The main objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and the validity of a newly constructed reactive-agility test that can be used to define the reactive-agility performance in sports that employ repeated scenarios of "stop'n'go" agility. Measuring is done by original hardware based on the ATMEL microcontroller AT89C51RE2. A total of 36 college-aged male athletes (age, 22.1 ± 2.4 years; body height, 182.45 ± 5.19 cm; body mass, 80.67 ± 7.69 kg) and 21 college-aged female athletes (age, 21.4 ± 2.5 years; body height, 171.45 ± 6.81 cm; body mass, 61.95 ± 6.70 kg) were evaluated for a stop'n'go reactive-agility test (SNG-RAT), stop'n'go change of direction speed (SNG-CODS), countermovement jump, and anthropometrics. The reliability analyses suggested a high consistency for the applied tests (SNG-CODS, intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.87 and 0.92; SNG-RAT, ICC = 0.81 and 0.86, for men and women, respectively). The SNG-RAT and SNG-CODS shared <40% of the common variance. The longer version of the SNG-RAT, which included 5 unpredictable changes of direction, was found to be valid among men. At the same time, the shorter version of the SNG-RAT (3 unpredictable changes of direction) is suggested for women because it better discriminates more agile from less agile athletes. Because the SNG-RAT and SNG-CODS were performed on the same course, we believe that simultaneously performing both tests can be beneficial when defining "stop'n'go" agility. This implies that the calculated SNG-CODS to SNG-RAT ratio will allow strength and conditioning coaches to indirectly determine the perceptual and reaction capacities of their athletes.
ObjectiveThe community of residence (ie, urban vs rural) is one of the known factors of influence on substance use and misuse (SUM). The aim of this study was to explore the community-specific prevalence of SUM and the associations that exist between scholastic, familial, sports and sociodemographic factors with SUM in adolescents from Bosnia and Herzegovina.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, which was completed between November and December 2014, the participants were 957 adolescents (aged 17 to 18 years) from Bosnia and Herzegovina (485; 50.6% females). The independent variables were sociodemographic, academic, sport and familial factors. The dependent variables consisted of questions on cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. We have calculated differences between groups of participants (gender, community), while the logistic regressions were applied to define associations between the independent and dependent variables.ResultsIn the urban community, cigarette smoking is more prevalent in girls (OR=2.05; 95% CI 1.27 to 3.35), while harmful drinking is more prevalent in boys (OR=2.07; 95% CI 1.59 to 2.73). When data are weighted by gender and community, harmful drinking is more prevalent in urban boys (OR=1.97; 95% CI 1.31 to 2.95), cigarette smoking is more frequent in rural boys (OR=1.61; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.39), and urban girls misuse substances to a greater extent than rural girls (OR=1.70; 95% CI 1.16 to 2.51,OR=2.85; 95% CI 1.88 to 4.31,OR=2.78; 95% CI 1.67 to 4.61 for cigarette smoking, harmful drinking and simultaneous smoking-drinking, respectively). Academic failure is strongly associated with a higher likelihood of SUM. The associations between parental factors and SUM are more evident in urban youth. Sports factors are specifically correlated with SUM for urban girls.ConclusionsLiving in an urban environment should be considered as a higher risk factor for SUM in girls. Parental variables are more strongly associated with SUM among urban youth, most probably because of the higher parental involvement in children’ personal lives in urban communities (ie, college plans, for example). Specific indicators should be monitored in the prevention of SUM.
This study investigated substance use and misuse among 16 female and 9 male Croatian ballet professionals in 2008 using an original questionnaire. We analyzed social, personal, activity- and training-related, and educational factors, and criteria such as: binge alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, appetite suppressant consumption, analgesic use, and actual and potential "doping" habits. Frequency tables and rank-order correlation were calculated. More than one third of the male dancers reported binge drinking, while 20% of the females smoked more than a box of cigarettes per day. Almost 25% of these dancers will use "doping" if it will ensure successful ballet performance, regardless of negative health consequences. In males, the risk of potential "doping" behavior increased with age. In females, education level was negatively related to cigarette smoking, but positively correlated to potential "doping" habits and behavior. In both genders, religiousness was the factor negatively related to the following: (1) potential "doping" behavior and (2) belief that "doping" exists in professional ballet. Results suggest that there is evident need for more specific medical and/or psychological services in professional ballet. The study's limitations are noted.
There is an evident lack of studies examining the factors associated with reactive agility performances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between anthropometrics, body composition, jumping capacity, reactive strength, and balance with a stop-and-go change of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility. The total sample comprised 39 male (body height: 182.95 ± 5.19 cm; body mass: 80.66 ± 7.69 kg) and 34 female (body height: 171.45 ± 6.81 cm; body mass: 61.95 ± 6.70 kg) college-level athletes (21.9 ± 1.9 years of age). The variables included body height, body mass, the percentage of body fat (BF%), balance as measured by an overall-stability index, the countermovement jump (CMJ), a reactive-strength index (RSI), stop-and-go reactive agility, and stop-and-go CODS. To define the associations between motor and anthropometric variables with CODS and reactive agility, the participants were clustered into three achievement groups based on their CODS and reactive agility performances. The ANOVA showed a significant difference between the CODS-based achievement groups for the CMJ (F test = 3.45 and 3.60 for males and females, respectively; p < 0.05), the RSI (F test = 6.94 and 5.29 for males and females, respectively; p < 0.05), and balance (F test = 3.47; p < 0.05 for males). In females, the reactive agility achievement groups differed significantly in the RSI (F test = 6.46; p < 0.05), the CMJ (F test = 4.35; p < 0.05) and BF% (F test = 4.07; p < 0.05), which is further confirmed by discriminant canonical analysis (Can R = 0.74; p < 0.05). The results confirm the need for independent evaluation and training for both CODS and reactive agility performance in sports.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.