Objectives  The aim of this research was to develop a measure of life skills development through sport.  Method  Four studies were conducted to develop the Life Skills Scale for Sport (LSSS). Study 1 developed items for the scale and included 39 reviewers’ assessment of content validity. Study 2 included 338 youth sport participants and used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and descriptive statistics to reduce the number of items in the scale and explore the factor structure of each subscale and the whole scale. Study 3 included 223 youth sport participants and assessed the factor structure of the scale using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and bifactor modeling. Study 4 investigated the test-retest reliability of the scale over a two-week period with 37 youth sport participants.  Results  Study 1 resulted in the development of the initial 144-item LSSS and provided content validity evidence for all items. Study 2 refined the scale to 47 items and provided preliminary evidence for the unidimensional factor structure of each subscale. Study 3 supported the factorial validity of the scale, with ESEM solutions providing the best fit and resulting in more differentiated factors. Study 4 provided evidence for the test-retest reliability of the scale.  Conclusions  Collectively, these studies provided initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the LSSS; a measure which can be used by researchers and practitioners to assess participants’ perceived life skills development through sport

In this cross-sectional study, we examined a mediational model whereby transformational leadership is related to task cohesion via sacrifice. Participants were 381 American (Mage = 19.87 years, SD = 1.41) Division I university athletes (188 males, 193 females) who competed in a variety of sports. Participants completed measures of coach transformational leadership, personal and teammate inside sacrifice, and task cohesion. After conducting multilevel mediation analysis, we found that both personal and teammate inside sacrifice significantly mediated the relationships between transformational leadership behaviors and task cohesion. However, there were differential patterns of these relationships for male and female athletes. Interpretation of the results highlights that coaches should endeavor to display transformational leadership behaviors as they are related to personal and teammate inside sacrifices and task cohesion.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support versus control and students' life skills development in PE, and whether students' basic need satisfaction and frustration mediated these relationships. Design: Cross-sectional study. Method: English and Irish students (N = 407, Mage = 13.71, SD = 1.23) completed measures assessing perceived autonomy-supportive and controlling teaching, basic need satisfaction and frustration (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and life skills development in PE (teamwork, goal setting, social skills, problem solving and decision making, emotional skills, leadership, time management, and interpersonal communication). Results: On the bright side of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), correlations revealed that perceived teacher autonomy support was positively associated with students' basic need satisfaction and life skills development in PE. On the dark side of SDT, perceived controlling teaching was positively related to students' basic need frustration, but not significantly related to their life skills development. Mediational analyses revealed that autonomy and relatedness satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and students' development of all eight life skills. Competence satisfaction mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and students' development of teamwork, goal setting, and leadership skills. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are important mechanisms that in part explain the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and life skills development in PE. Therefore, teachers may look to promote students' perceptions of an autonomy-supportive climate that satisfies their three basic needs and helps to develop their life skills.

26The present study explored the relationships between the coaching climate, youth 27 developmental experiences (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and DEVELOPMENTAL EXPERIENCES AND WELL-BEING IN SPORT 3Positive youth development refers to "strength-based and asset-building approaches to 49 developmental research in which youth are viewed as resources to be developed rather than 50 problems to be solved" (Holt, Sehn, Spence, Newton, & Ball, 2012, p. 98 Engström, & Skirstad, 1996). It is not just the high participation numbers that make youth 54 sport an ideal setting for development; it is the interactive, emotional, and socially involved 55 nature of sports that provide opportunities for development (Danish, Forneris, Hodge, & 56 Heke, 2004; Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2005; Hellison, Martinek, & Walsh, 2008). 57Previous research has shown sport to be related to a variety of developmental 66The above research provides evidence that young people are having a variety of interact. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate both the antecedents and 84 consequences of developmental experiences within youth sport. 85The present study focused on the following developmental experiences: personal and 86 social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative. Learning these particular skills is and sport/exercise (Burton, Naylor, & Holliday, 2001 research is needed to explore how sport can promote these experiences. 101 Antecedents of Developmental Experiences 102Given the central role coaches play in sport, the coaching climate is one factor that 103 influences young people's sports experiences (Smith & Smoll, 1996 160In this study, self-esteem was defined as "a person's evaluation of, or attitude toward, The Present Study 170The general purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between coach 171 autonomy support, developmental experiences within sport and psychological well-being. Self-esteem. Self-esteem was measured using the general-self subscale of the Self- Analysis Strategy 261We tested the mediation hypotheses for all three dependent variables: self-esteem, 262positive affect, and satisfaction with life. As statistical techniques to test mediation (e.g., 263Baron & Kenny method, 1986) suffer from problems including: low statistical power, a lack 264 of quantification of the intervening effect, and the inability to test multiple mediators 277 Results 278 Preliminary Analysis 279The data was screened for univariate and multivariate outliers, with 10 313Results of the indirect effects are presented in Table 2. The values in the Table show whether 314 there is a total indirect effect and what effect, if any, each of the four mediators are having. 315From the three models in Figure 1, one can see that coach autonomy support was 316 related to all four mediators: personal and social skills (β = .17, p < .001), cognitive skills (β 317 = .20, p = .001), goal setting (β = .25, p < .001), and initiative (β = .11, p < .001). However...

Background: Both education policies and curriculum documents identify the personal development of students as a key objective of modern education. Physical education in particular has been cited as a subject that can promote students' life skills development and psychological well-being. However, little research has investigated the processes by which physical education may be related to students' development of life skills and their psychological well-being. Purpose: Using Benson and Saito's (2001) framework for youth development theory and research, this study explored the relationships between the teaching climate, students' perceived life skills development within physical education, and their psychological well-being. Participants and setting: Participants were 294 British physical education students (Mage = 13.70, range = 11-18 years) attending six secondary schools in Scotland and England. On average, these male (n = 204) and female (n = 90) students took part in physical education classes for 2.35 hours per week. Data collection: The data were collected via a survey which assessed perceived teacher autonomy support, participants' perceived life skills development within physical education (teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making), and their psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Data analyses: The preliminary analysis used descriptive statistics to assess how participants scored on each of the study variables and correlations to assess the relationships between all variables. The main analysis sought to test Benson and Saito's (2001) framework using a series of mediation models which were tested via non-parametric bootstrapping analysis. Findings: This study demonstrated that students perceived they were developing the following life skills through physical education: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making. Overall, the results supported Benson and Saito's (2001) framework for youth development theory and research. In all analyses, perceived teacher autonomy support was positively related to participants' perceived life skills development within physical education and their psychological well-being. Participants' total life skills development was related to all three psychological well-being indicatorsproviding support for the 'pile-up' effect (Benson 2006). Total life skills development also mediated the relationships between perceived teacher autonomy support and participants' psychological well-being. Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived teacher autonomy support, along with total life skills development, are related to participants' psychological well-being. Interpretation of the results suggest that physical education teachers should integrate autonomy supportive behaviors into their teaching (e.g., provide choice in a...

Using Benson and Saito’s framework for positive youth development, we investigated the relationships between the coaching climate, young people’s perceived life skills development within sport, and their psychological well-being. British youth sport participants ( N = 326, Mage = 13.81, range = 11–18 years) completed a survey assessing the coaching climate, participants’ perceived life skills development (teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem solving and decision making) and psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). In all analyses, the coaching climate was positively related to young peoples’ perceived development of life skills within sport and their psychological well-being. Total life skills development (a summative score of all eight life skills scores) was positively related to all three psychological well-being indicators – providing support for the “pile-up” effect – and partially mediated the relationships between the coaching climate and participants’ psychological well-being. Interpretation of the results indicated that coaches should foster the development of multiple life skills in youth sport participants, as they are associated with participants’ psychological well-being. One way this can be achieved is through autonomy-supportive coaching behaviours.

The nutritional intake of ultraendurance athletes is often poorly matched with the requirements of the sport. Nutrition knowledge is a mediating factor to food choice that could correct such imbalances. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire to assess the nutrition knowledge of ultraendurance athletes. Nutritional knowledge was assessed using a modified sports nutrition knowledge questionnaire (ULTRA-Q). Four independent assessors with specialization in sports nutrition confirmed the content validity of the ULTRA-Q. Registered sports nutritionists, registered dietitians, and those without nutrition training completed the ULTRA-Q on two separate occasions. After the first completion, a significant difference in nutrition scores between groups (p ≤ .001) provided evidence of construct validity. After the second completion, intraclass correlation coefficients comparing nutrition scores between time points (.75-.95) provided evidence of test-retest reliability. Subsequently, experienced ultraendurance athletes (male: n = 74 and female: n = 27) completed the ULTRA-Q. Athletes also documented their sources of nutrition knowledge for ultraendurance events. The total nutrition knowledge score for ultraendurance athletes was 68.3% ± 9.5%, and there were no significant differences in knowledge scores between males and females (67.4% ± 9.6% and 70.7% ± 9.3%, respectively) or between runners and triathletes (69.1% ± 9.7% and 65.1% ± 9.4%, respectively). In general, it appeared that ultraendurance athletes favored other athletes (73%) over nutrition experts (8%) as a source of nutritional information. The findings of this study indicate that ultraendurance athletes had a reasonable level of nutrition knowledge, but interathlete variability suggests a need for targeted nutrition education.

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