Sports Sciences Commons^™

Identification Of Structural Brain Alterations In Adolescents With Depressive Symptomatology, J. Bashford‑Largo, R. James R. Blair, Karina S. Blair, Matthew Dobbertin, Ahria Dominguez, Melissa Hatch, Sahil Bajaj

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Introduction: Depressive symptoms can emerge as early as childhood and may lead to adverse situations in adulthood. Studies have examined structural brain alternations in individuals with depressive symptoms, but findings remain inconclusive. Furthermore, previous studies have focused on adults or used a categorical approach to assess depression. The current study looks to identify grey matter volumes (GMV) that predict depressive symptomatology across a clinically concerning sample of adolescents.

Methods: Structural MRI data were collected from 338 clinically concerning adolescents (mean age = 15.30 SD=2.07; mean IQ = 101.01 SD=12.43; 132 F). Depression symptoms were indexed via the Mood …

Scale Development For Perceived School Climate For Girls’ Physical Activity, Amanda Birnbaum, Kelly R. Evenson, Robert W. Motl, Rod K. Dishman, Carolyn C. Voorhees, James F. Sallis, John P. Elder, Marsha Dowda

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: To test an original scale assessing perceived school climate for girls' physical activity in middle school girls. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: CFA retained 5 of 14 original items. A model with 2 correlated factors, perceptions about teachers' and boys' behaviors, respectively, fit the data well in both sixth and eighth-graders. SEM detected a positive, significant direct association of the teacher factor, but not the boy factor, with girls' self-reported physical activity. Conclusions: School climate for girls' physical activity is a measurable construct, and preliminary evidence suggests a relationship with physical activity.