The purpose of this study was to determine whether adherance to a modified vegetarian diet predisposed young female athletes to iron deficiency. Two groups of female distance runners volunteered to be subjects for this study. One group consisted of women who regularly consumed red meat, and the other groups women who consumed a modified vegetarian diet. Three day dietary records analyzed to estimate nutrient intake, including available iron. Measures of serum ferritin, serum iron, total iron binding capacity, percent transferrin saturation, hemoglobin and hematocrit were done to asses iron status. The two groups did not differ in the amount of total iron or available iron in their diets. The red meat eating subjects consumed significantly more heme iron from their diets than the modified vegetarians; however there were no differences between the two groups in any of the measures of hematological or iron status. While there were no differences between the two groups in the percent of subjects classified in each stage, 37% of all of the subjects were classified as having a stage 1 deficiency, associated with iron deficient stores, and 11% of the subjects were classified as having a stage 2 deficiency, indicating iron deficient erythropoiesis. None of the subjects were anemic. The results indicate that adherance to a modifed vegetarian diet in this age group did not increase the risk of iron deficiency. / School of Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of abnormal eating behaviors and weight control techniques in female collegiate varsity athletes at Ball State University. A modified version of the The Michigan State University (MSU) Weight Control Survey was the instrument which was used to survey the athletes. Data were collected from 79 athletes, who represented six sports (field hockey, gymnastics, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball). The mean age of subjects was 20.0 years. Multivariate tests of significance were conducted to see whether or not there were any statistical differences among athletes according to their sport participation. Height was the only variable that revealed statistical significance (p=.002). Body Mass Index (BMI) showed that 63 (80.7%) athletes fell into the desirable range of 19-24 for person's aged 19 through 24 years. A total of 49 (63.0%) athletes reported that they had attempted to lose weight during the preceding year. Approximately 80% of respondents believed diet pills, vomiting, laxatives, diuretic pills, fasting and drinking less fluids to be dangerous weight loss methods. Eating fewer snacks, exercising more, and counting fat grams were the most common methods of weight control that had been tried. Thirteen athletes reported that they had used at least one (fasting, vomiting, laxatives, diet pills, syrup of ipecac, and/or drinking less fluids) harmful method to control body weight. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of an imagery session on intercollegiate female swimmers' precompetitive state anxiety levels and on perceptions of anxiety. A switched replication design was utilized in which twenty-two female intercollegiate swimmers were administered the the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory2, CSAI-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) and the Competitive Anxiety Perception Scale, CAPS, (Murray, 1989) weekly over the course of five weeks. Subjects were then randomly exposed to an imagery session during this period. Although descriptive data showed decreases in subjects' levels of A-state, a 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences between subjects' PRE and POST scores. The observed decreases in A-state, although nonsignificant at the .05 level, warrants future research with a larger sample size. Additionally, the nonsignificant change in CAPS suggested that one's perceptions of anxiety may be learned at an early age and, therefore, not easily modified. It is suggested that future researchers attempt to identify those factors which mediate perceptions of anxiety. / School of Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the nutrition knowledge and dietary intake before and after the implementation of a nutrition education program among university female cross country runners. The nutrition education program consisted of three, onehour sessions comprised of the following topics: general diet recommendations including carbohydrate, fat, protein, and the five food groups, iron status, fluids and hydration, amenorrhea, calcium intake and its effect on bone mass, and pathogenic weight control. Female cross country runners from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, and Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana served as the experimental groups, and Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana served as the control group. Teaching materials including outlines, handouts, and discussion questions were developed, presented, and distributed at each session. Evaluation of nutrition knowledge was completed through a pre-test, and post-test which consisted of 22 multiple choice / true/false questions. The nutrition education program significantly increased the nutrition knowledge for the experimental group (n = 9) from a mean pre-test score of 11.22 +/- 4.74 to a mean post-test score of 15.44 +/- 3.88. The quiz was developed with questions from two other quizzes used in previous research including Worme, et al., (1990) and Barr (1986) as well as a few additional questions developed by the primary investigator. Dietary intake was evaluated using three-day diet records prior to the nutrition education program and immediately following. In addition, three experimental subjects and three control subjects completed follow-up diet records one month following the nutrition education program but was not included in the data analysis. There were no significant changes in any of the 21 nutrients assessed; however, there were a few which approached statistical significance including thiamin (p<0.0528), dietary fiber (p<0.0865) and saturated fat (p<0.0737). Participants in the study seemed very receptive to the chosen topics but was especially interested in the topic of amenorrhea. Although not asked, four subjects did report that amenorrhea had been a problem- in the past including one subject who still had the problem. The primary investigator feels the educational program had a positive affect on the subjects. It is important to educate athletes about nutrition and the effects on health, especially young females involved with sports in which body weight has an influence on performance. This study could be repeated in the future to further study dietary intake and how nutrition education affects eating behaviors over a long period of time in this population. / Department of Home Economics

Many athletes and spectators believe that experiencing and controlling psychological momentum is a critical component to achieving success in sport (Perreault, Vallerand, Montgomery, & Provencher, 1998; Stanimirovic & Hanrahan, 2004). Despite this, little is known regarding why some individuals perceive momentum differently than others. This study was designed to determine if optimistic thinking has a relationship with psychological momentum perceptions. Female Division I NCAA volleyball players (N = 68) completed the Life Orientation Test – Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), the Sport Attributional Style Scale - Short (Hanrahan & Grove, 1990b), and a psychological momentum survey. The results indicated that attributional style constructs intentionality and globality were significant predictors of psychological momentum perceptions. Also, participants had greater disagreement regarding the momentum value of early and late points in a set than those in between. Neither dispositional optimism nor sport-specific optimistic attributional style were correlated with psychological momentum perceptions. Future attempts to measure psychological momentum perceptions should consider a mixed methods approach along with more ecologically valid assessment protocols. / Department of Psychological Science

Female participation in high-contact sports has increased dramatically in the past two decades, raising concern regarding injury to the female breast and the need for protective equipment. While the use of chest/breast protectors by women is advocated, little is known of their efficacy and effect on athletic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of chest/breast protector use on measures of performance and comfort, and to determine the mechanical response of the protectors to applied impacts. The four chest/breast protectors selected for study included rigid polyethylene and flexible closed-cell foam styles. To evaluate physiological and comfort differences among the control (no protector) condition and the protectors, female subjects completed a submaximal treadmill running protocol, during which metabolic, skin temperature and perceived comfort data were collected. To evaluate effects on general agility, subjects completed a timed agility test. To assess cushioning properties, the vertical acceleration-time and force-displacement histories of a projectile during surface contact with each protector were analyzed using a drop test method. Analysis of variance methods were used to compare metabolic, temperature, comfort, agility, and energy absorption variables. Graphic presentations accompanied by qualitative interpretation of data across the time history of the impacts were used to describe cushioning properties of the protectors. The chest/breast protectors in this study did not significantly increase oxygen consumption for submaximal treadmill running. Some but not all protectors produced significantly higher skin temperatures than the no-protector condition. Greater temperatures and temperature differentials between the skin and exterior equipment surface were associated with multiple plastic/fabric layers and closed-cell foam construction. No protectors produced significantly higher ratings of thermal sensation or perceived skin wettedness than the control condition. Two protectors were assessed as similar to the control condition on general comfort sensation while two were deemed to be significantly less comfortable. There was no decrease in general agility associated with protector wear. The closed cell foam protector generally showed better shock attenuation characteristics, while the rigid protectors generally demonstrated superior shock absorption. Relationships with regard to cushioning properties changed in response to systematic variation of missile mass and drop height. / Graduation date: 1992

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-197). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-132).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-159).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 2008. / Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Glasgow, 2008. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.