ACUTE EFFECTS OF EXERGAMING ON URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN'S AFFECTION BETWEEN SMALL-GROUP AND WHOLE-CLASS SETTINGS

Abstract

PURPOSE: With the goal of developing effective exergaming programs at school sites, the present study investigated the differences in urban middle school children’s situational feeling states between small-group and whole-class settings. METHODS: Forty-seven participants (25 females; MBMI = 24.3 kg/m2, SD = 3.1) completed two separate 15-minute exergaming sessions on the same day: (1) Xbox One Kinect Just Dance in a small-group (n = 3-4) setting; and (2) Xbox One Kinect Just Dance in a whole-class (n = 23-24) setting. Participants’ affection and emotional states were measured by the established Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI) and Subjective Exercise Experience Scale (SEES). The 15-item EPI (5-point Likert scale ranged 0-4) included four constructs: positive affect, negative affect, fatigue, and tranquility, and the 12-item SEES (7-point Likert scale ranged 1-7) with included three constructs: positive well-being, psychological distress, and fatigue. Dependent t-tests were used to detect mean differences for all outcomes between the two exergaming sessions, with the significance level being set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Dependent t-test indicated significant differences on children’s negative affect between two sessions (t = -1.77, p < 0.05, Cohen’s d = 0.32). The lower mean score referred to less feeling of negative affect. Participants in small-group exergaming session (M = 0.20, SD = 0.44) experienced less negative affect in comparison to the whole-class session (M = 0.43, SD = 0.95). However, there was no significant difference in other feeling outcomes between two sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicated urban middle school children playing exergaming in small-group setting may experience fewer negative feelings such as crummy, discouraged, and miserable compared to the whole-class setting. Notably, there was no significant differences for other outcomes between two sessions. Future longitudinal studies are needed to examine long-term affection and emotional effects of exergaming across various settings.