We hypothesised that resiliency may protect adolescents against risky behaviours, and that both the practicing of sports, and gender are moderating variables in relationships between resiliency and risky behaviours. The study included 18-year-old pupils from a selection of secondary schools (n = 556). A total of 188 individuals practiced competitive sports and the remaining 368 participants were non-athletes. The participants were examined with the Resiliency Assessment Scale for Children and Adolescents (SPP-18) and with a survey containing questions and statements related to high-risk "experiments with adulthood". Adolescent athletes showed higher levels of resiliency than their peers. The power of the "Determination and Persistence in Action" effect on "Alcohol" scale differed significantly between male athletes and male non-athletes. Only in the athletes groups were higher scores on this scale reflected by lower values on the "Drugs" scale. Moreover, it is possible to observe differences in undertaking risky behaviour between male and female athletes. The analysis of risky sexual behaviour suggests that sport is a risk factor for men, and a protective factor for women. These data suggest that consistent prophylactic and psycho-educative activities, with a special attention to differences between genders, should be provided to all the adolescents, irrespective of their sport performance levels.

Open Access License:This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. abstract BackgroundThe aim of this paper is to specify to what extent goal orientation in physical activity and sports constitutes a protective factor against involvement in risky behaviors. Material/MethodsThe research group consisted of 430 eighteen-year-old high school students (females n = 203; males n = 227; athletes n = 137; physically active n = 198; inactive group n = 95). Subjects were asked to complete a "pen-and-paper" task of filling-in the IPAO Lipowski & Zaleski (2015) and a questionnaire concerning involvement in risky behaviors. ResultsMale athletes high scores in persistence in action dimension were reflected by a lower likelihood of cigarette smoking and illicit drug use. The importance of heterogeneity of objectives turned out to be a buffering dimension protecting female athletes against alcohol drinking. ConclusionsPhysical activity and practicing competitive sports may constitute a protective factor, especially among young women. Further exploration of issues concerning adolescents' purposeful actions may enrich our knowledge about the prevention of risky behaviors.

Parents healthy behaviors have an undeniable influence on the long-term health of their children by preventing risky behaviors, as well as overweight or obese, which are currently a global problem. The aim of this study was to examine whether parents being ex-athletes is associated with their family having a healthy lifestyle and raising preschool children in healthy ways. An ex-athletes families ( n = 350) with partners (mean age Mmother = 34.20, SD = 5.29; Mfather = 36.73, SD = 5.63) and children and a control group of families ( n = 336; mean age Mmother = 34.47, SD = 5.05; Mfather = 36.88, SD = 5.69) participated in the study. We analyzed the influence of current participation in physical activity (PA) and proper nutrition habits of parents on the parents’ feeding styles and children PA. When at least one parent was an ex-athlete, the control over eating feeding style was used more often and the emotional feeding style was used less often in comparison to the control group. Children from families with an ex-athlete spent more hours per week on PA compared to children from the control group.

Background: Few studies concern strategies for coping with stress in people who practice extreme sports. The goal of the current work is to analyse the relationships between strategies for coping with stress used by male and female extreme athletes, perception of threat associated with their sport, and their satisfaction with life. Material and methods:The sample consisted of 144 athletes, 55 females and 89 males, who have practiced extreme sports for at least 2 years. Participants completed the Brief COPE questionnaire, the SWLS questionnaire, and a survey to collect sociodemographic data and information about participants' perceptions of threats associated with their sport discipline. Student's t-test, r-Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed.Results: Significant relationships were found between the use of certain strategies for coping with stress and the assessment of risks associated with extreme sports in both men and women. Only in the case of men were relationships observed between the coping strategies used and satisfaction with life. Women were more likely to use emotional and instrumental support and less likely to use humor then men.Conclusions: Strategies for coping with stress are associated with risk assessment and, among men, with sense of satisfaction with life.

health psychology report • volume 7(3), 9 original article background Puberty is a particularly important period for moulding one's lifestyle. Physical activity (PA) levels exhibited by teenagers remain low despite efforts to promote it, and the percentage of individuals who are exempt from taking part in physical education classes is high. In this context, the aim of the current study is to analyse the levels of aggression and self-esteem in adolescents characterised by different levels of physical activity. participants and procedure A total of 968 16-year-old adolescents took part in the study. Participants were divided into four subgroups: 1) a nonactive group, n = 141 (95 girls); 2) a physical education (PE) group, n = 514 (322 girls); 3) a high PA group, n = 178 (81 girls); and 4) an athlete group, n = 135 (66 girls). Participants were asked to complete a socio-demographic survey and a set of questionnaires (IPAO, KAM-RE, and SES). results The non-active group scored higher than the PE and high PA groups on the general aggressiveness scale. Statistically significant differences were found between the non-active group and other groups for direct and indirect aggression, opposition, and verbal aggression. The athlete group scored higher on the indirect aggression scale than the PE group. The high PA group scored higher than the non-active group in self-esteem. conclusions Undertaking compulsory physical activity in school and additional physical activity based on one's own interests is associated with lower levels of aggression in comparison to individuals who do not undertake any physical activity. For this reason, it is necessary to continue consistently promoting physical activity in school and during free time.

Objectives: Sensation seeking (SS) is associated with engaging in risk behaviors and it is also positively correlated with engaging in physical activity and building beneficial personality resources for coping processes. This study investigates the role of SS in building resiliency and the risk of tobacco and alcohol use.Methods: A total of 649 adolescents, who either practice or do not practice sports, took part in this study. Participants completed a set of questionnaires which verify level of: SS, resiliency, tobacco and alcohol use.Results: No statistically significant gender- or sports-related differences were observed on the tobacco and alcohol use, as well as for SS according to the ANOVA results. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that the effect of SS on tobacco and alcohol use through resiliency was significant for the female PE and the male athlete group.Conclusion: Higher influence of SS on resiliency was noted in the male athlete group, and in this case resiliency was a factor protecting against tobacco use. Engaging in sports fosters resiliency, the mechanisms underlying the development of resiliency seem to be aided by SS.

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Our main aim in this study was to investigate cognitive functioning in young gymnasts. The study group consisted of 86 children, aged 10–12 years: (a) a criterion group of 41 juvenile athletes ( Mage = 11.23; SDage = 0.93) who trained six times per week; and (b) a comparison group of 45 children ( Mage = 11.11; SDage = 0.61) who were not involved competitively in sports but who were mostly quite physically active. We measured attention, memory processes, and bioelectrical brain activity in the central region (Cz; where there are connections to motor control, movement, and sensation). We found significant differences between our two participant groups in short-term memory, deferred naming memory, and long-term memory of visual material. Children who practiced gymnastics had a better attention span than those who did not, and children who were non-athletes but who undertook physical activity more frequently than five times per week had a different theta/sensory motor rhythm (SMR) brain wave ratio (with SMR higher), meaning that they felt calmer and more relaxed.