Download or read book GENDER AND RACIAL IDENTITY NORMATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG COLLEGE AGED AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN written by Shelly Thornton and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African American women have a compounded risk for chronic disease development, poorer disease-related quality of life, and chronic disease mortality. While regular engagement in physical activity can reduce these risks, African American women are significantly less likely to engage in physical activity when compared to their gender and racial counterparts. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that may contribute to physical activity and protect against physical inactivity among African American women. Social Identity Theory may offer a framework for understanding gender and racial influences on exercise behaviors. Social Identity Theory posits that individuals strengthen their sense of belonging with social groups by adopting normative perceptions, attitudes, values, and behaviors. Prior research has established associations between gender and racial identity and exercise behaviors as well as associations between normative perceptions of physical activity and exercise behavior. Inferences from prior research suggests there is a link between gender and racial identity and normative perceptions of exercise behavior, however this link has not been established. Female gender seems to be a risk factor for physical inactivity across the developmental continuum, however research examining African American cultural influences on physical activity has yielded mixed findings. This dissertation sought to examine gender and racial influences on exercise behavior in a sample of African American college-aged women guided by the Social Identity theoretical framework. More specifically, this study sought to (1) comprehensively measure gender and racial identity domains and compare strengths of identity across these two domains, (2) examine perceived physical activity norms for gender and race, (3) determine whether gender and racial identity predict physical activity, (4) determine whether gender and race-related physical activity norms predict physical activity, and (5) examine links between gender identity and gender-related physical activity norms and links between racial identity and race-related physical activity norms. A total of 188 African American undergraduate women completed an online survey that assessed multiple dimensions of gender and racial identity, normative perceptions of physical activity for gender and race, and exercise behaviors. On average, participants reported strong emotional and psychological connection to other women and African Americans. They also reported strong, positive feelings towards being women and African American. Lastly, participants reported that physical activity was normative for their female friends, African American friends, and normative for broader reference groups of women in general and African Americans in general. Overall, physical activity was perceived by participants to be more normative for African Americans than for women and more normative for broader reference groups of women and African Americans as compared to female and African American friend groups. In terms of predicting physical activity, the full model of Social Identity Theory was not supported for either gender or racial influences; however, results indicated that both positive African American racial identity and perceiving physical activity as normative for one's African Americans friends were positive influences on exercise behaviors. Compared to racial identity, gender identity did not predict physical activity, but positive female gender identity was linked to perceiving exercise as more normative for one's female friends, establishing what appears to be the first empirical link between identity and norms in the social identity theory literature. Clinical implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed, particularly as it relates to increasing and sustaining motivation for exercise among African American Women.
Download or read book African American Collegiate Women s Perception and Participation in Physical Activity written by Lauren Courtney Scott and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT AA COLLEGE WOMEN0́90́9S PERCEPTION AND PARTICIPATION IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY by LAUREN SCOTT March 2018 Advisor: Dr. Bo Shen Major: Kinesiology Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Overview: In the United States, adult engagement in physical inactivity has decreased since the implementation of the 2008 PA guidelines. In 2013, only 20% of Americans met the PA recommendations. In 2014, research showed that 23% of adults did not engage in any leisure PA in the United States (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). In general, females were found to be less active than males from youth through adulthood (Matthews et al, 2007). With research showing women are less active than men, it is important to take a more in-depth look at this population and its subsets. Research has shown that ethnic minorities, such as AA and Hispanic women, are less active than white women (Wilcox, Castro, King, Housemann & Brownson, 2000). Research also revealed that AA women have the lowest levels of PA and over 50% of AA women participate in less than 1 hour of PA per week and only 20 minutes of MVPA (Cowie et al, 1993; Felton et al, 2002; Troiano et al, 2007). Currently 18 million adults between the ages of 18-24 are enrolled in college in the United States (Fountaine et al, 2011). Collegiate students0́9 levels of PA are not higher than the general population. According to the American College Health Association 21.6% of collegiate students were overweight and 12.5% were classified as obese (American College Health Association, 2011). In a 2016, the American College Health Association (ACHA) found that only 20.5% of college student reported participation in moderate aerobic PA between 5-7 days a week. Male collegiate students are more physically active than female collegiate students (Buckworth & Nigg, 2004; Keating, et al, 2005) and overall, only 18% of collegiate students engage in PA five or more days a week (Fountaine et al, 2011).
Download or read book Perceptions of Physical Activity Engagement Among African American Emerging Adults at Georgia Southern University Statesboro Campus written by Addison Mickens and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's abstract: Introduction: Physical Activity (PA) is critical to the health and well-being of African American emerging adults, ages 18-25. Research suggests that African American (AA) college students engage in less PA than other racial/ethnic groups. Few studies have examined the relationship between the collegiate built environment (CBE) impact on PA in this population. The Social Ecological Model (SEM) and the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) were used to show how the environment facilitates influence on the behavior through physical and social factors affecting the behavior of engaging in PA. Methods: The purpose of this cross-sectional, concurrent multi-method study was to determine barriers and facilitators of PA engagement with an emphasis on the role of the CBE. This study took place on the Georgia Southern Statesboro Campus including only those who identified as AA/Black. The population was sampled using purposive convenience sampling method. The quantitative measures used were the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and demographic questions based on the BRFSS survey. The qualitative measurement included seven focus groups occurring simultaneously as the quantitative measures. Grounded theory was used during the initial phase of coding generating themes with memo-writing occurring simultaneously. Results: There were 29 participants (14 female and 15 males) in this study. Small differences between the males and females were found where males engaged in PA at a high and moderate level in comparison to females at a low and high level. Major categories of themes from the focus groups included: (1) perceptions of PA engagement, (2) motivators, (3) impediments, (4) racial identity, (5) environmental influences. Significant themes that influence engagement in PA included: safety, growing up as an AA, environmental aesthetics, inclusion, and social/family support. Discussion: This study showed there are multiple levels of influence that motivate AA emerging adults to engage or not engage in PA. Findings from this study offer insight for program planning at the university and salience of racial identity barriers experienced when deciding to engage in PA.
Download or read book A New Psychology of Men written by Ronald F. Levant and published by Basic Books (AZ). This book was released on 2003 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by feminist scholars who revolutionized our understanding of women's gender roles, the contributors to this pioneering book describe how men's proscribed roles are neither biological nor social givens, but rather psychological and social constructions. Questioning the traditional norms of the male role (such as the emphasis on aggression, competition, status, and emotional stoicism), they show how some male problems (such as violence, homophobia, devaluation of women, detached fathering, and neglect of health needs) are unfortunate by-products of the current process by which males are socialized. By synthesizing the latest research, clinical experience, and major theoretical perspectives on men and by figuring in cultural, class, and sexual orientation differences, the authors brilliantly illuminate the many variations of male behavior. This book will be a valuable resource not just for students of gender psychology in any discipline but also for clinicians and researchers who need to account for the relationship between men's behavior and the contradictory and inconsistent gender roles imposed on men. This new understanding of men's psychology is sure to enhance the work of clinical professionals-including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and psychiatric nurses-in helping men reconstruct a sense of masculinity along healthier and more socially just lines.
Download or read book Physical Activity for African American Females written by Jasmine M. Hamilton and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gender Norms and Intersectionality written by Riki Wilchins and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-03-25 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been few, if any, attempts to translate the immense library of academic studies on gender norms for a lay audience, or to illustrate practical ways in which their insights could (and should) be applied. Similarly, there have been few attempts to build the case for gender in diverse fields like health, education, and economic security within a single book, one which also uses an intersectional lens to address issues of race and class. This book not only looks at the impact of rigid gender norms on young people who internalize them, but also shows how the health, educational, and criminal justice systems with which young people interact are also highly gendered systems that relentlessly police and sustain very narrow ideas of masculinity and femininity, particularly among youth. Current treatments of a “gender lens” or “gender analysis” both at home and abroad usually conflate gender with women and/or trans. Gender Norms and Intersectionality shows conclusively how this is both inadequate and wrong-headed. It documents why gender norms must be moved to the center of the discourses aimed at improving life outcomes for at-risk communities. And it does so while acknowledging the insights of queer theorists about bodies, power, and difference. This book provides a starting point for a long overdue movement to elevate “applied gender studies,” providing both a reference and guide for researchers, students, policymakers, funders, non-profit leaders, and grassroots advocates. It aims to transform readers’ view of a broad array of familiar social problems, such as basic wellness and reproductive health; education; economic security; and partner, male-on-male, and school violence—showing how gender norms are an integral if overlooked key to understanding each.
Download or read book Investigating Factors Related to African American Women s Physical Activity written by Jahmaad Harrell and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A variety of barriers to physical activity have been identified and these barriers take new forms in relation to African American women. This study examined how the intersectionality of race and gender play a pivotal role in African American women's physical activity. I sought to understand whether there were differences in barriers and strategies reported between physically active and inactive groups, whether the perception of barriers and barrier self-efficacy were predictors of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and what types of strategies African American women use to overcome barriers. African American women completed and online survey and a subset participated in semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that both physically active and inactive women within the sample faced similar barriers and utilized similar strategies, but the perceived effectiveness differed between the two groups. Both perception of barriers (p= .045) and barrier self-efficacy (p= .043) were significant predictors in a regression predicting MVPA. Analysis of semi-structured in depth interviews uncovered five major themes: Health Perceptions within the African American Community are an Obstacle to Healthy Behaviors; Gender Differences and Gendered Activity Expectations , Hair as a Constraint to Physical Activity for African American Women; The Role of Body Image as a Barrier and a Facilitator of physical activity, and The Role of a Physical Activity Environment in Negotiating Constraints.
Download or read book It s Just Gym Physicality and Identity Among African American Adolescent Girls written by Stephanie M. McClure and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It{u2019}s Just Gym presents the findings of a study that explored how a group of African American adolescent girls attending a suburban, middle-class high school in the Midwest experience and enact their physicality in school settings. This study was devised as an attempt to critically examine how local cultural context informs the disproportionately high levels of obesity and the disproportionately low levels of physical activity documented among African American females beginning at puberty. The study aims were to (1) question the lay and scientific conventional wisdom regarding body size and health promotion among African American females and (2) present an alternate framework for exploring the institutional and social contexts in which the study participants expressed that physicality. In this mixed methods exploration that included surveys, focus groups, interviews, observation, electronic activity monitoring, anthropometry and personal network assessment, school-based physical education and extra-curricular activities, gender, race and class emerged as key, intersecting contexts of physicality. Relational strategies {u2013} including personal network composition and the circumstances of resort to separation {u2013} were explored, as were the participants{u2019} experiences of recreational and functional exertion. Emerging from these explorations is a set of accounts of body conceptualization and physical activity engagement among the participants that are characterized by patterns of similarity and difference. These patterns reflect the dynamic operation of intersecting contexts, individual experience and relationship dynamics in these young women{u2019}s identities. That is, these patterns indicate that body conceptualizations and activity predilections among the participants were the outcomes of a complex, yet not wholly individualized, set of influences, circumstances, perceptions and behaviors that are not readily predicted by any one category of identity. Thus, in addition to being a unique case study, the process by which these findings were obtained presents a model for investigation, analysis and understanding of local contexts of physicality-informed identity across localities and populations.
Download or read book The Relationship between Perceived Wellness and Stages of Change for Exercise among Rural African American Women written by Imani C. Goodwin and published by Universal-Publishers. This book was released on 2010-05-28 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book President s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Report written by President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (U.S.) and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Body Size Perception and Physical Activity Among Older Urban African American Women written by Mary Louise Greaney and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Motivations and Barriers to Physical Exercise Among African American Female College Students written by Ajara Eyana Ledford and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examined differences between groups of exercising and non-exercising African American female college students. Groups where compared on a variety of psychosocial variables including perceived motivations, universal barriers, African American cultural barriers, and rejection sensitivity to race. The utility of self-efficacy as a moderator of perceived barriers was also explored. Lastly, the moderating role of ethnic identity on the perception of African American cultural barriers was examined. The results of this study supported the predicted relationship of physical exercise status with perceived positive motives/benefits and perceived universal barriers of exercise. However, the results revealed no significant relationships of exercise status and the African-American cultural barriers or rejection-sensitivity to race.
Download or read book A Walk in the Park written by Lauren Garrott and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, minorities are less physically active and in turn at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The purpose of my study is to examine the factors that influence physical activity in neighborhood parks and to answer: What aspects of park design and programming discourage physical activity participation in African American women? My goal is to identify barriers to physical activity and make recommendations for improving design and programming of a neighborhood park. The results of my research are relevant to the planning profession because planners can use public policy to combat inequality in the built environment. Many studies have related recreation access to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. While African American women are not the only disadvantaged population when it comes to access to recreation, they do have a higher risk for obesity. In trying to answer why African American women have higher rates of obesity, some studies have found that while willingness to participate in physical activity does not differ in white and black women, duration of physical activity does. My research employs a mixed methods approach to understand the barriers to physical activity experienced by African American women, in context of a neighborhood park. This study uses a physical assessment of James Mulligan Park and the surrounding neighborhood within Alexandria, Virginia. Following the physical assessment I piloted a survey to gather information on the barriers to physical activity. The pilot guided a final survey of seventeen participating African American women in the neighborhood. I hypothesized that the perception of park safety will have an effect on the rate of physical activity in African American women. This hypothesis points to a general barrier for all women. Based on literature review, I also expected to find barriers unique to African American women. The study concluded that African American women in this neighborhood share some barriers with all women and they also expressed some barriers unique to African American women. I found that personal barriers like "exercise tires me" was the most common, rather than perceptions of safety. In addition, I found culturally specific barriers, such as "exercising is not my cultural activity" and "I avoid exercise to protect my hairstyle." Based on my analysis of the setting and surveys I make several recommendations for the park and neighborhood.
Download or read book Physical activity among African American female college students written by Monique N. Bergan and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Meaning and Cultural Context of Physical Activity as Perceived by Physically Active Rural African American Women written by Allison Lenkerd and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Background - The health problems of overweight and obesity are growing concerns in the United States and in many parts of the world. At the time of this study, African American women had the highest mortality and obesity rates of any other racial/ethnic group in this country, and the highest level of physical inactivity (CDC, 2008; OMHRC, 2007). Research has suggested that despite African American women's awareness of the benefits of physical activity their rates of physical activity have remained low. A need existed to understand how physically active African American women, particularly those who resided in a rural area, perceived and experienced physical activity. Objective - The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the meaning and cultural context of physical activity among physically active, rural African American women, and to understand how they related physical activity and overweight to their health status. Methodology - To achieve this purpose, the researcher conducted 4 in-depth, open-ended focus group interviews in North Carolina. A qualitative methodology using a phenomenological approach enabled the researcher to better understand the meaning and sociocultural influences that the participants associated with physical activity participation. Analysis of verbatim transcriptions of the focus group interviews involved immersion, coding, categorizing, and identifying themes that emerged from the data. Results - Several primary themes emerged from the data from this study that revealed the participants experience of physical activity. These themes included perceptions of personal health, the evolution of physical activity, body image and overweight, social support, barriers, societal views of African American health status, and health related education. This chapter explored themes and various subthemes in order to get a more in-depth view of the participants' experience of physical activity, and definitions of physical activity and overweight as they relate to health in the minds of the participants. Conclusion - Health education programming aimed at this target population group must recognize several factors in order to provide culturally appropriate programs: the motivating factors of this population group; the association between size, overweight and health; their perception of what types of physical activities are appropriate; their support needs; the barriers that they face. In addition, it is important to provide education regarding their risks as well as information on how to get the information that they need to address these risks from their medical provider.
Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Download or read book A Theoretical Approach to Understanding the Physical Activity Behavior of African American College Women written by Kelly Cherie Juniper and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
