Serious engagement in sport and health benefits among Korean immigrants in the USA.

There is a dearth of information pertaining to ethnicity and serious leisure among immigrants. The purpose of our study was to explore the health benefits of serious engagement in sports among Korean immigrants who are part of club activities. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, we identified three themes associated with the benefits of serious leisure: (a) coping with acculturative stress, (b) creating ethnic strength, and (c) personal benefits.

Opportunities for promoting youth physical activity: an examination of youth summer camps.

Background: Youth summer camp programs have the potential to provide opportunities for physical activity, but little to no research has been conducted to determine activity levels of campers. This study aimed to examine physical activity occurring in day and resident summer camps and how activity levels differed in these camps based upon demographic characteristics.

Methods: Pedometer data were collected during hours of camp operation from 150 day campers and 114 resident campers between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.

Physical activity and senior games participation: benefits, constraints, and behaviors.

The purpose of the article was to examine the physical activity perceptions and behaviors of older adults who were active participants in a statewide senior games (i.e., North Carolina Senior Games; NCSG) program with its focus on year-round involvement through activities in local communities.

Parks and recreation settings and active living: a review of associations with physical activity function and intensity.

Background: The purpose of this study was to review reported associations between parks and recreation settings (PRSs) as features of the built environment and various functions and intensities of physical activity (PA).

Methods: By searching 4 major databases for the years 1998 to 2005, 50 articles were uncovered that reported quantitative relationships between PRSs and PA.

Results: Most articles showed some significant positive relationships between PRSs and PA.

Spiritual development and camp experiences.

Camps have long addressed multiple components of young people's development, including spiritual development. In particular, transcendental communion with nature and the outdoors may provide one pathway for young people's spiritual development.

Camp experiences and developmental outcomes for youth.

Most children view camp as an enjoyable experience. In addition to the essential fun aspect of camp, researchers are discovering several positive developmental outcomes. This article describes some of the developmental outcomes that occur at camp based on developmental theories that underlie camp programs and the research that has been conducted.

Overview of camp research.

Organized camp experiences for children have been a part of American culture for almost 150 years. Millions of young people and adults have had positive developmental experiences in outdoor camp environments. Research about the outcomes of camp as well as about camp operations has documented the role that camps play in enhancing human development.

Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience: Evidence for Multidimensional Growth.

Three thousand, three hundred and ninety-five families, whose child attended one of 80 different day or resident summer camps for at least one week, completed customized questionnaires that measured growth from precamp to postcamp in four domains: Positive Identity, Social Skills, Physical & Thinking Skills, and Positive Values & Spirituality. Parents, children, and camp staff reported significant positive change in these four domains; more than would be expected by maturation alone. Most gains were maintained or showed additional growth six months later.

An ecological approach to creating active living communities.

The thesis of this article is that multilevel interventions based on ecological models and targeting individuals, social environments, physical environments, and policies must be implemented to achieve population change in physical activity. A model is proposed that identifies potential environmental and policy influences on four domains of active living: recreation, transport, occupation, and household. Multilevel research and interventions require multiple disciplines to combine concepts and methods to create new transdisciplinary approaches.

In their own voices: definitions and interpretations of physical activity.

Terms such as physical activity, exercise, and leisure are perceived and interpreted differently by people differing in gender, class, and sociocultural factors. We accessed multiple diverse data sources (including qualitative data recently collected in research and evaluation studies) to explore African-American and American Indian women's (age 40+) definitions, meanings, and interpretations of "physical activity". These women reported that physical activity is typically considered to be structured "exercise" and not incidental activities of daily life.

Personal, social, and physical environmental correlates of physical activity in African-American women in South Carolina.

Background: Little is known about the correlates of physical activity among African-American women living in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of personal, social, cultural, environmental, and policy variables with physical activity among women in ethnic minority groups.

Methods: The Women and Physical Activity Survey was used in a telephone interview of 917 African-American women living in two counties in South Carolina.

A synthesis of perceptions about physical activity among older African American and American Indian women.

Objectives: In this review of qualitative data from the Cross-Cultural Activity Participation Study (CAPS), we synthesize the major findings of studies designed to identify minority women's perceptions of physical activity.

Methods: We interviewed 30 African American and 26 American Indian women with constant comparison techniques. We analyzed the data with a coding system developed from the data.

Environmental, policy, and cultural factors related to physical activity in African American women.

Six focus groups were conducted in South Carolina with African American women (n = 42) aged 19-51 years to identify factors that influence physical activity. Transcripts were analyzed using NUD*IST. Cultural influences were seen as more important in determining the type of physical activity than its level.

Perceptions of physical activity and personal barriers and enablers in African-American women.

Objective: To examine perceptions of physical activity and physical activity barriers and enablers in African-American women.

Design And Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with 42 African-American women, aged 19-51 years, who resided in South Carolina. Transcripts were coded and analyzed using NUD*IST.