Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning
Year:2010 | Volume:- | Issue:5|Papers Count:9

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of physical exercise and addiction of female rats on male offspring's physical growth indexes. The research method was experimental. Statistical population consisted of female rats (albino-wistar) obtained from Pasteur Institute, Iran. The data were gathered from 116 male offspring (including 4 groups: addicted mother-sporting mother- addictive sporting mother and intact group) and 80 mothers (to estimate the length of pregnancy). The drug used in this study was manufactured by Daroopakhsh factory. The findings from physical growth indexes (height, weight, head circumference and gestational days) suggested that addiction (before pregnancy) played an effective role in physical growth indexes within the first 5 days which can be due to the increased pregnancy period (P<0.001). But the growth process of those subjects born of sporting mothers was better (P<0.001) in a way that exercise in addicted mothers diminished the devastating effect of addiction.

The main of this research was to investigate the effect of a psychological training program on mental health of elite basketball players. This research was semi–experimental with pretest posttest and a control group. The population consisted of all basketball players from Iran basketball super league (N=150). They were divided into two teams: experimental and control group. Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory-2 restructured form (MMPI- 2RF) was used to collect data which consisted of validity scales profile as well as 4 profiles including clinical, somatic/cognitive and internalizing scale, externalizing scale, interpersonal and interest scale and psyche scale. This inventory consisted of 338 questions and showed high validity and reliability coefficients (P<0.86). The inventory was administered to the subjects before and after the intervention. Covariance analysis was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the intervention reduced these subscales: emotional/externalizing dysfunction, thought dysfunction, demoralization, somatic complaints, low positive emotions, ideas of persecution, malaise, cognitive complaints, helplessness / hopelessness, stress / mental pressure, anxiety, drug abuse, family problems, interpersonal passivity, social avoidance, disaffiliation, aesthetic - literary interests, psychoticism, negative emotions and neuroticism in the experimental group.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the participation motives of male and female older adults for sport activities. The subjects were 241 persons (121 men and 120 women ranged from 60 to 89 years old, M = 66.16, SD = 6.66) who were selected from 5 districts of Tehran by relative portion method. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire and participation motivation questionnaire for older adults (PMQOA). The descriptive statistics, Friedman test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to describe variables and to test the research hypotheses. Results indicated significant differences in the priority of different factors of participation motives (X2=556.4, P=0.00); and fitness motive was the most important reason for sport participation in older adults. There were significant differences between men and women in “medical” and “reputation” factors (P<0.05) and women reported these factors as more important for their participation in sport activities when compared with men. In addition, the results indicated significant differences among age groups in “social”, “challenge-benefit” and “involvement” factors (P<0.05), and 60-69-year-old group rated these motivation factors higher than 70-year-old and older group. There were significant differences among different educational levels in “reputation”, “medical” and “involvement” factors (P<0.05). The homemakers also placed greater emphasis on “medical” factor when compared with military subjects. The findings of this study can be useful to develop exercise interventions for older adults which could increase exercise participation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of perceptual- motor experience on motor development quotient of fine and gross motor skills in infants. Fifteen 5-8-month-old healthy infants participated randomly in this study and were divided homogenously into two groups (experimental and control) according to their age. Experimental group had 36 training sessions, each session an hour at a perceptual- motor enriched environment. Peabody motor development scale was used to evaluate fine and gross motor skills. Data were analyzed by independent t test. Results indicated a significant difference in mean score of motor development quotient between fine motor skills (p=0.004) and gross motor skills (p=0.02). These findings showed that training and experience had a positive effect on motor development generally and on motor development quotient of fine and gross motor skills specifically. In other words, training and experience were positive factors of fundamental and basic motor skills development of the infants in both groups. These results are in line with the perspective of dynamic systems of motor development.

This study examined the relationship between physical fitness and self–esteem in non – physical education students. 109 female and 225 male students who took general physical education course (1). The students completed Cooper – Smith questionnaire and their scores of general physical education course. The mean score of physical fitness for male students was 17.4 and for female students 19.1. The mean score of the self – esteem for females was 33.1 and for males 35.2. There was no significant relationship between the level of self–esteem and physical fitness (p>0.05). In general, findings of this research like many previous studies indicated a lower level of self–esteem in females compared with males. Also, it seems that physical fitness during the general physical education course has no relationship with students' evaluation of their own capabilities (self – esteem).

The aim of this research was to provide physiological and psychological profiles of elite Iranian badminton players. 18 elite badminton players (8 females aged 19.12±3.09 years, and 10 males aged 19.8±2.93 years) took part in this research. The physiological features measured included aerobic power (gas analyzer), anaerobic alactacid power (Wingate), leg muscle power (Sargent vertical jump), leg muscle endurance (bilateral couple jump), abdomen endurance (sit-ups), speed (40 yd running), agility (4×9 m and Illinois running), reaction time and flexibility (sit and reach). Also, the mental preparation of the subjects were measured by the psychological questionnaire “SASI Psych”. For statistical analysis of the data, independent t test and single group student test was used. According to the results, the females were significantly weaker than males in physical fitness and mental preparation (P≤0.05).

The purpose of this study was to study the matching of the competitiveness trait and kind of training condition when learning a sport skill (basketball free throw). 60 male university students (age 21.76±1.5 years) participated in this study and were divided into two homogeneous groups based on their pretest scores. As a result, four training groups were used in this study. Sport Orientation questionnaire (reliability coefficient: 0.90) was used to determine the subjects’ competitiveness and non-competitiveness trait. The questionnaire was confirmed by Bahram. Groups performed the criterion task in a competitive and non-competitive condition for 10 sessions (15 trials each session). The basketball free throw test (EEHPERD) and Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ) were used to gather the data. Posttest was performed after the final session and retention test 10 days after the posttest. To analyze the data, analysis of variance with repeated measures, ANOVA and post hoc tests were used at α=0.05. The results showed that competitiveness subjects performed better in the competitive condition and non-competitiveness subjects performed better in the non-competitive condition. The findings also showed a significant decrease in the retention test in the non-competitive condition group. The results of this study supported Zone of Optimal Function (ZOF) hypothesis and Interactionism approach.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of increasing arousal and its effect on athletes' depth perception. Participants of this study included the students of Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. 58 students (23 female and 35 male, mean age: 23.3 and SD: 2.16) were selected randomly. Participants performed the study tests under two motivational conditions (with viewer and without viewer). The sport competitive anxiety test (SCAT) was performed to test the level of participants' arousal. Moreover, the instrument to test depth perception was the electrical set of depth perception (122B). Results of paired t-test showed a significant difference in scores of depth perception test between the two motivational conditions at 0.05. In other words, participants in high arousal condition (i.e. with viewer) had an inaccurate estimation of depth perception. This effect was the same in both sexes. The results of this study indicated that novice athletes in high arousal condition pay attention to different information resources or different peripheral cues which lead to inaccurate estimation of depth.