed that activity …
Physical Activity Behavior Of University Students: An Ecological Approach, Lisa Gaye Johnson
Physical Activity Behavior Of University Students: An Ecological Approach, Lisa Gaye Johnson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Despite the health benefits associated with active lifestyles, a majority of adults do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity (PA). Few individual-focused interventions have produced sustained changes in PA behavior. Therefore, public health officials are promoting the use of ecological approaches to examine the multidimensional factors that influence choices about PA and other health behaviors. National statistics are mirrored in college populations, with one-half of students in the US failing to meet current PA recommendations and one-third classified as either overweight or obese. In light of this, increasing PA and obesity prevention have been identified as the top …
Self-Determination In Physical Education: Designing Class Environments To Promote Active Lifestyles, Charity Leigh Bryan
Self-Determination In Physical Education: Designing Class Environments To Promote Active Lifestyles, Charity Leigh Bryan
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-determination, perceptions of the motivational climate, attitude, perceived ability, engagement in physical activity, and health-related fitness indicators. Two structural models related to engagement/intention to engage in physical activity and health-related fitness were tested. The premise of both models is that perceived competence predicts the outcome variables (engagement or health-related fitness), with self-determination, attitude, and motivational climate predicting perceived competence. Participants were 827 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Motivation, perceptions of the climate, attitude, perceived competence, and self-reported physical activity levels were assessed using surveys. Pedometers were used to record …
Health And Lifestyle Profiles Across The Lifespan: Results From The Louisiana Healthy Aging Study, Madlyn Irene Frisard
Health And Lifestyle Profiles Across The Lifespan: Results From The Louisiana Healthy Aging Study, Madlyn Irene Frisard
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Aging and age related disease affects individuals differently. One possible explanation could be free radical production varies among individuals and this variation determines the aging process and the progression of disease. The purpose of this study was to test whether nonagenarians have a relatively low metabolic rate when compared to younger individuals and whether this low metabolic rate is associated with lower levels of oxidative stress and less incidence of disease. Resting metabolic rate (RMR), markers of oxidative stress to lipids, proteins, and DNA, components of the metabolic syndrome, and physical activity level were measured in 3 groups of individuals …
Gender Differences In Participation Of Physical Activities: A Comprehensive Model Approach, Kay Gordon Daigle
Gender Differences In Participation Of Physical Activities: A Comprehensive Model Approach, Kay Gordon Daigle
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among gender, perceptions of peer, parent, and teacher support, perceived value and meaningfulness, perceived competence, and the intention to be physically active within a proposed model. Female and male students (N=801) enrolled in a traditional multi-activity physical education class responded to a 52-item questionnaire addressing the constructs in the model. Structural equation modeling, using LISREL, was used to identify the relationships among the constructs. Gender differences emerged in this model through direct paths as well as indirect paths among these variables. Girls were more influenced than boys by their perceptions …
Collective Efficacy: A Framework For Understanding Classroom Teacher's Perceptions Of Integrating Physical Activity, Melissa Ann Park
Collective Efficacy: A Framework For Understanding Classroom Teacher's Perceptions Of Integrating Physical Activity, Melissa Ann Park
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Children’s physical inactivity is becoming an important health concern, and it has been suggested by professionals that school programs can be important in the effort to increase activity levels. Physical education specialists cannot achieve the goal of significantly increasing children’s activity in isolation, and it is apparent that whole school programs at the elementary level have the potential to foster active lifestyles. If those programs are to be successful, all school personnel must play a role, so it is important to find ways to facilitate their involvement. The purpose of this study was to use collective efficacy as a framework …
Using Self-Determination Theory To Understand African American Women's Physical Activity Patterns, Joan B. Landry
Using Self-Determination Theory To Understand African American Women's Physical Activity Patterns, Joan B. Landry
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Physical inactivity is a major health risk factor in our society. Women and minority populations are especially at risk with regard to physical inactivity. This three-part study employed quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate physical activity behaviors in middle aged and older African American women. This population was chosen because African American women are the least active segment of our society. In the first phase, a quantitative approach was used to investigate relationships between Self-Determination and the Stage of Change for physical activity in a sample of 105 African American women. This study provided validation for using this theoretical approach …