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BACKGROUND: The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is implicated in depression. The hypothesis investigated was whether the OFC sensitivity to reward and nonreward is related to the severity of depressive symptoms.
METHODS: Activations in the monetary incentive delay task were measured in the IMAGEN cohort at ages 14 years (n = 1877) and 19 years (n = 1140) with a longitudinal design. Clinically relevant subgroups were compared at ages 19 (high-severity group: n = 116; low-severity group: n = 206) and 14.
RESULTS: The medial OFC exhibited graded activation increases to reward, and the lateral OFC had graded activation increases to nonreward. In this general population, the medial and lateral OFC activations were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms at both ages 14 and 19 years. In a stratified high-severity depressive symptom group versus control group comparison, the lateral OFC showed greater sensitivity for the magnitudes of activations related to nonreward in the high-severity group at age 19 (p = .027), and the medial OFC showed decreased sensitivity to the reward magnitudes in the high-severity group at both ages 14 (p = .002) and 19 (p = .002). In a longitudinal design, there was greater sensitivity to nonreward of the lateral OFC at age 14 for those who exhibited high depressive symptom severity later at age 19 (p = .003).
CONCLUSIONS: Activations in the lateral OFC relate to sensitivity to not winning, were associated with high depressive symptom scores, and at age 14 predicted the depressive symptoms at ages 16 and 19. Activations in the medial OFC were related to sensitivity to winning, and reduced reward sensitivity was associated with concurrent high depressive symptom scores.
Cyber victimization research reveals various personal and contextual correlations and negative consequences associated with this experience. Despite increasing attention on cyber victimization, few studies have examined such experiences among ethnic minority adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of ethnicity in the longitudinal associations among cyber victimization, school-belongingness, and psychological consequences (i.e., depression, loneliness, anxiety). These associations were investigated among 416 Latinx and white adolescents (46% female; M age = 13.89, SD = 0.41) from one middle school in the United States. They answered questionnaires on cyber victimization, school belongingness, depression, loneliness, and anxiety in the 7th grade (Time 1). One year later, in the 8th grade (Time 2), they completed questionnaires on depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Low levels of school-belongingness strengthened the positive relationships between cyber victimization and Time 2 depression and anxiety, especially among Latinx adolescents. The positive association between cyber victimization and Time 2 loneliness was strengthened for low levels of school-belongingness for all adolescents. These findings may indicate that cyber victimization threatens adolescents’ school-belongingness, which has implications for their emotional adjustment. Such findings underscore the importance of considering diverse populations when examining cyber victimization.
Background: High-intensity muscle actions have the potential to temporarily improve the performance which has been denoted as postactivation performance enhancement.
Objectives: This study determined the acute effects of different stretch-shortening (fast vs. low) and strength (dynamic vs. isometric) exercises executed during one training session on subsequent balance performance in youth weightlifters.
Materials and Methods: Sixteen male and female young weightlifters, aged 11.3±0.6years, performed four strength exercise conditions in randomized order, including dynamic strength (DYN; 3 sets of 3 repetitions of 10 RM) and isometric strength exercises (ISOM; 3 sets of maintaining 3s of 10 RM of back-squat), as well as fast (FSSC; 3 sets of 3 repetitions of 20-cm drop-jumps) and slow (SSSC; 3 sets of 3 hurdle jumps over a 20-cm obstacle) stretch-shortening cycle protocols. Balance performance was tested before and after each of the four exercise conditions in bipedal stance on an unstable surface (i.e., BOSU ball with flat side facing up) using two dependent variables, i.e., center of pressure surface area (CoP SA) and velocity (CoP V).
Results: There was a significant effect of time on CoP SA and CoP V [F(1,60)=54.37, d=1.88, p<0.0001; F(1,60)=9.07, d=0.77, p=0.003]. In addition, a statistically significant effect of condition on CoP SA and CoP V [F(3,60)=11.81, d=1.53, p<0.0001; F(3,60)=7.36, d=1.21, p=0.0003] was observed. Statistically significant condition-by-time interactions were found for the balance parameters CoP SA (p<0.003, d=0.54) and CoP V (p<0.002, d=0.70). Specific to contrast analysis, all specified hypotheses were tested and demonstrated that FSSC yielded significantly greater improvements than all other conditions in CoP SA and CoP V [p<0.0001 (d=1.55); p=0.0004 (d=1.19), respectively]. In addition, FSSC yielded significantly greater improvements compared with the two conditions for both balance parameters [p<0.0001 (d=2.03); p<0.0001 (d=1.45)].
Conclusion: Fast stretch-shortening cycle exercises appear to be more effective to improve short-term balance performance in young weightlifters. Due to the importance of balance for overall competitive achievement in weightlifting, it is recommended that young weightlifters implement dynamic plyometric exercises in the fast stretch-shortening cycle during the warm-up to improve their balance performance.
Given the rising popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), the influence of these platforms on the subjective well-being (SWB) of their users is an emerging topic in information systems research. Building on the norm of reciprocity and the social functional approach to positive emotions, we posit that targeted reciprocity-evoking forms of SNS activities are best suited to promote users’ positive emotions. The favourable potential of these activities is likely to be particularly pronounced among adolescents who pay special attention to social acceptance, which can be channelled with the help of reciprocal communication. Therefore, we conducted a quantitative 7-day diary study of 162 adolescent Facebook users attending German schools, looking at the impact of their daily SNS activities on their SWB. Based on a linear mixed model analysis, our results confirm a positive link between targeted reciprocity-evoking activities – such as chatting, giving and receiving feedback – and adolescents’ positive emotions. Our findings provide a reassuring perspective on the implications of the sociotechnical design of SNS communication channels. Specifically, by encouraging targeted activities, providers, users, and other stakeholders can ensure the beneficial impact of this technology on users’ SWB.
Symptoms of anxiety and depression in young athletes using the hospital anxiety and depression scale
(2018)
Elite young athletes have to cope with multiple psychological demands such as training volume, mental and physical fatigue, spatial separation of family and friends or time management problems may lead to reduced mental and physical recovery. While normative data regarding symptoms of anxiety and depression for the general population is available (Hinz and Brahler, 2011), hardly any information exists for adolescents in general and young athletes in particular. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess overall symptoms of anxiety and depression in young athletes as well as possible sex differences. The survey was carried out within the scope of the study "Resistance Training in Young Athletes" (KINGS-Study). Between August 2015 and September 2016, 326 young athletes aged (mean +/- SD) 14.3 +/- 1.6 years completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD Scale). Regarding the analysis of age on the anxiety and depression subscales, age groups were classified as follows: late childhood (12-14 years) and late adolescence (15-18 years). The participating young athletes were recruited from Olympic weight lifting, handball, judo, track and field athletics, boxing, soccer, gymnastics, ice speed skating, volleyball, and rowing. Anxiety and depression scores were (mean +/- SD) 4.3 +/- 3.0 and 2.8 +/- 2.9, respectively. In the subscale anxiety, 22 cases (6.7%) showed subclinical scores and 11 cases (3.4%) showed clinical relevant score values. When analyzing the depression subscale, 31 cases (9.5%) showed subclinical score values and 12 cases (3.7%) showed clinically important values. No significant differences were found between male and female athletes (p >= 0.05). No statistically significant differences in the HADS scores were found between male athletes of late childhood and late adolescents (p >= 0.05). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing questionnaire based indicators of symptoms of anxiety and depression in young athletes. Our data implies the need for sports medical as well as sports psychiatric support for young athletes. In addition, our results demonstrated that the chronological classification concerning age did not influence HAD Scale outcomes. Future research should focus on sports medical and sports psychiatric interventional approaches with the goal to prevent anxiety and depression as well as teaching coping strategies to young athletes.
Research on weight-loss interventions in emerging adulthood is warranted. Therefore, a cognitive-behavioral group treatment (CBT), including development-specific topics for adolescents and young adults with obesity (YOUTH), was developed. In a controlled study, we compared the efficacy of this age-specific CBT group intervention to an age-unspecific CBT group delivered across ages in an inpatient setting. The primary outcome was body mass index standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) over the course of one year; secondary outcomes were health-related and disease-specific quality of life (QoL). 266 participants aged 16 to 21 years (65% females) were randomized. Intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol analyses (PPA) were performed. For both group interventions, we observed significant and clinically relevant improvements in BMI-SDS and QoL over the course of time with small to large effect sizes. Contrary to our hypothesis, the age-specific intervention was not superior to the age-unspecific CBT-approach.
Hauptziel Adipositas ist eine der Hauptindikationen in der Kinder- und Jugend-Rehabilitation. Für ältere Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene fehlen altersspezifische Therapieangebote fast vollständig. Ziel war es die Wünsche bezüglich der Inhalte und Methoden einer „perfekten Therapie“ im Rahmen eines Rehabilitationsaufenthalts zu untersuchen.
Methode Im Rahmen der YOUTH-Studie wurden 147 adipöse Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene beiderlei Geschlechts (zwischen 15 und 21 Jahren) mithilfe eines standardisierten Fragebogens befragt.
Ergebnis Insgesamt zeigten sich relativ wenige alters- und geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede. Interdisziplinär geleitete, koedukative Gruppen mit Elterneinbindung wurden gewünscht. Wichtige Themen waren gesunde Ernährung sowie psychosoziale Aspekte. Auch der Prävention von Rückfällen wurde eine hohe Relevanz zugeschrieben.
Schlussfolgerung Psychosoziale Aspekte und die Vorbereitung auf mögliche Rückfallsituationen sollten integraler Bestandteil der Therapie sein.
Today's adolescents grow up using information and communication technologies as an integral part of their everyday life. This affords them with extensive opportunities, but also exposes them to online risks, such as cybergrooming and cyberbullying victimization. The aims of this study were to investigate correlates of cybergrooming and cyberbullying victimization and examine whether victims of both cybergrooming and cyberbullying (dual-cybervictims) show higher involvement in compulsive Internet use (CIU) and troubled offline behavior (TOB) compared to victims of either cybergrooming or cyberbullying (mono-cybervictims). The sample consisted of 2,042 Dutch, German, Thai, and U.S. adolescents (age = 11–17 years; M = 14.2; SD = 1.4). About every ninth adolescent (10.9 percent) reported either mono- or dual-cybervictimization. Second, both CIU and TOB were associated with all three types of cybervictimization, and finally, both CIU and TOB were more strongly linked to dual-cybervictimization than to both forms of mono-cybervictimization. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the associations between different forms of cybervictimization and psychological health and behavior problems among adolescents.
Cross-National Associations Among Cyberbullying Victimization, Self-Esteem, and Internet Addiction
(2020)
The relationship among cyberbullying victimization, lower self-esteem, and internet addiction has been well-established. Yet, little research exists that explains the nature of these associations, and no previous work has considered the inability to identify or describe one’s emotions, namely, alexithymia, as a potential mediator of these links. The present study sought to investigate the indirect effects of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem and internet addiction, mediated by alexithymia. The sample consisted of 1,442 participants between 12 and 17 years (Mage = 14.17, SD = 1.38, 51.5% male) from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results showed a direct relationship between cyberbullying victimization and self-esteem and an indirect association mediated by alexithymia in the Dutch sample. However, in the German and U.S. samples, only an indirect relationship via alexithymia, but not a direct effect of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem, was found. Consistent across the three country samples, cyberbullying victimization and internet addiction were directly and also indirectly associated via alexithymia. In sum, findings indicate that alexithymia might help better understand which detrimental effects cyberbullying victimization has on adolescent psychological health. Thus, cyberbullying prevention programs should consider implementing elements that educate adolescents on the ability to identify and describe their own emotions.
Online hate speech has become a widespread problem in the daily life of adolescents. Despite growing societal and academic interest in this online risk, not much is known about the relationship between online hate speech victimization (OHSV) and adolescents' mental well-being.
In addition, potential factors influencing the magnitude of this relationship remain unclear. To address these gaps in the literature, this study investigated the relationship between OHSV and depressive symptoms and the buffering effects of resilience in this relationship. The sample consists of 1,632 adolescents (49.1% girls) between 12 and 18 years old (M-age = 13.83, SDage = 1.23), recruited from nine schools across Spain.
Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess OHSV, depressive symptoms, and resilience. Regression analyses revealed that OHSV was positively linked to depressive symptoms.
In addition, victims of online hate speech were less likely to report depressive symptoms when they reported average or high levels of resilience (i.e., social competence, personal competence, structured style, social resources, and family cohesion) compared with those with low levels of resilience.
Our findings highlight the need for the development of intervention programs and the relevance of focusing on internal and external developmental assets to mitigate negative outcomes for victims of online hate speech.
Although hate speech is widely recognized as an online phenomenon, very few studies have investigated hate speech among adolescents in offline settings (e.g., schools). At the same time, not much is known about countering hate speech (counterspeech) among adolescents and which factors are associated with it. To this end, the present study used the socio-ecological framework to investigate the direct and indirect links among one contextual factor (i.e., classroom climate) and two intrapersonal factors (i.e., empathy for victims of hate speech, self-efficacy regarding intervention in hate speech) to understand counterspeech among adolescents. The sample is based on self-reports of 3,225 students in Grades 7 to 9 (51.7% self-identified as female) from 36 schools in Germany and Switzerland. Self-report questionnaires were administered to measure classroom climate, empathy, self-efficacy, and counterspeech. After controlling for adolescents' grade, gender, immigrant background, and socioeconomic status (SES), the 2-(1-1)-1 multilevel mediation analysis showed that classroom climate (L2), empathy for victims of hate speech (L1), and self-efficacy toward intervention in hate speech (L1) had a positive effect on countering hate speech (L1). Classroom climate (L2) was also positively linked to empathy for victims of hate speech (L1), and self-efficacy toward intervention in hate speech (L1). Furthermore, classroom climate (L2) was indirectly associated with countering hate speech (L1) via greater empathy (L1) and self-efficacy (L1). The findings highlight the need to focus on contextual and intrapersonal factors when trying to facilitate adolescents' willingness to face hate speech with civic courage and proactively engage against it.
Cognitive Function in Adolescent Patients with Anorexia Nervosa and Unipolar Affective Disorders
(2016)
Studies have shown impairments in cognitive function among adult patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and affective disorders (AD). The association between cognitive dysfunctions, AN and AD as well as the specificity for these psychiatric diagnoses remains unclear. Therefore, we examined cognitive flexibility and processing speed in 47 female adolescent patients with AN, 21 female adolescent patients with unipolar affective disorders and 48 female healthy adolescents. All participants completed a neuropsychological test battery. There were no significant group differences regarding cognitive function, except for psychomotor processing speed with poorer performance in patients with AN. A further analysis revealed that all groups performed with the normal range, although patients with AN were over represented in the poorest performing quartile. We found no severe cognitive impairments in either patient group. Nevertheless, belonging to the AN group contributed significantly to poor performances in neuropsychological tasks. Therefore, we conclude that the risk for cognitive impairments is slightly higher for patients with AN. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Cognitive flexibility in adolescent patients with unipolar affective disorders - gender differences
(2013)
Objective: Several studies have revealed impairments in cognitive functions among patients with affective disorders (AD). However, to date there are few neuropsychological studies on cognitive flexibility among adolescent patients with AD, especially on gender differences in AD. Here, we investigate cognitive functions, especially cognitive flexibility, in adolescent patients with unipolar AD (UAD) compared to a healthy control group (CG). Method: The study population consists of 17 male patients (M-age = 15.4 +/- 1.3) and 22 female patients with UAD (M-age = 15.6 +/- 1.4) as well as 20 male (M-age = 16.0 +/- 1.0) and 30 female (M-age = 15.7 +/- 0.9) healthy adolescents. A neuropsychological test battery was conducted, and depressive symptoms, psychological stress, and intelligence were also assessed. Results: The analyses revealed no significant group differences regarding cognitive flexibility or visual processing speed, albeit slight better performance in motor processing speed for the CG. Furthermore, no gender differences were observed regarding cognitive flexibility, though female subjects general displayed better performance in processing speed. Conclusions: Overall, there are no indications for serious deficits and specific gender differences in cognitive flexibility or processing speed in adolescent patients with UAD. Independent of psychological distress, female subjects seem to have some advantages in processing speed.
Previous studies have not considered the potential influence of maturity status on the relationship between mental imagery and change of direction (CoD) speed in youth soccer. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study examined the association between mental imagery and CoD performance in young elite soccer players of different maturity status. Forty young male soccer players, aged 10-17 years, were assigned into two groups according to their predicted age at peak height velocity (PHV) (Pre-PHV; n = 20 and Post-PHV; n = 20). Participants were evaluated on soccer-specific tests of CoD with (CoDBall-15m) and without (CoD-15m) the ball. Participants completed the movement imagery questionnaire (MIQ) with the three- dimensional structure, internal visual imagery (IVI), external visual imagery (EVI), as well as kinesthetic imagery (KI). The Post-PHV players achieved significantly better results than Pre-PHV in EVI (ES = 1.58, large; p < 0.001), CoD-15m (ES = 2.09, very large; p < 0.001) and CoDBall-15m (ES = 1.60, large; p < 0.001). Correlations were significantly different between maturity groups, where, for the pre-PHV group, a negative very large correlation was observed between CoDBall-15m and KI (r = –0.73, p = 0.001). For the post-PHV group, large negative correlations were observed between CoD-15m and IVI (r = –0.55, p = 0.011), EVI (r = –062, p = 0.003), and KI (r = –0.52, p = 0.020). A large negative correlation of CoDBall-15m with EVI (r = –0.55, p = 0.012) and very large correlation with KI (r = –0.79, p = 0.001) were also observed. This study provides evidence of the theoretical and practical use for the CoD tasks stimulus with imagery. We recommend that sport psychology specialists, coaches, and athletes integrated imagery for CoD tasks in pre-pubertal soccer players to further improve CoD related performance.
Background
Overweight and obesity are increasing health problems that are not restricted to adults only. Childhood obesity is associated with metabolic, psychological and musculoskeletal comorbidities. However, knowledge about the effect of obesity on the foot function across maturation is lacking. Decreased foot function with disproportional loading characteristics is expected for obese children. The aim of this study was to examine foot loading characteristics during gait of normal-weight, overweight and obese children aged 1-12 years.
Methods
A total of 10382 children aged one to twelve years were enrolled in the study. Finally, 7575 children (m/f: n = 3630/3945; 7.0 +/- 2.9yr; 1.23 +/- 0.19m; 26.6 +/- 10.6kg; BMI: 17.1 +/- 2.4kg/m(2)) were included for (complete case) data analysis. Children were categorized to normalweight (>= 3rd and <90th percentile; n = 6458), overweight (>= 90rd and <97th percentile; n = 746) or obese (>97th percentile; n = 371) according to the German reference system that is based on age and gender-specific body mass indices (BMI). Plantar pressure measurements were assessed during gait on an instrumented walkway. Contact area, arch index (AI), peak pressure (PP) and force time integral (FTI) were calculated for the total, fore-, mid-and hindfoot. Data was analyzed descriptively (mean +/- SD) followed by ANOVA/Welch-test (according to homogeneity of variances: yes/no) for group differences according to BMI categorization (normal-weight, overweight, obesity) and for each age group 1 to 12yrs (post-hoc Tukey Kramer/Dunnett's C; alpha = 0.05).
Results
Mean walking velocity was 0.95 +/- 0.25 m/s with no differences between normal-weight, overweight or obese children (p = 0.0841). Results show higher foot contact area, arch index, peak pressure and force time integral in overweight and obese children (p< 0.001). Obese children showed the 1.48-fold (1 year-old) to 3.49-fold (10 year-old) midfoot loading (FTI) compared to normal-weight.
Conclusion
Additional body mass leads to higher overall load, with disproportional impact on the midfoot area and longitudinal foot arch showing characteristic foot loading patterns. Already the feet of one and two year old children are significantly affected. Childhood overweight and obesity is not compensated by the musculoskeletal system. To avoid excessive foot loading with potential risk of discomfort or pain in childhood, prevention strategies should be developed and validated for children with a high body mass index and functional changes in the midfoot area. The presented plantar pressure values could additionally serve as reference data to identify suspicious foot loading patterns in children.
Mueller, J, Mueller, S, Stoll, J, Baur, H, and Mayer, F. Trunk extensor and flexor strength capacity in healthy young elite athletes aged 11-15 years. J Strength Cond Res 28(5): 1328-1334, 2014-Differences in trunk strength capacity because of gender and sports are well documented in adults. In contrast, data concerning young athletes are sparse. The purpose of this study was to assess the maximum trunk strength of adolescent athletes and to investigate differences between genders and age groups. A total of 520 young athletes were recruited. Finally, 377 (n = 233/144 M/F; 13 +/- 1 years; 1.62 +/- 0.11 m height; 51 +/- 12 kg mass; training: 4.5 +/- 2.6 years; training sessions/week: 4.3 +/- 3.0; various sports) young athletes were included in the final data analysis. Furthermore, 5 age groups were differentiated (age groups: 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 years; n = 90, 150, 42, 43, and 52, respectively). Maximum strength of trunk flexors (Flex) and extensors (Ext) was assessed in all subjects during isokinetic concentric measurements (60 degrees center dot s(-1); 5 repetitions; range of motion: 55 degrees). Maximum strength was characterized by absolute peak torque (Flex(abs), Ext(abs); N center dot m), peak torque normalized to body weight (Flex(norm), Ext(norm); N center dot m center dot kg(-1) BW), and Flex(abs)/Ext(abs) ratio (RKquot). Descriptive data analysis (mean +/- SD) was completed, followed by analysis of variance (alpha = 0.05; post hoc test [Tukey-Kramer]). Mean maximum strength for all athletes was 97 +/- 34 N center dot m in Flex(abs) and 140 +/- 50 N center dot m in Ext(abs) (Flex(norm) = 1.9 +/- 0.3 N center dot m center dot kg(-1) BW, Ext(norm) = 2.8 +/- 0.6 N center dot m center dot kg(-1) BW). Males showed statistically significant higher absolute and normalized values compared with females (p < 0.001). Flex(abs) and Ext(abs) rose with increasing age almost 2-fold for males and females (Flex(abs), Ext(abs): p < 0.001). Flex(norm) and Ext(norm) increased with age for males (p < 0.001), however, not for females (Flex(norm): p = 0.26; Ext(norm): p = 0.20). RKquot (mean +/- SD: 0.71 +/- 0.16) did not reveal any differences regarding age (p = 0.87) or gender (p = 0.43). In adolescent athletes, maximum trunk strength must be discussed in a gender- and age-specific context. The Flex(abs)/Ext(abs) ratio revealed extensor dominance, which seems to be independent of age and gender. The values assessed may serve as a basis to evaluate and discuss trunk strength in athletes.
The attentional bias to negative information enables humans to quickly identify and to respond appropriately to potentially threatening situations. Because of its adaptive function, the enhanced sensitivity to negative information is expected to represent a universal trait, shared by all humans regardless of their cultural background. However, existing research focuses almost exclusively on humans from Western industrialized societies, who are not representative for the human species. Therefore, we compare humans from two distinct cultural contexts: adolescents and children from Germany, a Western industrialized society, and from the not equal Akhoe Hai parallel to om, semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers in Namibia. We predicted that both groups show an attentional bias toward negative facial expressions as compared to neutral or positive faces. We used eye-tracking to measure their fixation duration on facial expressions depicting different emotions, including negative (fear, anger), positive (happy), and neutral faces. Both Germans and the not equal Akhoe Hai parallel to om gazed longer at fearful faces, but shorter on angry faces, challenging the notion of a general bias toward negative emotions. For happy faces, fixation durations varied between the two groups, suggesting more flexibility in the response to positive emotions. Our findings emphasize the need for placing research on emotion perception into an evolutionary, cross-cultural comparative framework that considers the adaptive significance of specific emotions, rather than differentiating between positive and negative information, and enables systematic comparisons across participants from diverse cultural backgrounds.
As part of the POPS study (Potsdam prevention of eating disorders) 300 adolescents aged between 10 and 13 years completed questionnaires measuring satisfaction with weight and muscles, body change strategies and disturbed eating behavior. More than half of the girls and a third of the boys are dissatisfied with their weight. Nearly 70% of the male participants were unhappy with their muscles. Both forms of body dissatisfaction are influenced by similar sociocultural and psychological factors. While weight dissatisfaction leads to weight reduction strategies and disturbed eating, muscle dissatisfaction results in muscle enhancement methods. Potential harmful consequences of excessive muscle building techniques are discussed. The data emphasize the need for a sex-specific investigation of body dissatisfaction and its consequences. Body image aspects relevant to boys should be added to intervention and prevention approaches.
Introduction: Studies that combined balance and resistance training induced larger performance improvements compared with single mode training. Agility exercises contain more dynamic and sport-specific movements compared with balance training. Thus, the purpose of this study was to contrast the effects of combined balance and plyometric training with combined agility and plyometric training and an active control on physical fitness in youth.
Methods: Fifty-seven male soccer players aged 10–12 years participated in an 8-week training program (2 × week). They were randomly assigned to a balance-plyometric (BPT: n = 21), agility-plyometric (APT: n = 20) or control group (n = 16). Measures included proxies of muscle power [countermovement jump (CMJ), triple-hop-test (THT)], muscle strength [reactive strength index (RSI), maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of handgrip, back extensors, knee extensors], agility [4-m × 9-m shuttle run, Illinois change of direction test (ICODT) with and without the ball], balance (Standing Stork, Y-Balance), and speed (10–30 m sprints).
Results: Significant time × group interactions were found for CMJ, hand grip MVIC force, ICODT without a ball, agility (4 m × 9 m), standing stork balance, Y-balance, 10 and 30-m sprint. The APT pre- to post-test measures displayed large ES improvements for hand grip MVIC force, ICODT without a ball, agility test, CMJ, standing stork balance test, Y-balance test but only moderate ES improvements with the 10 and 30 m sprints. The BPT group showed small (30 m sprint), moderate (hand grip MVIC, ICODTwithout a ball) and large ES [agility (4 m × 9 m) test, CMJ, standing stork balance test, Y-balance] improvements, respectively.
Conclusion: In conclusion, both training groups provided significant improvements in all measures. It is recommended that youth incorporate balance exercises into their training and progress to agility with their strength and power training.
Background: Recently, first evidence has been reported for a geneparenting interaction (G x E) with regard to adolescent alcohol use. The present investigation set out to extend this research using the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism as a genetic susceptibility factor. Moreover, the current study examined whether a potential G x E would be consistent with one of two models of geneenvironment interplay (genetic vulnerability vs. differential susceptibility). Methods: Data were collected as part of an ongoing epidemiological cohort study following the outcome of early risk factors from birth into adulthood. Two hundred and eighty-five participants (130 males, 155 females) were genotyped for the COMT Val(158) Met polymorphism and were administered an alcohol interview, providing measures of current frequency and amount of drinking at ages 15 and 19 years. Information on three dimensions of perceived parenting behavior was obtained from the 15-year-olds. Results: Adolescents homozygous for the Met allele showed higher drinking activity at age 19 years when their parents had engaged in less supervision or were less involved, while their drinking activity was reduced under conditions of favorable parenting. No such relationship was found in individuals carrying the Val allele. Conclusions: The present findings correspond with the pattern of results predicted by the differential susceptibility hypothesis, suggesting that environmental variation would have a greater impact in individuals carrying a genetic susceptibility such that, in this group, exposure to negative environmental conditions would result in more adverse outcomes and the experience of favorable conditions would lead to more positive outcomes.