Evaluating The Usefulness Of Evidence For Psychology Of Sport And Exercise

Appraisal Paper 1

Discuss about the Evaluating the Usefulness of Evidence for Psychology of Sport and Exercise.

In this paper, two articles will be appraised, and then the paper with the strongest evidence against the scenario of Mariana will be identified. The first article is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) paper written by Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) is published in Journal of Psychology of Sport and Exercise. This article seeks to determine how aerobic exercise intervention (AET) can be used to reduce emotional reactivity in real-life stress situation among students (Malling, 2013). The second article is by Kim, Yang & Schroeppel (2013) which was published in Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress. After an appraisal of the two articles, the paper identifies one of the articles that presents the strongest evidence to help Mariana reduce her real-life stress and boosts her moods given her situations. Briefly, the paper provides an insightful reflection on Mariana’s scenario to help understand how the chosen article is the most suitable in helping the situation.

The first appraisal article is an RCT paper written by Von Haaren and the colleagues (2015) and is about determining how aerobic exercise training can be used to reduce emotional stress reactivity in real-life stressful moments such as academic examination periods among students (Von Haaren et al., 2015). This article is published in the Journal of Psychology of Sport and Exercise in the year 2015. This study adopted the use of randomized controlled trial, within-subject design. The design used Ambulatory Assessment which is a method that encompasses other methods such as momentary self-reports observational and physiological methods which aim at studying people in their natural environments without any external interference (Zimmerman, 2014). This study by Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) aimed at examining whether a preventive 20 weeks of aerobic exercise intervention can be used to improve emotional stress reactivity in the real life stress situations.

In the study, sixty-one inactive students were subjected to a waiting control and an AET group, and they reported their mood and perceived stress for over two days during their daily routines pre-and post-intervention (Fordham, Griffiths & Bundy, 2013). Two assessment periods were picked, namely at the beginning of the semester when students reported low-stress levels and stressful real-life moments, i.e., during examination period when students reported high-stress levels perhaps owing to examinations preparation (Von Haaren et al., 2015).  The findings of the study showed that those students who participated in the AET group recorded lower emotional stress reactivity in comparison to controlled participants after the training period of 20 weeks. In conclusion, the authors asserted that AET has considerable health benefits on emotional reactivity on students during real-life stressful situations.

Appraisal Paper 2

During the study, the authors took notice of the ethical implications of the study and thus only interested students were signed up for the study. The willing students were informed about the study and those who wanted to participate provided a written informed consent (Von Haaren et al., 2015). Given the assumptions underlying the study, the authors have successfully demonstrated that aerobic exercise intervention (AET) can be used to improve emotional stress reactivity in real- life stressful moments. However, the sample size chosen was not too large and thus may have failed to support the claim (Guang & Bierma, 2011). Nonetheless, considering the size of the target population namely school students in their real-life academic examination stressful moments, the representativeness of the sample might not have affected the outcomes (Ansley, Houchins & Varjas, 2016). 

In agreement with NHMRC level of evidence, the study by Von Haaren and colleagues is at level II. According to Burns, Rohrich, and Chung (2011) at level II, evidential information is gathered from a minimum of one accurately and premeditated randomized controlled trial. The study is closely applicable to the scenario of Mariana who is a first-year health sciences student. It applies to the extent that as a student and a mother to her daughter, Mariana is vulnerable to volumes of real-life stresses since she must be a mother to her daughter, a student who must write her examination. She must also single-handedly care for her ailing daughter beside her health given the limited family support her has.  As such the study can be useful for her to reduce her stress and improve her mood especially for her daughter and her academia. 

This second article as written by Kim, Yang, and Schroeppel (2013) is a pilot study that sought to determine the effects that Kouk Sun Do has on University Students especially those manifesting anxiety symptoms. The study used mixed research methods where both the quantitative and qualitative research methods were adopted (Kim, Yang & Schroeppel, 2013).  The abstract illustrates how the effects of Kouk Sun Do (KSD) was conducted among a sample of university students with anxiety symptoms using 30 participants out of which 18 completed the pre-test. The study used a total of Ten 70-min KSD exercise sessions three times a week for four weeks (Frances, 2014).  The data was analyzed using A two (group) by two (time) repeated-measure analysis of variance which revealed that both the trait anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased while the self-efficacy increased over the period.  The results of qualitative data indicated that self-induced relaxation of KSD can result in reduced anxiety (Kim, Yang & Schroeppel, 2013). 

Justification of Strongest Evidence Related in Scenario

The primary purpose of the pilot study was to examine the effects of KSD on mental health among university students with traits of anxiety symptoms.  Prior to the study, the participants completed a consent form which illustrated the purpose of the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. In the effort to determine the effects of KSD exercise, the study used State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to collect data on anxiety traits. Besides, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was used to collect data on the severity of depressive symptoms while self-efficacy (GSE) scale was used for general self-efficacy. The authors used structured questionnaires with open-ended questions to collect qualitative data to examine the experience of the participants during the KSD exercise period (Kim, Yang & Schroeppel, 2013). Some of the study limitations included small sample which resulted in inadequate statistical power to determine significant variations in anxiety between groups, high attrition rate as 12 of the participants withdrew from the exercise.  The study was also limited to university students with self-reported anxiety symptoms thereby giving limiting results (De Vries et al., 2016). 

The pilot study revealed that KSD exercise is an appropriate alternative method of enhancing mental health, especially to university students. The major strengths of the article is that it provided illustrations on how an individual suffering from stress and extreme anxiety disorder can develop a self-healing exercise by using the mind, body, and breath (Jung et al., 2016). However, the article is mainly limited to the individuals with anxiety symptoms, and it provides limited emphasis on excessive stressful conditions. Considering Mariana’s state of health and her excessive stressful circumstances, the article will provide a limited solution to reduce her stress and boost her moods.  This is because the KSD method proposed in the article is not very effective in providing a solution to prolonged real life stress as it majorly acts as an alternative method for enhancing mental health. Using this method in Mariana’s conditions will therefore only boost her moods to a limited extent but will not be very effective in reducing her stress level (Park, 2015).

In view of the presented two pieces of evidence, the article by Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) provides considerably stronger evidence against Mariana’s scenario. According to the authors, the article elaborately examined how preventive 20-week aerobic exercise intervention (AET) may be used to improve emotional stress reactivity in real-life stress. As such, in effect, the authors asserted that AET provides promising benefits against negative health effects that are associated with accumulated emotional stress reactivity and this is emphasized by Bodenlos et al. (2015). In the effort to determine why this article presents the strongest evidence against Mariana’s case scenario, a critical review of Mariana’s scenario is of great importance.

Mariana is a first-year health sciences student and a patient of diabetes and rare blood disorder. She is a mother to an 18-month-old daughter who is also suffering from severe asthma and has limited family support (Ansley, Houchins, & Varjas, 2016). As a medical student, Mariana faces the massive stress associated with academic requirements which demand considerable efforts to excel so that later she could be a licensed health care practitioner (Roy & Braider, 2016). Equally important is her 18-month daughter who at that particular age demands constant motherly care, love, and attention, especially in her asthmatic condition. To crown it all, Mariana receives little support from the family, and this means that she must rely on her efforts for herself and more so for her daughter. Given the situation that Mariana is in, she is vulnerable to massive volumes of stress and anxiety disorder (Kim et al., 2013). She must establish how to care for her young daughter who is also sickly besides caring for her diabetic nature without compromising her academic life as well as her future career. To this end, the article by Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) provides considerable evidence that supports the hypothesis that accumulated effects of enhanced emotional reactivity as evidenced in Mariana’s case scenario increases the risk for the physical and mental disorder.

In light of this paper article, Mariana is seen as suffering from accumulated stresses emanating from different aspects of her life. From their study findings, Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) concluded that exercise promises beneficial prevention measures most appropriate for reducing accumulated enhanced emotional reactivity to considerable stresses in real-life situations like Mariana’s (Von Haaren et al., 2015). According to the authors, although clinical psychology provides treatment for the effects of the stressor, they are strictly used for already existing stressors and therefore, for effective prevention, exercises prove to be the best strategy to influence the effects of stressors before they occur. In view of Mariana’s scenario, the article by Von Haaren and colleagues (2015) provide sufficient and strongest evidence of how Mariana can reduce her stress as well as improve her mood in the long run. Regular exercises will help her reduce stress reactivity as well as increase self-control which is essential for her to manage her tasks without compromising her role of being a good and loving mother to her young daughter (Smith, 2014; Malling, 2013).  The article asserts that exercises are suitable preventive measures against the effects of accumulated enhanced stressors.

Conclusion

This paper has successfully presented an appraisal of two articles, namely an article by Von Haaren and colleagues published in Journal of Psychology of Sport and Exercise and an article by Kim, Yang & Schroeppel published in Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress. The article by Von Haaren and colleagues sought to establish whether aerobic exercise interventions can be used to improve emotional stress reactivity during real-life stress. The authors concluded that AET promises beneficial effects on emotional stress reactivity during real-life stressful situations, especially among the students. The article by Kim, Yang & Schroeppel sought to examine the effects of Kouk Sun Do (KSD) on mental health among university students with traits of anxiety symptoms. The authors concluded that KSD as a new way of mind and body exercise might be beneficial in minimizing the level of anxiety symptoms through its approach to self-induced relaxation. Arguably, the article by Von Haaren and colleagues has been argued to have the strongest evidence to help Mariana to reduce her stress as well as improve her mood.

References 

Ansley, B. b., Houchins, D., & Varjas, K. (2016). Optimizing Special Educator Wellness and Job Performance through Stress Management. Teaching Exceptional Children, 48(4), 176-185.

Ansley, B. b., Houchins, D., & Varjas, K. (2016). Optimizing Special Educator Wellness and Job Performance through Stress Management. Teaching Exceptional Children, 48(4), 176-185.

Bodenlos, J. S., Wells, S. Y., Noonan, M., & Mayrsohn, A. (2015). Facets of Dispositional Mindfulness and Health among College Students. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 21(10), 645-652. doi:10.1089/acm.2014.0302

Burns, P. B., Rohrich, R. J., & Chung, K. C. (2011). The levels of evidence and their role in evidence-based medicine. Plastic and reconstructive surgery, 128(1), 305. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3124652/

De Vries, J. D., van Hooff, M. M., Geurts, S. E., & Kompier, M. J. (2016). Exercise as an Intervention to Reduce Study-Related Fatigue among University Students: A Two-Arm Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial. Plos ONE, 11(3), 1-21. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152137

Fordham, B., Griffiths, C. E., & Bundy, C. (2013). Can stress reduction interventions improve psoriasis? A review. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 18(5), 501-514.

Frances, A. (2014). Finding a Middle Ground between Psychiatry and Anti-Psychiatry. Psychiatric Times, 31(10), 1-3.

Guang, J., & Bierma, T. J. (2011). Guided-Inquiry Learning in Environmental Health. Journal of Environmental Health, 73(6), 80-85.

Jung, Y., Ha, T. M., Oh, C. Y., Lee, U. S., Jang, J. H., Kim, J., & Kang, D. (2016). The Effects of an Online Mind-Body Training Program on Stress, Coping Strategies, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience and Psychological State. Plos ONE, 11(8), 1-20. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159841

Kim, J., Yang, H., & Schroeppel, S. (2013). A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of Kouk Sun Do on University Students with Anxiety Symptoms. Stress & Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 29(2), 99-107. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.acu.edu.au/login?url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smi.2431

Malling, S. H. (2013). Choreography and Performance with Deaf Adults who have Mental Illness: Culturally Affirmative Participatory Research. American Journal of Dance Therapy, 35(2), 118-141. doi:10.1007/s10465-013-9157-y

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Von Haaren, B., Haertel, S., Stumpp, J., Hey, S., & Ebner-Priemer, U. (2015). Reduced emotional stress reactivity to a real-life academic examination stressor in students participating in a 20-week aerobic exercise training: A randomised controlled trial using Ambulatory Assessment. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 20, 67-75. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.acu.edu.au/login?url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029215000357

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