Objective: To explore interventions that support children and parents making health decisions. Systematic Review: A systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence on interventions that support children’s health decision making. Five studies of variable quality were included. Interventions that improved decision making were decision coaching with or without an educational resource, or education alone. Pre-/post-test pilot: A pre-/post-test study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of decision coaching guided by the Ottawa Family Decision Guide for children with type 1 diabetes and their parents. Of 16 families invited, 7 participated. Compared to children/parents who preferred one option at baseline, participants who were unsure of the best option rated decision coaching as more acceptable and had larger decreases in decisional conflict. Conclusions: Few studies have evaluated interventions supporting children’s decision making. The piloted decision support intervention was feasible and acceptable, particularly with children and parents who were unsure of the best option.

Regeringen presenterade 2009 en åtgärdsplan för att råda bot på arbetslösheten. I och med det bereddes 740 arbetscoacher att etablera sig på arbetsförmedlingarna runt om landet. I media har det vid ett flertal tillfällen gjorts kommentarer angående arbetscoachernas korta utbildning och om deras insatser verkligen har gett resultat. Deltagarna i studien bestod av fem arbetsförmedlare och fyra arbetscoacher, varav två var män. Studiens syfte var att fånga upp hur deltagarna upplevde sina yrkesroller på sin arbetsplats. En kvalitativ metod genomfördes, där intervjuguiden innehöll frågor som skulle besvara på deltagarnas upplevelser i sina yrkesroller. Teman skapades av den sammanfattade texten och av det återkommande mönster tolkade författarna fram ett resultat. Där framgick det att arbetsförmedlarna upplevde att en allt för stor del upptogs av administration medan arbetscoacherna verkade nöjda med sina arbetsuppgifter. Författarnas slutsats var att arbetsförmedlarna var överbelastade.

An examination of the intersection between work and family for small college coaches was conducted via an online questionnaire to explore variables that affect coaches’ work-family fit. Specifically, the work variables of autonomy, supervisor support, and working hours were hypothesized to be related to all or some of the work-family variables of work-family conflict, family-work conflict, work-family enrichment, and family-work enrichment. Likewise, family variables such as spousal support, spousal working hours, spouse job-type, number of children, child sport involvement, and child sport attendance were hypothesized to be related to all or some of the same work-family variables.Ecological theory was used to explain and predict the expected relationships between work and family factors with the work-family interface variables.Confirmatory factor analysis results suggested that the fit for coaches and their work-family interface is best explained by four work-family dimensions—two directional conflict dimensions and two directional enrichment dimensions. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the effects of three work factors on the four work-family variables: supervisory support, autonomy, and hours worked. Multiple regression was used to examine the effect of family variables on the work-family constructs.. Additionally, gender differences within spousal job hours and type were explored. Results suggest that supervisory support correlates with lower conflict and greater enrichment. Additionally, coaches reported that an autonomous workplace correlated with lower conflict and greater work enrichment with family. No hypothesis was supported with hours worked. In the family domain, spousal sport support, like supervisory support, was correlated with lower conflict and greater enrichment. No other family variables were significantly related to the work-family variables within the multiple regression analysis. Two hypotheses involving spouses of coaches, however, were supported as coaching mothers had spouses/partners who were more likely to work longer hours than fathers. Additionally, coaching mothers were more likely to have spouses/partners who were more likely to work in a career-type job. Besides theoretical and practical applications, an exploration contrasting male and female coaches was done. Additionally, in aligning with ecological theory, coaches’ work-family fit needs to be considered when hiring and retaining parents who coach.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Helmut-Schmidt-Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Kassel, University, Diss., 2009.

Zugl.: Bamberg, Univ., Diss., 2009

The purpose of this study was to identify and explain youth ice hockey coaches' perceptions of the effectiveness of a team building intervention program. Specifically, eight Peewee hockey coaches followed the same procedures and implemented the same physical team building activities with their teams throughout the regular season. Data was gathered in a variety of ways. Coaches' answered questions on a pre and post-intervention form for each activity and their behaviors were observed by members of the research team. As well, a semi-structured exit interview was conducted with each coach following the completion of the regular season. Cote, Salmela, and Russell's (1995) guidelines were used to inductively analyze and interpret the interview data. Results of the data revealed four higher-order categories concerning coaches' perceptions of the team building program: (a) coach characteristics and outcomes, which included skills coaches gained as a result of their participation in the team building program, as well as their beliefs, philosophies, and background experiences that shaped their coaching development, (b) team circumstances and climate, which involved interpersonal interactions, internal and external environmental factors, and elements influencing team atmosphere, (c) athlete outcomes, which included the feelings, attitudes, and values, as well as the intellectual/thinking-related skills and outcomes that athletes experienced as a result of their involvement in the intervention program, and (d) program involvement and assessment, which focused on coaches' roles and their confidence delivering team building activities, as well as their appraisal of the intervention program. Results of this study provided evidence of the benefits of a season-long team building intervention program for coaches, athletes, and entire teams. Specifically, coaches felt athletes enjoyed this experience and improved and/or acquired a variety of important life skills, such as problem-solving and the ability to focus and persevere when faced with challenging tasks. Likewise, coaches felt their communication and motivational skills improved as a result of their involvement in the team building program. Finally, coaches also felt athletes bonded daring activities and improved their abilities to work together as a group. The results of this study have advanced knowledge in sport psychology by providing a deeper understanding of how team building is perceived by youth sport coaches.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among preferred and perceived leadership, their congruence and satisfaction with leadership. The second purpose was to investigate the differences among the offensive, the defensive and the mid-field players of soccer teams in preferred leadership, perceived leadership and satisfaction with leadership. The five leader behaviors which were measured were: training and instruction, social support, positive feedback, democratic behavior, and autocratic behavior. The four aspects of leadership satisfaction, which were measured, were: individual performance satisfaction, team performance satisfaction, training and instruction satisfaction, and personal treatment satisfaction. The subjects of the study were 138 male university soccer players 7 of 9 universities in Ankara Region of Turkey. The athletes consisted of 38 offensive players, 49 defensive players, and 51 mid-field players. Data was collected through Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS) preference version and perception version, and Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ). The study employed hierarchical regression procedures to test the congruence hypothesis derived from the multidimensional model of leadership. Results indicated athlete satisfaction was not dependent on the congruence between preferred and perceived leadership behavior. Additionally, results showed that there were no differences among the offensive, defensive, and mid-field players in preferred leadership, perceived leadership, and satisfaction with leadership. Further research is needed with the multidimensional theory of leadership in varying sport groups and with greater number of participants to identify other situational and behavioral factors associated with athletic performance.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgia Southern University, 2008. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." Under the direction of Jonathan N. Metzler. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-40) and appendices.