Abstract
It is now well-established that physical activity has positive effects on both physical and mental health. However, the influence of organized physical activity (i.e., programs controlled and supervised by a trainer) on school adaptive behavior of adolescents with disabilities and/or behavioral disorders remains unclear. School behavior adaptation involves the ability to learn, conform to school norms and manage school activities without major behavior conflicts. A cross-sectional study was conducted to test the differences between organized physical activity and non-organized physical activity in an after school program. Eighty Romanian adolescents were recruited and allocated to three groups: (a) with disabilities [Ds; N = 17, Mage = 14.55 years (SD = 1.16), 12 males and 5 females], (b) with conduct disorders [CDs, N = 21, Mage = 14.52 years (SD = 1.11) 16 males and 5 females], and (c) participants who had not shown signs of conduct disorders or disabilities [as a control group; N = 42, Mage = 14.2 years (SD = 0.46) 20 males and 22 females]. Personality traits, school behavior, and sensorimotor coordination were assessed by using the Eysenck personality questionnaire—junior scale, school in-adaptability questionnaire scale, and Vienna Test System Sport (SMK—sensorimotor coordination test) respectively. Multivariate analysis of variance MANOVA (3 × 3) and discriminant analysis were used to examine differences between the psychological and sensorimotor coordination outcomes across three groups and three types of physical activity context: (a) organized physical activity, (b) non-organized physical activity, and (c) no physical activity. The findings indicate that not participating in an organized physical activity program results in a reduced level of physical mobility and consequently is associated with maladaptive social and psychological outcomes. Thus, we argued that attending in an organized physical activity program is more beneficial for participants with disabilities and/or behavior disorders, due to an increase in the probability of school integration and development of their motor skills. Clearly more research is needed in order to investigate these effects in neurophysiological levels.
Highlights
Adolescence has often been described as a period of turmoil during which: (a) young people are more at risk for emotional maladjustment, and (b) physical activity typically declines or is completely avoided (Skinner and Piek, 2001)
The present study focuses on school adjustment comparing adolescent groups in terms of the variables included in the study such as personality traits: extraversion; neuroticism; and psychoticism (Rhodes and Smith, 2006), school behavior: rebelliousness and school neuroticism (Clinciu, 2014), and motor functions: sensorimotor coordination (Perkins and Noam, 2007)
The participants of these three groups were distributed according to the involvement in physical activity after school programs, such as: (a) organized practice of physical activity (OPA)—their performance was controlled by the coach or instructor; (b) non-organized practice of physical activity (NOPA)—their performance was not controlled by the coach or an adult; or (c) no physical activity (NPA)—they were not involved in any physical activity or do not participate in any form of organized sport or physical activity after the school program
Summary
Adolescence has often been described as a period of turmoil during which: (a) young people are more at risk for emotional maladjustment, and (b) physical activity typically declines or is completely avoided (Skinner and Piek, 2001). Physical activities in an organized setting refer to the use of sports halls or fields with availability of appropriate equipment’s for sports activities (team or individual) and physical activity lessons In these types of activities, under the supervision of a trainer, facilities are adapted to meet a participant’s demands. Participants, in this organized setting, usually are required to follow their trainer’s guidance (Vella et al, 2016) to perform extracurricular activities (Rasberry et al, 2011) and the environment is usually competitive (Eime et al, 2013). This is not the case in non-organized activities, whereas the type of activities are indicated by lack of practical instructor training or lack of structured activities (Walters et al, 2009)
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