Abstract
Girls are less active than boys throughout childhood and adolescence, with limited research focusing on female community sports-based programs. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a multi-component, community sports-based intervention for increasing girl’s physical activity (PA) levels, fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency, and psychological wellbeing, as relative to a second treatment group (the traditionally delivered national comparative program), and a third control group. One hundred and twenty female-only participants (mean age = 10.75 ± 1.44 years), aged 8 to 12 years old from three Ladies Gaelic Football (LGF) community sports clubs (rural and suburban) were allocated to one of three conditions: (1) Intervention Group 1 (n = 43) received a novel, specifically tailored, research-informed Gaelic4Girls (G4G) intervention; (2) Intervention Group 2 (n = 44) used the traditionally delivered, national G4G program, as run by the Ladies Gaelic Football (LGF) Association of Ireland; and (3) Control Group 3 (n = 33) received no G4G intervention (group 1 or 2) conditions and were expected to carry out their usual LGF community sports activities. Primary outcome measurements (at both pre- and 10-week follow up) examining the effectiveness of the G4G intervention included (1) PA, (2) FMS and (3) Psychological correlates (enjoyment levels, self-efficacy, peer and parental support). Following a two (pre to post) by three (intervention group 1, intervention group 2, and control group 3) mixed-model ANOVA, it was highlighted that intervention group 1 significantly increased in PA (p = 0.003), FMS proficiency (p = 0.005) and several psychological correlates of PA (p ≤ 0.005). The findings demonstrate that the 10-week, specifically tailored, research-informed G4G intervention is a feasible and efficacious program, leading to a positive effect on the physical and psychological wellbeing of pre-adolescent Irish girls, relative to the traditionally delivered national G4G comparative program and control group conditions.
Highlights
It is widely reported that girls are less physically active than boys throughout childhood [1], and the age-related decline in physical activity (PA) participation, from early adolescence onwards, is steeper for girls when compared to boys [2]
The main purpose of the G4G non-randomized controlled trial (NRCT) was to assess the effectiveness of a multi-component, community sports-based PA intervention for increasing girls’ PA levels, fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency, and psychological wellbeing, when compared to an intervention group 2 and a control group 3
This positive PA observation may be due to the fact that the coaches in the intervention group one were guided by research-informed implementation coaching principles, and were exposed to evidence-based frameworks, which were designed to guide the planning, delivery, and evaluation of the organized weekly G4G sessions in the community sports-based club
Summary
It is widely reported that girls are less physically active than boys throughout childhood [1], and the age-related decline in physical activity (PA) participation, from early adolescence onwards, is steeper for girls when compared to boys [2]. Pre-adolescence (11–12 years of age) is a critical period of change in the PA participation levels of girls [3], and finding ways to help girls to become more physically active at this age is important for short and long-term health. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6928; doi:10.3390/ijerph17186928 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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