Search results for "Path Analysis"

2021

The present study aimed to examine effects of motivational and social cognition constructs on children’s leisure-time physical activity participation alongside constructs representing implicit processes using an extended trans-contextual model. The study adopted a correlational prospective design. Secondary-school students (N = 502) completed self-report measures of perceived autonomy support from physical education (PE) teachers, autonomous motivation in PE and leisure-time contexts, and social cognition constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control), intentions, trait self-control, habits, and past behavior in a leisure-time physical activity context. Five weeks la…

Motivational Climate and Students’ Emotional Experiences and Effort in Physical Education

2010

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of a self-determined motivational climate including support of autonomy, relatedness, task involvement, and ego-involving climate on students’ affective responses and effort in physical education. The sample involved 338 sixth-grade students (11–12 years old) who completed a questionnaire battery incorporating measures of motivational climate, enjoyment, trait anxiety in physical education, and effort. The results of the reliability and confirmatory factor analyses supported the psychometric properties of the measures. Multiple regression path analysis results indicated that task-involving climate, autonomy, and relatedness support had more pos…

Using meta-analytic path analysis to test theoretical predictions in health behavior: An illustration based on meta-analyses of the theory of planned…

2016

Abstract Objective Synthesizing research on social cognitive theories applied to health behavior is an important step in the development of an evidence base of psychological factors as targets for effective behavioral interventions. However, few meta-analyses of research on social cognitive theories in health contexts have conducted simultaneous tests of theoretically-stipulated pattern effects using path analysis. We argue that conducting path analyses of meta-analytic effects among constructs from social cognitive theories is important to test nomological validity, account for mediation effects, and evaluate unique effects of theory constructs independent of past behavior. We illustrate o…

2018

Climatically controlled allocation to reproduction is a key mechanism by which climate influences tree growth and may explain lagged correlations between climate and growth. We used continent-wide datasets of tree-ring chronologies and annual reproductive effort in Fagus sylvatica from 1901 to 2015 to characterise relationships between climate, reproduction and growth. Results highlight that variable allocation to reproduction is a key factor for growth in this species, and that high reproductive effort ('mast years') is associated with stem growth reduction. Additionally, high reproductive effort is associated with previous summer temperature, creating lagged climate effects on growth. Con…

Self-esteem and intentions mediate perceived fitness with physical activity in Finnish adolescents with long-term illness or disabilities

2014

Background: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is recognised as the common language in disability research. However, personal factors in the ICF are not explicitly coded because of cultural differences that influence physical activity (PA) participation. The ICF suggests using fitness as a personal factor, as well as other psychological assets. Intentions may serve as such psychological assets and studies on the antecedents to intentions which prompts PA behaviours is lacking in adolescent long term illness or disability (LTID) populations. Objective: The purpose of this study was to report how ICF personal factors can influence participation in PA.…

How Are Practice and Performance Related? Development of Reading From Age 5 to 15

2021

Does reading a lot lead to better reading skills, or does reading a lot follow from high initial reading skills? The authors present a longitudinal study of how much children choose to read and how well they decode and comprehend texts. This is the first study to examine the codevelopment of print exposure with both fluency and comprehension throughout childhood using autocorrelations. Print exposure was operationalized as children’s amount of independent reading for pleasure. Two hundred children were followed from age 5 to age 15. Print exposure was assessed at ages 5, 7, 8, 9, and 13. Prereading skills were tested at age 5 and reading skills at ages 7, 8, 9, 14, and 15 (the latter with t…

Predicting bullying: maladjustment, social skills and popularity

2012

In order to prevent bullying, research has characterised the adolescents involved in terms of their social skills, maladjustment and popularity. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the relationships between these variables and how these relationships predict bullying involvement. Moreover, the literature has focused on pure bullies and victims, despite the fact that bully-victims are known to be the most troubled. The aim of this work is to study the relationships between these variables and their predictive value, focusing on the bully-victim role. The sample (N = 641) is made up of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years. The results mainly indicate that the level of maladju…

Predicting physical activity intentions using a goal perspectives approach: A study of Finnish youth

2007

Utilising a goal perspectives framework, a study predicting physical activity intentions in 12 to 16-year-old Hungarian adolescents was conducted with two samples. Theoretical predictions established a model that was tested through path analysis. Beliefs thought to underpin goal orientations were hypothesised to predict ego orientation (general and gift beliefs) and task orientation (learning and incremental beliefs). Task orientation was hypothesised to predict intentions directly, while ego orientation was hypothesised to predict intentions indirectly through perceived competence. Results from the first sample (n=301) suggested that the model could be improved by adding paths between gene…

Young adults personal concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland: an issue for social concern

2020

PurposeThis study focuses on how young adults face the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating their personal concerns about mental well-being, career/studies and economic situation. The authors investigated how young adults' (aged 18–29) personal concerns differ from older people's concerns (aged 30–65) and which person- and context-related antecedents relate to personal concerns.Design/methodology/approachData of Finnish young adults aged 18–29 (n = 222), who participated in the “Corona Consumers” survey (N = 1,000) in April 2020, were analyzed by path analysis and compared to participants aged 30–65 by independent samples t-test.FindingsYoung adults were significantly more concerned about the…

Does Sedentary Behavior Predict Academic Performance in Adolescents or the Other Way Round? A Longitudinal Path Analysis.

2016

This study examined whether adolescents’ time spent on sedentary behaviors (academic, technological-based and social-based activities) was a better predictor of academic performance than the reverse. A cohort of 755 adolescents participated in a three-year period study. Structural Equation Modeling techniques were used to test plausible causal hypotheses. Four competing models were analyzed to determine which model best fitted the data. The Best Model was separately tested by gender. The Best Model showed that academic performance was a better predictor of sedentary behaviors than the other way round. It also indicated that students who obtained excellent academic results were more likely t…