The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1980) has called for improvements in the fitness of American youth. As a result, the National Children and Youth Fitness Study (Ross & Gilbert, 1985) has revealed that almost one-half of all American school-age children have sub-optimal cardiorespiratory functioning. Although adults appear to be improving their cardiovascular capacity, the fitness level of children is diminishing. Physical fitness has also been found to positively affect the psychological characteristics of adults, but research is limited on similar effects in children. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an aerobic running program on the psychological and physical fitness of eighth grade children. In addition, this study investigated the effects of an aerobic running program on the creativity of junior high school children. / Eighty-five eighth grade students participated in the study. Following random assignment to groups, the treatment subjects engaged in a five day per week structured aerobic running program. Control subjects participated in traditional, non-aerobic physical education. Using multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA), the results revealed no statistically significant differences between groups on measures of psychological fitness. However, statistically significant differences were found between groups on measures of physical fitness and creativity. An eight week follow-up measure of aerobic capacity found no statistically significant differences between groups. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: A, page: 0594. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76064 |
| Contributors | HINKLE, J. SCOTT., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 165 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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