Many adolescents are at risk of injury as a result of lifestyle, with high morbidity and mortality rates primarily affected by engagement in risk-taking behaviour (AIHW, 2004b). The study aimed to reduce injury through the design, implementation and evaluation of an intervention to affect risk-taking behaviour. The intervention was guided by theory,(Theory of Planned Behavior, TPB Ajzen, 1985) and selectively focused on increasing protective behaviour toward friends. To meet the aim, the intervention focused on the following risk-taking behaviours: alcohol use, interpersonal violence, being a passenger of, and own risky use of a motor vehicle or bicycle. The average age of participants of the study was fourteen. The program of research was divided into three stages that, as a whole, met the aim of designing and evaluating an intervention to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents. The aim of the first stage was to provide the detail required for the program design (Stage 2). Stage 1 comprised a number of research processes including (i) a comprehensive literature review. The literature review included the rationale for reducing injury and risk-taking behaviour among adolescents, examination of the friendship relationship and assessing key issues and components of previously evaluated behaviour change programs. Stage 1 also included (ii) an assessment and operationalisation of the theoretical design (Theory of Planned Behavior and cognitive behavioural strategies). It was also found, in this Study 1, that the constructs of the TPB could explain friends' protective behaviour. Further, Stage 1 included (iii) Study 2, a qualitative evaluation of injury, risk-taking behaviour and key risk and protective factors for risk-taking behaviour from the perspective of young people conducted through focus groups. The information gathered in Stage 1 was used to develop the design of the program which comprised Stage 2. The next stage (Stage 3) involved an impact evaluation of the program. Firstly, in Study 3, a qualitative study was conducted to assess intervention participants' and teachers' perceptions of the program and adolescents' change in behaviour and attitudes. Intervention participants felt that they reduced their risk-taking behaviour and increased their protective behaviour toward their friends. Overall, adolescents and teachers viewed the program favourably. Secondly, in Study 4, a quantitative evaluation was conducted. Preliminary investigations found significant differences in change and behaviours among individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and, as such, analyses were conducted with the majority, Caucasian group only. The results indicated a reduction in risk-taking behaviours from baseline to follow-up in the intervention group and an increase in the comparison group. There was no support for the prediction that intervention students would increase their protective behaviour relative to the control group. Overall, the findings indicated challenges associated with designing and implementing an effective program to reduce risk-taking behaviour among adolescents.

No description available.

Neurophysiologische Studien belegen, dass körperliche Aktivität kognitive Entwicklungsgänge auf neuronaler Ebene anregt (Hollmann, Strüder & Tagarkanis, 2005; Kramer et al., 2005; Hillman et al. 2009). Die Übertragbarkeit dieser Erkenntnisse auf Anwendungsfelder ist jedoch noch nicht ausreichend gesichert (Etnier et al., 2006; Tomporowski, 2008). Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, ob sich Zusammenhänge zwischen den motorischen und kognitiven Fähigkeiten und körperlicher Aktivität bei Kindern nachweisen lassen und ob Motorik, Kognition und körperliche Aktivität durch eine in den Schulalltag integrierte Bewegungsintervention gefördert werden können. Die quasiexperimentelle Feldstudie im Pre-Posttestdesign mit Interventions- und Kontrollgruppe fand über sechs Monate an vier Osnabrücker Grundschulen statt (N = 242). Die Interventionsgruppe erhielt eine schulintegrierte Bewegungsintervention. Die motorische Leistungsfähigkeit wurde mit der Kurzform des Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2-sf) von Bruininks und Bruininks (2005), dem 6-Minuten-Ausdauerlauf (Bös & Mechling, 1983) und dem Sit and Reach-Test (Wells & Dillon, 1952) erhoben. Zur Erfassung der kognitiven Fähigkeiten verbale, nonverbale Intelligenz, Aufmerksamkeitsleistung und Lernbereitschaft kamen drei Untertests der „Basisdiagnostik umschriebener Entwicklungsstörungen im Grundschulalter“ (BUEGA, Esser, Wyschkon & Ballaschk, 2008) und die Lehrereinschätzliste für Sozial- und Lernverhalten (LSL) von Petermann und Petermann (2006) zum Einsatz. Die körperliche Aktivität wurde mit Schrittzählern OMRON HJ-720 IT (Walkling Style Pro) erfasst. Es zeigten sich generell positive signifikante aber kleine Zusammenhänge zwischen motorischen und kognitiven Leistungen (.16 < rp > .35). Zusammenhänge zwischen der körperlichen Aktivität und der Motorik und Kognition zeigten sich in Teilbereichen (Motorik: Oberkörperkoordination, Kraft, Ausdauer; Kognition: verbale Intelligenz, alle Items der Lernbereitschaft). Direkte Effekte der Intervention konnten in den motorischen Bereichen Oberkörperkoordination und Kraft nachgewiesen werden. Transfereffekte zeigten sich hinsichtlich der Selbständigkeit und Sorgfalt. Deskriptiv verbesserte sich auch die nonverbale sowie die verbale Intelligenz. Mit einem Mehr von über 20 % zurückgelegter Schritte und mehr als das Doppelte an Aerobic-Steps bei der Experimentalgruppe lassen sich die Effekte der Intervention auf die körperliche Aktivität ausdrücken.

Autism often makes children struggle to interact with peers, including initiating, responding, and maintaining social interactions in social settings. They may frequently miss opportunities to engage with peers; they get alienated and tend to appear outside peer activities, restricting opportunities for developing relationships. The time that a child spends in preschool and with peers is crucial for their social skills to develop. Over time, their peers will have a more significant influence on them. This systematic literature review aimed to describe the preschool-based intervention for children with Autism to increase their peer interaction. The search was conducted using three databases (ERIC, PsycINFO, and Web of Science), and seven studies were then selected that met predefined inclusion criteria. The current review includes different interventions such as Peer-mediated intervention, preferred Activities with Peer Support, iPod Touch™, Technology as Communication Devices, and Peer-Mediated LEGO® Play intervention. The seven selected articles conducted an intervention to improve peer interaction of children with Autism. The majority of the reviewed studies found that peer interaction interventions improved the social interaction of children with Autism.  As the limitation of the study, the lack of research focusing on preschool-based children with autism spectrum disorders and the interventions available to them were highlighted.

The proportion of obese adolescents in Southern Appalachia is among the highest in the nation. Through funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities — National Institutes of Health, the Team Up for Healthy Living project was a cluster-randomized trial targeting obesity prevention in adolescents through a cross-peer intervention. The specific aims of the project were to: 1) develop a peer-based health education program focusing on establishing positive peer norms towards healthy eating and physical activity (PA) among high school students, 2) test program efficacy, and 3) explore mechanisms underlying the program. The study was guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, which presupposes that human behavior is primarily driven by attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and social support. To deliver the intervention, undergraduate students from the disciplines of public health, nutrition, and kinesiology were hired as peer facilitators. Ten area high schools were invited to participate, were matched on demographics and then randomized to intervention or control. The primary outcomes of the study included body mass status, dietary behaviors, PA, and sedentary behaviors which were assessed at baseline and at three and twelve months post baseline. Intervention schools received Team Up for Healthy Living curriculum, which consists of eight 40-minute sessions. The curriculum focused on improving nutrition awareness, PA, leadership and communication. Control schools received their regularly scheduled Lifetime Wellness curriculum. The long-term goal of the study was to establish an effective academia–community partnership program to address adolescent obesity disparity in Southern Appalachia.

No description available.

No description available.

L'adolescence est une période cruciale dans le développement, la consolidation et parfois le déclin de certaines habitudes de vie. Durant cette période, l'activité physique tend à diminuer avec l'âge, en particulier chez les filles. Fillactive est un organisme qui offre des services qui aident les écoles canadiennes à mettre en oeuvre des interventions d'activité physique spécifiquement dédiées aux adolescentes. Les objectifs de cette étude étaient d’évaluer les changements dans la pratique d’activité physique et les habitudes de vie (temps sédentaire, durée du sommeil et habitudes alimentaires) des participantes du programme Fillactive et de déterminer si ces changements variaient en fonction du respect des Directives canadiennes en matière de mouvement sur 24 heures et des recommandations du Guide alimentaire canadien à l'inscription. Lors de l’inscription et à la fin de l’année scolaire, 73 participantes ont répondu à un questionnaire en ligne. Les participantes ont rapporté une augmentation du nombre de journées actives et une diminution de la consommation quotidienne de sucreries à la fin du programme. Des analyses de sous-groupes ont révélé des changements plus importants chez celles qui ne rencontraient pas les recommandations canadiennes à l’inscription. Celles-ci ont augmenté de façon significative leur nombre de journées actives et leur consommation de légumes et de fruits, et ont diminué leur temps d’écran. Les résultats indiquent que la participation à Fillactive a le potentiel d’améliorer plusieurs habitudes de vie liées à la santé chez les adolescentes. D’autres études s’avèrent nécessaires afin d’explorer les effets de programmes d’interventions en activité physique chez les adolescentes. / Adolescence is a crucial time in the development, maintenance and sometimes the decline of different lifestyle habits. During adolescence, physical activity typically decreases with age, particularly in girls. FitSpirit is an organizaton that offers services that help Canadian schools implement physical activity interventions for adolescent girls. The objectives of this study were to evaluate changes in participants’ physical activity levels and lifestyle habits (sedentary time, sleep duration and eating habits) and to assess whether these changes varied on adherence to the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Canada’s Food Guide recommendations at enrollment. At the time of FitSpirit registration and at the end of school year, 73 participants answered online questionnaire. The participants reported improvements, with an increase in the number of days with physical activity and a decrease in daily consumption of sweets. Subgroup analyzes revealed greatest changes in those who did not adhere to the Canadian recommendations at enrollment. These participants significantly increased their number of days with physical activity and their consumption of fruits and vegetables, and decreased their screen time. The results indicate that participation in FitSpirit has the potential to improve several health behaviors among adolescent girls. More research is needed to explore the effects of physical activity intervention programs among adolescent girls.