0000000000281799
AUTHOR
Nikos Zourbanos
Intentions to drop-out of youth soccer: A test of the basic needs theory among European youth from five countries
Research arising from self-determination theory (SDT; Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268) indicates that the quality of the social interactions between athletes and coaches, and athletes' ensuing psychological responses, are critical determinants of intentions to drop out of youth sport. Little is known regarding whether these processes hold across countries. Grounded in SDT, this study tested the invariance of a model predicting youth sport dropout across five European countries. Seven thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine grassroots players (6641 males, 1020 fem…
Measurement invariance of the Behavioural Regulation in Sport Questionnaire when completed by young athletes across five European countries
The purpose of this study was (1) to examine the factorial validity of the Behavioural Regulation Sport in Questionnaire (BRSQ) when completed by young soccer players in the Promoting Adolescent Physical Activity (PAPA) project (9-15 years old) in 5 European countries (France: n = 1248, Greece: n = 1507, Norway: n = 1397, Spain: n = 2245, and England: n = 1372) and (2) test the measurement invariance of its latent factors across these 5 countries.First, we tested the exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) factor analyses, allowing cross-loadings between factors, against the traditional independent clusters confirmatory factor analysis model (ICM-CFA), with all cross-loadings constrain…
Process and outcome evaluation of the “No more smoking! It's time for physical activity” program
Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the program “No more smoking! It's time for physical activity”, with a mixed methods design, in order to collect information to improve the program for future applications. Methods Forty patients across five anti-smoking clinics in Central Greece completed the program. Counselors' records and participants' questionnaires and interviews were used as data in order to evaluate the programs' process and outcome. Results Quantitative measures before and after the program revealed significant differences on smoking behavior, physical activity (PA) behavior, self-efficacy, and smoking habit measures. Qualitative data implied that the promotion…
Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and personal well-being in European youth soccer players: Invariance of physical activity, global self-esteem and vitality across five countries
In this study, findings concerned with the association of self-reported global self-esteem, vitality and athletes' moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in young soccer players and the generalisability of these associations across different European populations are presented. After listwise exclusion of missing cases and the elimination of cases reporting less than a week of intensive physical activity, the sample of this analysis included 6796 athletes from France (N = 974), Greece (N = 1416), Norway (N = 1051), Spain (N = 2175) and England (N = 1180). Results from multi-sample structural equation modelling analyses provided evidence of invariance across countries for factor loadin…
Initial Evaluation of a Smoking Cessation Program Incorporating Physical Activity Promotion to Greek Adults in Antismoking Clinics
The purpose of this study was to evaluate an initial application of a smoking cessation program that integrated the promotion of physical activity (PA) as a cessation aid to Greek adults in antismoking clinics. From an initial pool of 50, 12 men and 28 women from Central Greece completed the program, and 18 of them succeeded in quitting for 1 year after the program. Additionally, after the program, they increased their PA. Suggestions for future applications of the program are further discussed. peerReviewed
An initial investigation of smokers’ urges to smoke and their exercise intensity preference: A mixed-methods approach
The purpose of this study was to examine whether smokers preferred a “self-selected” form of physical activity (PA) in which they were allowed to determine themselves the intensity of PA or preferred a “set” form of PA in which the instructor chose the exercise intensity for them. In addition, we examined effects of ‘set” and “self-selected” intensity exercise, on urges to smoke. Participants were 20 (mean age = 27.10 ± 7.37) adults, non-physically active, heavy smokers. Four of them were also interviewed. Results demonstrated that smokers exhibited an enhanced preference for “self-selected” forms of PA as opposed to “set” forms of PA. Smoking urge was significantly lower immediately after…