The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a physical activity (PA) intervention program designed to enhance levels of engagement in PA. Despite robust evidence supporting the beneficial effects of PA on overall health, only about 22% of individuals engage in the recommended minimum amount of PA. Recent surveys suggested that most individuals express intentions to be physically active, though the psychological state of amotivation dismissed these struggles. In the current study, we pilot-tested a new intervention program, aimed at enhancing engagement in PA among sedentary individuals. The intervention was based on two behavioral change and motivational psychological frameworks: Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). During a 14-week intervention program, 94 sedentary Israeli college students (Mage = 24.4, SD = 1.42, Females = 89) were randomly assigned into one of three groups: SDT and ACT-based intervention, traditional intervention, and a non-treatment group. Prior to and following the intervention, participants completed the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-3 (BREQ-3) to examine motivation to exercise and the International Physical Activity Measurement IPAQ to evaluate their training frequency. Results showed that the SDT and ACT-based intervention group exhibited a significant increase in motivation to exercise between time 1 and time 2, while the other two groups (i.e., the traditional intervention program and the non-treatment group) showed insignificant differences in motivation to exercise. Furthermore, neither of the groups showed significant differences in their training frequency per week. However, those in the SDT and ACT-based groups reported an increase in activity intensity from time 1 to time 2 compared to the two other groups. Further, exercise psychology consultants and scholars can use the intervention protocol and utilize these findings to improve PA behaviors and promote health in the general population. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed in detail.

Objective performance measures are vastly used in sport psychology despite their inherent limitations (e.g., unaccounted baseline differences). Founded on the nature of group goals in team sports, we aimed at developing the Perceived Performance in Team Sports Questionnaire (PPTSQ) to capture the team members’ perception of their team’s performance. Accordingly, three dimensions were hypothesized: effort investment, skills execution, and perceived outcome. To measure these dimensions, items were generated to address the players’ perception of their team performance as a whole. Four samples of athletes were used to test the psychometric properties of the PPTSQ: professional (n = 231), collegiate (n = 222), professional—retest (n = 89), and mixed professional–collegiate (n = 139). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to estimate construct and content validities. These procedures revealed a better data fit to a two-dimensional model that consists of effort investment and perceived outcome. The reliability analyses for the PPTSQ provide satisfactory evidence that the questionnaire is a reliable measure of perceived performance in team sport. Adequate internal consistency emerged for both dimensions (0.75 < ω < 0.89). Furthermore, a high correlation was obtained for temporal stability. Concurrent validity was addressed by correlating the PPTSQ scores with the Group Environment Questionnaire and the Team Assessment Diagnostic Instrument. Correlational analysis between the PPTSQ and an objective measure of performance was used to test its predictive validity. The correlations strongly support the concurrent and predictive validities of the PPTSQ. We conclude that our perceived performance questionnaire can address various objective measures shortcomings (e.g., considering base-rate biases) resulting in a more meaningful team performance metric. Implication of the PPTSQ for sport psychology research and applied work enhancement are discussed in detail.

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Background Exercise addiction (EA) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur in both professional and amateur athletes, with up to 48% of individuals with EA also exhibiting symptoms of ED. Furthermore, pathological attachment styles have been linked to both EA and ED. The current study aimed to explore the unique association between types of insecure attachment styles (i.e., anxiety or avoidance) and EA and ED. Method Four hundred and five Israelis (199 women, 206 men) who were recreational exercisers (i.e., exercised at least four hours a week for at least one year) with ages ranging from 18 to 78 (M = 38, SD = 12.31) completed a set of questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Exercise Addiction Inventory, and the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale. Path analysis was used to simultaneously examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with EA and ED symptoms. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were specified as independent variables predicting ED and EA symptoms and were entered into the analysis as two parallel dependent variables. Results The results of the study indicate that attachment anxiety is positively associated with symptoms of EDs, while the association between attachment anxiety and symptoms of EA is not significant. On the other hand, attachment avoidance shows a positive association with symptoms of exercise addiction, but no significant association with symptoms of EDs is found. Conclusions These results imply that the anxious attachment regulation strategy is highly associated with body image concerns. Furthermore, individuals characterized by avoidance attachment manifest regulation strategies through excessive exercise. Scholars and practitioners could use these results to examine dispositional risk factors for insecure attachment styles and to assess specific pathologies among the population of recreational exercisers. The study also discusses limitations, future directions, and implications in detail.