This experiment attempted to study the effectiveness of biofeedback training on an individual's peak performance while performing a stress-provoking task. In a between subjects design 30 individual college students were divided into 2 groups. One group received auditory biofeedback and relaxation training, and the other group received no training. Both groups met the researcher for 1 hour a week for seven weeks. During each session the participant completed a ten-minute Competition and Coaction (C & C) computer software program (Shea, 1992). The biofeedback equipment recorded the physiological state of each of the participants while he/she performed the C & C task. Both groups' physiological values and C & C scores were compared using the SPSS software. The biofeedback group had statistically lower stress values than the non-biofeedback group (Schwartz, 1995). There was no statistical difference between the 2 groups' C & C scores. The STAI Y-1 and Y-2 anxiety inventories were given to each of the participants at the 1st and 7th session to examine the anxiety differences between the 2 groups. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups' STAI scores. This study's findings show that individuals can be taught to lower their stress response while performing a …

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the association between body mass index as well as race/ethnicity and established correlates of disordered eating including drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, bulimia, dietary restraint and social physique anxiety in male and female college students. Difference between actual, desirable and perceived body weight was also assessed. ANOVA suggested that as actual body mass index increased, in general, attitudes and behavior toward weight, body shape and eating increased. A two-tailed t-test suggested that males and females differed significantly with regards to attitudes and behavior toward weight body shape and eating. ANOVA indicated that little to no association existed between race/ethnicity and established correlates of disordered eating.

Using an experimental-comparison group design, data were collected at the beginning and end of a semester to assess the effect of a human sexuality course on students' sexual knowledge, sexual attitude, and sexual behaviors. Data analysis by t-tests showed statistical differences between the experimental and comparison group only on sexual knowledge scores ( p < .001), with the experimental group scoring higher. T-tests showed statistical difference between males and females in sexual attitude (p< .001) and sexual behavior (p< .001) with women scoring higher than men in the experimental group, and also when experimental and control groups were combined. Although not statistically significant, women scored higher in sexual knowledge than males.

Workplace violence infects many organizations. This descriptive study assesses the extent to which Texas park and recreation departments institute policies and procedures for preventing worker-initiated violence. Thirty directors from local park and recreation departments were interviewed by telephone and asked to identify whether their departments used specific prevention strategies to thwart instances of worker-initiated violence. The findings reveal few prevention strategies being used and suggest a need for park and recreation managers to increase their awareness and take a more proactive approach to violence prevention.

This study assesses practices of college students (N=913) toward alternative medicine, relationships of students' health locus of control with practices of alternative medicine, and relationships of students' attitudes toward alternative medicine and health locus of control. A principal components factor analysis established construct validity of the author-designed Attitude Toward Alternative Medicine Scale, extracting three factors: Holistic Attitude/Control, Safety, and Satisfaction. Holistic Attitude/Control predicted use of alternative medicine (Wald =61.9, p < .01). A principal components factor analysis established construct validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, extracting three factors: Internal Health Locus of Control, External-Chance, and External-Powerful Others. Internal Health Locus of Control significantly correlated with Holistic Attitude/Control (r = .35, p =.01).

The purpose of this study was to determine whether coaching behavior preferences of NCAA Division I athletes differ as a function of gender and type of sport. The Coaching Behavior Questionnare (CBQ; Martin & Barnes, 1999) was administered to 195 NCAA Division I athletes. Gender and sport type were the independent variables and the participant's mean scores for the subscales on the CBQ were the dependent variables. Descriptive statistics revealed that, overall, NCAA Division I athletes prefer positive and instructional behaviors more than non-responses or negative behaviors. A 2 (gender) x 3 (type of sport) MANOVA and follow-up discriminant function analysis indicated that coaching behavior preferences differed as a function of gender and type of sport played. Thus, NCAA Division I coaches should consider both individual and situational characteristics when working with their athletes to achieve the desired outcome.

The elevated CO2 levels, elevated temperature, and lower blood pH that may occur during exercise should enhance O2 delivery to the exercising muscles. It was hypothesized that performance of prior exercise (PE) would result in a faster VO2 response, as well as a reduced slow component contribution, in subsequent exercise bouts. Five women (21 ± 1 yr) and 10 men (23 ± 2 yr) performed nine 6-min bouts of heavy intensity cycle ergometer exercise (i.e., above the ventilatory threshold, individually determined by an incremental test). Three bouts were performed without prior heavy exercise (noPE), three were performed 6 min after a 6-min bout of heavy intensity arm cranking (PEA), and three were performed 6 min after a 6-min bout of heavy intensity cycle ergometer exercise (PEL). Breath-by-breath VO2 data from each of the three sets of three tests were combined and fitted to a two-component model, which ignores the cardiodynamic phase. The primary and slow component amplitudes were truncated to reflect actual increases in VO2 in each phase. The effects of PE on the time constant of the primary component were inconsistent. As hypothesized, the amplitude of the slow component was reduced by PE (noPE vs PEA vs. PEL: 25% …