Veranstaltungsprogramm

There is clear evidence that the Corona pandemic had several effects on human behavior due to the severe restrictions in public life (Wilke et al., 2022), especially to habits that are related to health such as sedentary behavior, sleep or diet habits or physical activity (PA). Several research studies as well as systematic reviews deal with the effects of the pandemic on these health behaviors (for PA, Stockwell et al., 2021). Many studies and reviews confirm a change of PA due to the circumstances of lockdowns and restrictions worldwide and for different age groups, especially for childhood and youth. However, the association of these PA changes with physical, psychological and social health have not been not clearly identified yet. Therefore, the research question of this systematic review was: Which relationships can be found between PA and sports behavior and factors of healthy growing up in childhood and youth during the pandemic of Covid-19? A systematic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines (Page et al., 2020) was conducted. The review followed the recommendations for ethical publishing of systematic reviews.  In April 2022, 69,048 potential studies were identified within nine electronic databases (e.g., Web of Science, PubMed, SportDiscus, SCOPUS). The search-string was: (Corona OR COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2 OR Pandemic) AND (“Physical Activity” OR “Sport*” OR “Physical Education” OR games OR play) AND (Children OR Youth OR Kids OR adolescents OR “young age” OR School OR Pupils OR Students). In all, 65 studies dealing with the correlates of PA changes and sport participation with health outcomes were included in the synthesis covering relations to physical health (BMI, fitness), psychological health (depression, mental health, well-being, mood, resilience, self-concept, anxiety, stress), social health (conflicts, behavioral problems, friendships) and related health habits such as screen time, diet, media behavior or sleep. Also, associations to predictors of PA behavior such as motivation are reported. The results are discussed for differences in gender and age. With help of the synopsis, consequences for fostering physical activity are discussed as the results show the urgent need for post-pandemic interventions and political actions in childhood and adolescence.

Perceived motor competence (CM) is an integral aspect of children’s movement behaviour. Among the characteristics of instruments designed for assessing children’s perceived MC it is suggested that scales are pictorial and provide enough amount of options of response. The pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC) - which originally focused on measuring perceived MC in locomotor and object control skills in children - has recently been extended to also cover stability skills. However, evidence of reliability and validity of the PMSC Stability in children is lacking. Additionally, in young children around 8 years-old, the PMSC is completed using a one-on-one individual interview format. This one-on-one administration method can be time consuming. Alternatively, a supervised group administration might be as effective - especially in older children - and more efficient. The purpose of this study was to analyse evidence of validity and reliability of both scales, the PMSC and the PMSC Stability, according to the procedure of assessment (i.e., one-on-one individual interview and supervised-guided administration).

A sample of 635 primary school children (49.1% girls, 8.0-10.9 years-old) participated in this study voluntarily. Children’s perceived MC was assessed by using the PMSC (locomotion, and object control skills) and the PMSC Stability following two counterbalanced procedures: one-on-one individual interview and supervised group administration 10-14 days apart (M = 12.83 days, SD = 1.6). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and Rasch’s models were conducted to examine the validity and reliability of the children’s perceived MC and their the scale perceptions.

Each CFA, for the PMSC (locomotion and object control skills) and the PMSC Stability in both procedures of administration, informed of the original hypothesized one factor models per dimension was an adequate fit. The present study showed good-to-excellent agreement between both types of administration (CFA: all CFIs > .95, RMSEAs < .05) and higher internal consistency for the supervised group administration (α > .78). However, Rasch Analyses showed that scale perception was different for one-on-one administration with better differentiation in children with lower levels of PMC compared to group administration that had better differentiation in children with higher levels of PMC as shown by the different distances of the thresholds of ICCs.

Regardless of the procedure of assessment, construct validity of the PMSC Stability in primary school children (8-11 years-old) is confirmed with similar internal consistency of the children’s responses, according to the current findings. However, the aim of an assessment should inform one-on-one or supervised group administration with regard to the target groups (e.g., talents vs. individual support) in order to ensure reliable answers with regard to PMC level.

Nach wie vor ist ein zu großer Anteil an Kindern nicht ausreichend körperlich aktiv, daher sind Bewegungsförderung und die Entwicklung eines aktiven Lebensstils zentrale Herausforderungen. Die Schule ist in Bezug auf Bewegungsförderung ein zentrales Setting. Es existieren eine Vielzahl an sorgfältig geplanten und theoriebasierten Interventionen in diesem Bereich. Das Problem ist allerdings, dass diese Interventionen - über die Effekte in kontrollierten Settings hinaus - eine insgesamt geringe Wirksamkeit zeigen. Ein Grund hierfür dürfte sein, dass es bisher an Wissen zu den tatsächlichen Lebensumständen der Menschen und den damit verbundenen Barrieren mangelt (Naylor et al., 2015). Ein häufiges Problem bei schulbasierten Interventionen ist der Einbezug der Eltern bzw. der Familie, die meist nur schlecht erreicht werden. Diese nehmen in der Bewegungsförderung von Kindern jedoch eine Schlüsselrolle. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, mittels qualitativer Interviews mögliche Barrieren zu identifizieren.

In leitfadengestützte Interviews wurden zunächst Familienexpert:innen (n = 11), wie Sozialarbeiter:innen, Lehrer:innen und Kinderärzt:innen und anschließend Familien (n = 7) zu den Herausforderungen bei der Erreichung von Familien befragt. Die befragten Familien nahmen nicht an der Intervention des übergeordneten Projektes teil, um zu gewährleisten, dass das Interview unbefangen ist. Die im Interview thematisierten Herausforderungen bezogen sich jeweils auf konkrete Alltagssituationen. Die Rekrutierung der Teilnehmer:innen erfolgte nach dem Prinzip der theoretischen Sättigung. Die Interviews wurden transkribiert und mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet, dabei wurden anhand deduktiver, wie auch induktiver Herangehensweisen Kategorien gebildet.

Häufig thematisiert wurden Lebensumstände und Gesundheitsbewusstsein. Insbesondere der Faktor Zeit schien eine große Hürde für Familien darzustellen, der sich nach inhaltlicher Interpretation allerdings der Kategorie "Prioritäten setzen" zuordnen lässt. Ein weiteres wichtiges Ergebnis ließ sich aus der Gegenüberstellung von Familien und Schulakteuren ableiten und fällt in der Bereich Kommunikation. Auf der einen Seite beschweren sich Schulen, dass Familien sich nicht genügend engagieren. Auf der anderen Seite fühlen sich Familien nicht einbezogen oder erwünscht. Selbstbestimmung beziehungsweise das Gefühl, dass in den Alltag der Familien eingegriffen wird, ist ebenfalls ein Problem, das das Kommunikationsproblem zusätzlich verstärkt. Eine Erwartungshaltung gegenüber den Familien oder das Gefühl, kontrolliert zu werden, kann die Kommunikation von Beginn scheitern lassen.

Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mangelnde Kooperation und Kommunikationsprobleme zentrale Barrieren darstellen, was individuelle Strategien erfordert. Durch Qualitative Interviews können Probleme vor Ort sichtbar gemacht werden. Das Erfassen subjektiver Sichtweisen der Akteure ist notwendig und der direkte Kontakt unumgänglich, um auf die Bedürfnisse der Beteiligten eingehen zu können. Darauf aufbauend können Interventionen entwickelt und implementiert werden für eine nachhaltige Verhaltensänderung.

Self-talk is a central aspect of human life. As depicted in the neurovisceral integration model (Thayer et al., 2012) in its marker heart rate variability (HRV), self-talk constitutes a form of self-regulation and is associated with various psychological functions. In a sports context, the positive effects of self-talk on performance relate, inter alia, to the ability to adapt to potentially adverse circumstances (i.e., resilience) and to accept and grow from suchlike experiences (i.e., mindfulness). Theoretically, self-talk is frequently classified as a deliberately employed technique. Organic self-talk, reflecting on natural psychological processes (Latinjak et al., 2019), remains understudied, especially in children. Furthermore, the social influence of significant others on the development of self-talk is unclear. To fill this gap, the present study investigated the content and frequency of organic self-talk in sixth-graders and their parents independently during three standardized sporting tasks, and associations with performance, resilience, mindfulness and self-regulation, using a mixed-methods approach.

In a school class of n = 22 students and n = 12 parents (not all parents agreed to participate), facilitative effects of goal-directed and positive-spontaneous, and debilitating effects of negative-spontaneous and stimulus-independent self-talk on performance, psychological and physiological variables were hypothesized. The influence of mindwandering was investigated exploratively.

Qualitative content analyses of semi-structured interview data identified goal-directed and spontaneous self-talk as the most frequent forms of organic self-talk, serving to regulate behavior, express bodily sensations and negative predictions. Stimulus-independent self-talk and mindwandering were less common. Organic self-talk was similar in content between students and parents, but differed in frequency of display. For quantitative analyses, total organic self-talk category values were calculated. Single linear and binominal logistic regression analyses found goal-directed and positive-spontaneous self-talk to be significant positive predictors of performance; mindwandering emerged as a significant negative predictor. Positive-spontaneous self-talk was significantly positively associated with baseline HRV in one task. No relationships were detected between self-talk, resilience and mindfulness.

Results indicate an increased occurrence of goal-directed and positive-spontaneous self-talk in performance situations. Especially the complex interplay of personal, motivational and environmental factors such as task importance, perceived engagement or arousal were identified as auspicious starting points for future research, that should also focus on experimentally investigating the direction of causality between self-talk and performance. This is of particular importance as the effects of organic self-talk on performance and self-regulation appear trainable through targeted reflexive self-talk interventions and are expected to be transferable to broader performance domains.