Description: This article discusses perceptions of youth obesity among physical educators. The purposes of this study were to examine (a) antifat attitudes among physical education teachers (b) performance and ability expectations for normal and overweight youth, and (c) perceptions of the problem of youth obesity and the role of schools and physical education. Participants, 105 physical educators, completed a demographic and background questionnaire, the Antifat Attitudes Scale (AFAS: Morrison & O'Connor), an expectations questionnaire, and Perceptions of Youth Obesity and Physical Education Questionnaire (Price, Desmond, & Ruppert). Participants reported higher expectations for youth they considered normal weight, versus overweight, across a variety of performance and ability areas. Participants overwhelming agreed that youth obesity is a concern and that schools are not doing enough to help overweight youth.

Description: This article discusses the prevalence of eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors among male collegiate athletes. Male athletes have been hypothesized to be at increased risk for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors due to unique pressures in the sport environment. In this study, 203 male collegiate athletes from three universities completed the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (QEDD; Mintz, O'Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) as well as provided information on binge eating and pathogenic weight control behaviors. None were classified with a clinical eating disorder, though almost 20% reported a sufficient number and level of symptoms to be considered symptomatic. Just over 80% had no significant eating disorder concerns and were classified as asymptomatic. Neither year in school, race/ethnicity, sport type, nor age were related to whether or not the athletes were symptomatic or asymptomatic. In terms of the athletes' body mass, fewer than 2% were underweight and 66% were classified as overweight or obese according to CDC guidelines; over 60% were satisfied with their current body weight. Although the frequency of pathogenic behaviors was low, exercise (37%) and fasting/dieting (14.2%) were the primary and secondary means for controlling weight; fewer than 10% used vomiting, laxatives, or diuretics.

Description: This paper discusses research on denial, daily hassles, and health distress in HIV positive individuals. Health distress is associated with lower QOL in people living with HIV/AIDS (Rustøen, 2010) and is correlated with anxiety, depression, and general emotional distress (Rotheram-Borus, 2000). Therefore, factors that influence health distress are critical to identify. The authors hypothesize that as denial (a maladaptive form of coping) increases and hassles increases, health distress increase. The authors' study was approved by the IRB and participants were provided informed consent. The authors collected data from 287 HIV+ adults (female 48.6%; age M=41.7, SD=8.4: 54.2% African Americans, 29.5% European Americans, and 11.1% of Latino(a)). The authors conducted a regression analysis to examine the relationship between their independent variables, daily hassles intensity (±= .97; from the Daily Hassles Scale; Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, & Lazaurs, 1980) and denial coping (±= .89; From the Brief Cope Scale; Carver, 1997) with their dependent variable, health distress (±= .94; From MOS-HIV Scale; Wu, 1996). The authors' analysis revealed daily hassles (2= -.20, t= -6.18, p < .001), denial coping (2= .44, t= -7.18, p < .001), and African American ethnicity (2= -.20, t= -2.17, p < .05) were significant predictors of health distress ...

Description: As part of a larger project to examine variables perceived to influence performance in Olympic competition, this manuscript was designed to (a) report coaches' perceptions of variables influencing Olympic athlete performance, (b) triangulate findings from surveys and interviews with Olympic athletes, and (c) examine coaches' perceptions of variables influencing Olympic coaching effectiveness. Surveys were completed by 46 U.S. Atlanta Olympic coaches (46% of all U.S. coaches) and 19 U.S. Nagano coaches (45% of all U.S. coaches). A large number of variables were perceived by coaches to have influenced athlete performances and included having plans for dealing with distractions, strong team chemistry and cohesion, loud and enthusiastic crowd support, high levels of athlete confidence, and fair and effective team selection. Variables perceived to have influenced coaching effectiveness included markedly changed coaching behaviors, the inability to establish trust with athletes, the inability to effectively handle crisis situations, staying coll under pressure, and making fair but decisive decisions.