No abstract

Triathletes (N = 203) completed both the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire (EDQ) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT). Cluster and discriminant analysis showed that there were four distinct groups. Two out of the four groups showed high EDQ scores with one of these groups displaying an additional eating disorder. The members of the third group only had a high EAT score and the last group showed low scores on both inventories. These four dependence groups differed significantly in a number of descriptive variables, but there were few differences between the primary and secondary exercise dependent groups. It was concluded that the existence of primary exercise dependence was demonstrated, but that there was little distinction between it and secondary dependence for the variables examined.

This study examined the relationship between academic performance and physical activity participation using objective measures of scholastic achievement, and the effect of banding (academic tracking). The sample comprised 1,447 students (aged 13–17 years) in secondary grades 2, 4, and 6 (736 boys; 711 girls). Academic records were collected from the schools, and a participation questionnaire was administered to the students. School banding was found to be a significant predictor of participation time, and students from higher-banded schools had generally greater participation time than lower-band students. Conversely, perceived academic performance and potential tended to be higher for students with more participation time in physical activity, particularly so for the males. However, for actual academic grades this positive association was not found when banding was taken into consideration. No relationship was found for the middle- and high-band students, while a slight negative relationship was observed for the low-band students.

School children and youth from Primary Grade 5 to Secondary Grade 7 (average age range, 9 to 18 years) in Hong Kong completed a sports participation questionnaire and rated their own academic performance (AP). Results of ANOVAs indicated that frequency and extent of participation tended to be significantly higher for students with high self-ratings than for students with less satisfactory self-reported performance, and that this trend was significantly stronger in females than males and present in all age groups. The correlations between participation and AP were generally significant but low. These results indicate that those who perceive themselves to be the better achievers in academic subjects are as a group the more frequent participants, with stronger motives for involvement in sport and physical activity. A prevalent fear among parents and teachers in Hong Kong, that regular sport participation could threaten academic achievement, appears unfounded.

The purpose was to examine sport participation (excluding physical education classes) of school-aged Chinese children with disabilities attending special schools in Hong Kong. A sample of 237 children, ages 9 to 19, attending 10 special schools in Hong Kong, responded to a sport participation questionnaire in individual interviews. Data were analyzed by gender, two school levels, and five disability types. Results relating to participation frequency and extent indicated that girls were significantly less active than boys. Children with physical disability, visual impairment, and mental disability were less active than children with hearing impairment and maladjustment. Children with different types of disabilities varied in their participation patterns and choices of physical activities as well as their motives for sport participation, nonparticipation, and withdrawal. We concluded that disability type is more related to children's participation behaviors in sport and physical activities than to gender and school level.