Sports Studies Commons^™

Lifeguard Performance Skills: A Systematic Review, Paulo Santiago, Filipe Maia, Sandra Santiago, Daniel Duarte, Pedro Teques

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and lifeguards’ action can be regarded as a significant contribution to change that reality. In this regard, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors associated with lifeguards’ performance. After extensive research on PsycArticles, PsicBooks, PsycInfo, SportDiscus, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and SportDiscus databases, containing the keywords “lifeguard” AND “performance”, “lifeguard” AND “skills” and “lifeguard” AND “drowning”, we obtained 429 research articles. After eliminating duplicates, excluding those that had no relevance to the study, and screening against set criteria, a total of five articles were fully reviewed. …

An Interactive Game With Virtual Reality Immersion To Improve Cultural Sensitivity In Health Care, Paul J. Hershberger, Yong Pei, Timothy N. Crawford, Sabrina M. Neeley, Thomas Wischgoll, Dixit B. Patel, Miteshkumar M. Vasoya, Angie Castle, Sankalp Mishra, Lahari Surapaneni, Aman A. Pogaku, Aishwarya Bositty, Todd Pavlack

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Purpose: Biased perceptions of individuals who are not part of one's in-groups tend to be negative and habitual. Because health care professionals are no less susceptible to biases than are others, the adverse impact of biases on marginalized populations in health care warrants continued attention and amelioration.Method: Two characters, a Syrian refugee with limited English proficiency and a black pregnant woman with a history of opioid use disorder, were developed for an online training simulation that includes an interactive life course experience focused on social determinants of health, and a clinical encounter in a community health center utilizing virtual reality …

Angular Momentum In Skilled Kicking Pullover Performed By Elementary School Children, Yutaka Shimizu, Saburo Nishimura, Shoichi Matsushita

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 3: Issue 1, Article 2, 2022. This study aimed to clarify the differences in body positions and the role of the swing leg, support leg, and head-arm-trunk segment in generating and maintaining angular momentum of the whole body about a horizontal bar as well as how to improve the skill level of successful kicking pullover attempts. Two-dimensional kinematic parameters of successful kicking pullover attempts and body composition indices of 26 fifth-grade elementary school children were collected. Their techniques were classified into excellent and good groups based on the subjective evaluation of three evaluators. …

“It’S Up To Us:” Factors Influencing The Perspectives And Practices Of Instructors Working In An Out-Of-School Swimming Program For Underserved Children And Youth, Daniela M. Susnara, Matthew Curtner-Smith

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The purposes of this study were (a) to describe the perspectives and practices of instructors working in an out-of-school swimming program (OSSP) for underserved children and youth and (b) to examine the factors which shaped these perspectives and practices. The theoretical framework employed was occupational socialization. Two female instructors participated in the study. Five qualitative techniques were used to collect data and standard interpretive techniques were employed to analyze them. Key findings were that the instructors were highly skilled and had well-developed sets of beliefs about teaching swimming and working with disadvantaged children and youth. These perspectives and practices were …

Effects Of A Demand-Valve Scuba Regulator On Cardiorespiratory Response During Submaximal Exercise Under Normobaric Conditions: A Preliminary Investigation, Christopher R. Kovacs Ph.D., Camille Dhom B.S.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

SCUBA diving fatalities are often related to cardiac events triggered by stress linked to equipment. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a SCUBA regulator on cardiorespiratory exercise at a submaximal workload. Ten participants (mean = 21.5 yrs; s.d. = 1.16) completed two submaximal exercise tests at 1 ATA; one while breathing normally and a second while breathing directly from a demand valve SCUBA regulator. Total time to test completion (TOT), heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and arterial oxygen levels were all assessed. No significant differences between conditions were found …

Examining Youth Conceptualizations Of Water Safety Behaviors Among Participants In A Learn-To-Swim Program, Austin R. Anderson, Kristina R. Anderson, William D. Ramos, Angela K. Beale-Tawfeeq

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Drowning represents a leading cause of unintentional deaths among children. Concomitantly, while formal swim instruction often incorporates water safety practices, the efficacy of these messages remains largely unexplored. This qualitative-based study sought to evaluate how youth apply learned water safety concepts when posed with a hypothetical aquatic scenario. Semi-structured interviews, augmented by use of a visual illustration prompt, were conducted with 29 participants of a youth Learn-to-Swim (LTS) program. Interviews assessed participants’ expressed water safety behaviors and were coded based on emergent themes. Findings indicated that most participants were able to identify a “struggling” swimmer in the dramatized illustration. When …

Effect Of Water Depth On Heart Rate And Core Temperature During Underwater Treadmill Walking, Carrie E. Bajenski, Brianna R. Brandon, Cailey A. Curry, Leslie Fajardo, Ryan T. Conners

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Exercising using an underwater treadmill (UTM) has become a popular modality; however, few studies have focused on the physiological demands of UTM walking at varying water depths. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate changes in heart rate (HR) and core temperature (CT) values in college-aged males and females while exercising at different water immersion depths using an UTM. Twenty participants (age = 21.50 ± 2.19 years; height = 169.04 ± 10.85cm; weight = 75.56 ± 22.28kg) walked at water depths of 10cm below the xiphoid process and at the level of the superior iliac crest (I.C.). Each …

Eyes Save Lives Water Safety Program For Parents And Caregivers: Program Design And Pilot Evaluation From Southern California, Rachel Love-Smith, William A. Koon, Lauren Tabios, Scott M. Bartell

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Despite expert consensus and evidence-based preventative strategies against drowning, limited formal study exists on translating recommendations into practical and effective interventions. This paper describes the design of an education-based drowning prevention intervention and reports results from a pilot evaluation of the program’s effect on self-reported water-safe behaviors, attitudes, self-efficacy, and knowledge. Parents and caregivers attending children’s swim lessons in July and August 2018 participated in a brief water-safety education program. A pre-post-test design evaluated "Theory of Planned Behavior" indicators to assess for changes. We found significant increases in scores related to water safety knowledge, attitudes on maintaining arms reach distance …

A Comparison Of Stress, Symptoms, Physical Activity, And Adiposity Among Women At Midlife Before And During The Pandemic, Lynnette Leldy Stevert, Sofiya Shreyer, Ashley Boudreau, Sarah Witkowski, Daniel E. Brown

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges that disproportionately impacted women. Household roles typically performed by women (such as resource acquisition and caretaking) became more difficult due to financial strain, fear of infection, and limited childcare options among other concerns. This research draws from an ongoing study of hot flashes and brown adipose tissue to examine the health-related effects of the COVID-19 pandemic among 162 women aged 45–55 living in western Massachusetts.

Methods: We compared women who participated in the study pre- and early pandemic with women who participated mid-pandemic and later-pandemic (when vaccines became widely available). We collected self-reported symptom …

The Influence Of Menopause And Cardiorespiratory Fitness On Lipoprotein Particles In Midlife Women, Corinna Serviente, Melody Chalvin, Sarah Witkowski

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Lipoprotein particles may provide better information about cardiovascular risk than standard cholesterol measures for women. Whether lipoprotein subclasses change with menopausal stage is unclear. Given the high prevalence of low cardiorespiratory fitness in midlife women and benefit of cardiovascular disease risk, it is also important to understand the effect of fitness on lipoprotein profiles. This study evaluated the influence of menopausal status and fitness on lipoprotein particles in healthy midlife women. Lipoprotein particles were measured in high-(n = 25) and low-(n = 13) fit perimenopausal and late postmenopausal women, and in high-fit premenopausal (n = 10), perimenopausal (n = 12), …

The Interrelationship Between Treatment, Ethnicity, And Structured Exercise In Clinical Populations, Amanda M. F. Lopez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is the second leading cause of death, with about approximately 1.9 million Americans being diagnosed each year. Yet, it has high survival rates with the help of advancing treatments like radiation therapy. Cancer patients and survivors are contingent on experiencing a decline in physical functioning, quality of life, and physiological parameters. Treatment is effective and can prolong life expectancy but can be deleterious to a patient’s health. Parallel with cancer's impact on Americans is cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths. The development of cardiovascular disease is not spread accordantly among all ethnicities. Hispanics are …

Psychological Resilience In Student-Athletes During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Henley Lapid

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the psychological resilience process in student-athletes during the unique adverse context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study sought to answer the following research questions guided by Fisher et al.’s (2019) heuristic framework: (1) What resilience mechanisms, (2) promoting factors, and (3) resilience outcomes were experienced by participants in their resilience demonstrations? and (4) How does the resilience process unfold over time across adverse contexts including the COVID-19 pandemic? Nine student-athletes from Wilfrid Laurier University were interviewed on their experiences demonstrating resilience within and outside of the pandemic. A thematic analysis (Braun …

Efficacy Of Flotation Aids Attached To The Pelvis And Thighs Of Beginning Swimmers, Yasunori Watanabe, Shin-Ichiro Moriyama, Kohji Wakayoshi

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The study aimed to experimentally verify the efficacy of wearing flotation aids to add buoyancy from the pelvis to the side of the thigh on the swimming performance of beginning swimmers who were capable of swimming around 25 meters at a time. The study recruited seven male university students who were members of the Physical Education Department and who lacked experience in specialized swimming instruction. The study found statistical difference in prone flotation between the use of flotation aids (7.27±1.92 sec) and without flotation aids (3.50±0.72 sec). During swimming for distance in a 5 min. swim test, we found statistical …

Body Composition Assessment In Masters Level Swimmers, Megan E. Larson, Amy Morgan, Jessica Kiss, Mary-Jon Ludy

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Body composition of collegiate swimmers has been extensively studied; however, there are limited reports of body composition among Masters swimmers. This study compared the accuracy of air displacement plethysmography (ADP) and bioelectrical impedance (BIA) to the gold standard method of underwater weighing (UWW) in Masters level swimmers. The relationship between percent body fat (%BF) and body mass index (BMI) was also assessed. Recruitment (n = 6 females, 11 males) occurred at two Masters swim clubs. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed no significant differences between ADP, BIA, and UWW (p > 0.05). For both female and male Masters swimmers, the mean %BF …

Dual Goals Of Trunk Restriction And Stability Are Prioritized By Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain During A Volitional Movement, Stephanie L. Jones, Juvena R. Hitt, Sharon M. Henry

Exercise and Sport Studies: Faculty Publications

Background

Individuals with chronic low back pain demonstrate impaired responses to volitional and externally-generated postural perturbations that may impact stability whilst performing activities of daily living. Understanding how balance may be impaired by strategy selection is an important consideration during rehabilitation from low back pain to prevent future injurious balance loss.

Research question

This cross-sectional study explored the influence of an active pain episode on volitional movement patterns and stability during a sit-to-stand task in individuals with chronic low back pain compared to those with no low back pain history.

Methods

Thirteen participants with low back pain who were in …

Post Pandemic Aquatics: Professionals On Deck, Susan J. Grosse

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

As aquatic programs re-open and/or expand as COVID restrictions lift, avoiding virus transmission is a top health and safety concern. This article presents options for safe social distancing for professionals and participants during teaching of swim lessons, coaching sessions, and aquatic exercise classes. Emphasis is on practical, session-to-session issues. Suggestions are applicable to all ages of participants in aquatic programs. Focus is on information for aquatic professionals providing direct participant service. Guidelines for program management are also included.

The Challenge Of Water Entries, Andrea S. Andrews, Shayne D. Baker

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The authors presented a poster at the International Life Saving Foundation's World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2019 in Durban, South Africa titled, "Finding an Aquatic Voice," that was the basis for this article. The conference theme was "Growing Global Drowning Prevention Capacity,” and the aim of our poster’s contribution to the conference was to explore internal reasons for the variable capacity of water-wary persons to engage in water experiences which often manifest as a “water entry and exit conundrum." The paper provides critical decision points associated with these issues to encourage further reflective practice by aquatic professionals. The …

Do Water Safety Lessons Improve Water Safety Knowledge?, Michael J. Tipton, Joseph Muller, Cristian Abelairas Gomez, Jo Corbett

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

A person, usually a child or young adult, dies by drowning every 90 seconds around the planet. Most drowning prevention initiatives do not assess the efficacy of the intervention. In this study, thirteen- to fourteen-year-olds had their level of water safety knowledge (covering cold shock, rips and tides) assessed before, just after, and 3-6 months after one, 25-minute water safety lesson on these topics. We evaluated the knowledge gained and retained on water safety “awareness” (i.e., knowledge of risks) and “confidence” in terms of knowing what to do in an emergency. The results demonstrated that the lesson significantly increased water …

Relationships Between Sports, Physical Activity Participation, And Phys-Ed Gpa: Results And Analyses From A National Sample Of Asian American Students, Howard Z. Zeng, Raymond E. Weston, Juan Battle

Publications and Research

Relationships among sports, physical activity (PA) participation, and educational outcomes have been studied in various venues, however, used a longitudinal method with a national sample of Asian-American High-School Students (AAHSS) was barely covered. This study employed the latest National High-School Longitudinal Study data (Participants, N = 950); hierarchical regression modeling and intersectionality theory examined, analyzed, and evaluated the relationships among sports, PA participation, and the outcomes on the physical education grade point average (Phys-Ed GPA). Moreover, the demographics factors impact on the participants' Phys-Ed GPA was also analyzed and evaluated. The primary results included: 1) the female students who participate …

The Ripple Effect: ‘Training The Trainer’ On The Impact Of Body Image Through A Dance/Movement Therapy Technique, Marina Gearhart

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis describes the capstone project which was a psychoeducation and experiential workshop for fitness trainers. The workshop investigated the impact trainers’ work may have on the body image of their clients through a dance/movement therapy (DMT) technique. The aim was to enhance the trainers’ sensitivity around body image issues of their clients and to create a space for vulnerable movement conversation that may in turn lead to better mental health advocacy for their clients within the scope of ethical practice. The participants of the workshop were six white female identifying trainers ranging from 24 to 35 years of age. …

From Professor To Patient X, Anne R. Crecelius

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

I walked into the classroom feeling nervous. It wasn't my first time teaching undergraduate students about human endocrine physiology. I knew the material well. But today's lecture was different. I pulled up slides depicting a hypothetical cancer patient and told them, “Patient X had a biopsy that detected invasive carcinoma in her breast.” I described the many months of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments she went through before going into remission. Then I taught the students about the hormonal therapy she was prescribed—drugs her doctor hoped would limit the growth of any remaining cancer cells and prevent a recurrence. On …

Retrospective Analysis Of Injuries And Persisting Injury Effects Among Students Who Have Participated In Club Sports And Intramural Activities During The Prior Year, Daylia Wallace

Honors Theses

Research suggests that previous injury and history of sport-related concussion place athletes at a greater risk for subsequent injury. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of self-perceived wellness and performance capabilities survey responses for retrospective classification of the injury risk status of individual athletes as a means to estimate risk magnitude for intramural and club sport athletes. The surveys used to collect this data were the Sport Fitness Index (SFI), Overall Wellness Index (OWI), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Survey (DASS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The SFI was a strong discriminator (AUC= .728) …

Narrative Inquiry: Life Experiences Of Elite Athletes, Sarah Elizabeth Brown

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elite athletes face numerous personal and professional pressures and high-stress experiences; however, there is a gap in the literature connecting identity development with these life experiences. Using narrative inquiry analysis with six emerging adult athletes competing at professional and Olympic levels, this study identified self-narratives they created from life experiences within the context of sport and analyzed when these meanings were formed. Athletes described experiences causing great psychological disturbances as a normal risk within their sport and needing to regulate or compartmentalize their emotions to get through those experiences. Participants discussed various roles they play within their team but lacked …

Postactivation Potentiation Improves Jumps Performance In Children Ages 6 To 8 Years Old, Camila Gerber, Paolo Sirieiro, Igor Nasser, Christopher B. Taber, Humberto Miranda

Exercise Science Faculty Publications

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of postactivation potentiation (PAP) in vertical and horizontal jump performance in pre-pubertal children.

Material and method: One hundred and nineteen children (65 girls and 54 boys; 6.8 ± 0.7 years old; 124.5 ± 6.4 cm; 25.2 ± 5.1 kg) participated in this study. This was a transversal cross-sectional study which incorporated a within-subjects repeated-measures design, where participants completed all protocols. The experimental procedure required four total testing, separated by one week, using a counterbalanced. This study investigated jumping performance associated with weighted jumps, low-load vertical jumps, and …

Serve-Specific Core Self-Evaluations: A Predictive Validation Study, Brandi Renee Forgione

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Core Self-Evaluations (CSE) is a broad personality trait used by industrial organizational psychologists to predict important organizational outcomes such as job performance and employee satisfaction. CSE comprises four elements: generalized self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and neuroticism. Task-specific versions of CSE have been proposed to better predict task-specific performance than general CSE. Accordingly, Serve-Specific Core Self- Evaluations (SS-CSE) was adapted specifically to predict serve performance of intercollegiate volleyball players. In this study, I explored the predictive validity of SS-CSE for serve performance by expanding a previous study that used a concurrent validation approach. Results indicated that SS-CSE scores collected pre-season …

Risk Of Low Energy Availability In National And International Level Paralympic Athletes: An Exploratory Investigation, Kelly Pritchett, Alicia Difolco, Savannah Glasgow, Robert Pritchett, Katy Williams, Trent Stellingwerff, Patricia Roney, Susannah Scaroni, Elizabeth Broad

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the symptoms of low energy availability (LEA) and risk of relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) symptoms in para-athletes using a multi-parameter approach. (2) Methods: National level para-athletes (n = 9 males, n = 9 females) completed 7-day food and activity logs to quantify energy availability (EA), the LEA in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans to assess bone mineral density (BMD), and hormonal blood spot testing. (3) Results: Based on EA calculations, no athlete was at risk for LEA (females < 30 kcal·kg⁻¹ FFM·day⁻¹; and males …

Impact Of A Summer Nutrition And Physical Activity Intervention To Attenuate Obesity In Urban African-American Youth, Jermaine B. Mitchell, Antonio J. Gardner, Zachary Wahl-Alexander, Ben Schwamberger, Douglas Craddock Jr., Carol N. Agomo, Myia C. Lang

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Improved eating behaviors and daily participation in physical activity such as swimming might abate the likelihood of African American youth becoming obese. Yet many African American youth neither consume the recommended daily servings of nutritious foods nor know how to swim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a culturally tailored multicomponent summer intervention to reduce obesity and unintentional drownings among underserved African American youth. Children (n = 145) participated in a three-hour, community-based intervention for four weeks. Measures of children’s attitudes perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms toward swimming, nutrition, and physical fitness were …

Characteristics Of Physiology And Physiology-Related Pre-Health Degree Programs In The Physiology Majors Interest Group, Yvonne Ogrodzinski, Erica A. Wehrwein, Kevin Kelly, James M. Poteracki, Valerie Vanryn, Anne R. Crecelius

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

The Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG), a grassroots organization of educators, has collected data on the history and characteristics of Physiology and highly related undergraduate programs (ex: Human Biology, Pre-Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, etc.) that serve a common population of prehealth students. Data was obtained as part of an online survey sent out to P-MIG conference attendees at the 2017-2019 annual meetings (n=30). Participating institutions indicate that 25.9% have degrees called Physiology aligned with 28% being housed in a department of physiology, 75.9% are a Bachelor of Science program, 34.9% are affiliated with a College of Arts and Sciences, and 80% …

Getting In: Safe Water Entry Competencies, Kevin Moran Dr, Jennifer Blitvich, Lauren Petrass, Keith Mcelroy

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

In high income countries, jumping and diving into water are a small but persistent cause of death and serious injury especially among male youth and young adults. Although water entries maintain a high media profile, little is known about what entry competencies and underlying water safety knowledge youth bring to this practice. Undergraduates enrolled in aquatics (N= 76) completed a survey before attempting 7 entry jumping and diving tasks. While safety attitudes and self-reported behaviours were generally good, considerable variation in practical entry competence was evident. Most completed a deep-water compact jump (87%) and PFD jump (88%) with …

Perceptions Of Water Competencies, Drowning Risk And Aquatic Participation Among Older Adults, Teresa Stanley, Kevin Moran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

New Zealand has an aging population and, despite falling drowning tolls in all other age groups (WSNZ, 2019c), older adults have continued to drown in both increasing numbers and proportion. The reasons for this are not well understood since very little drowning research has focused on older people. A water safety survey (N = 389) seeking information on older adults’ aquatic recreational practices and perceptions of safety was conducted at the end of the summer season, 2019. Most adults (86%, n = 335) reported some aquatic activity in the previous year, but those aged 65+ years (66%) were significantly …