JRI 

The Role of Group Cohesion in Pregnant Women’s Attitude toward Participation in Fitness Classes

Vol. 12, Issue 2, / April-June 2011
(pages 123-129)

Mohsen Golparvar Corresponding Author
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Islamic Azad University- Khorasgan Branch, Isfahan, Iran
Parvin Bahadoran
- Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Hamid Reza Oriezie
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Received: 11/11/2010 Accepted: 2/14/2011 - Publisher : Avicenna Research Institute

Related Articles
in Google Scholar
in PubMed

 

Other Format
pdfFull Text (En)
pdfFull Text (Fa)
pdfAbstract (En)
pdfAbstract (Fa)
pdfePUB (En)
pdfBibTeX
pdfRefMan
pdfEndNote
xmlPMC XML
online readerPMC Reader
online readerHBIs XML

 


Abstract

Background: Group cohesion indices are among important factors that influence human performance and behavior within groups. Group cohesion has also an important role in sports and physical exercise groups. Evidence indicates that sportive exercises during pregnancy have some positive effects, such as anxiety relief, heightened spirit and higher physical and psychological adaptation to pregnancy. The main purpose of this study was to compare group cohesion among pregnant women who participated in fitness classes. Methods: This descriptive-comparative study included 400 women in their second trimester of pregnancy in Isfahan, Iran. They filled a Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) with four subscales, including attraction to group task, attraction to social group, social group interplay and task group interplay. Physical exercises were performed in twelve 20-30 minutes sessions. Exercises in each session were comprised of side walking, swimming, rhythmic movements and light to medium aerobic exercises. Absenteeism and delays were recorded in each session. In the twelfth session, the GEQ was handed out to the participants and those whose scores were two standard deviations below or above the mean for the group were, respectively, classified into low or high absenteeism or delayed groups. The significance level in the inferential level was 0.05. Results: The mean values for the four domains, i.e. attraction to social group (ATG-S), attraction to group task (ATG-T), social group interplay (GI-S), and task group interplay (GI-I) for the group with low absenteeism were 34.7, 28.3, 17.3 and 25.9, respectively, and for the group with high absenteeism, respectively, were 27.3, 23.4, 16.9 and 24.7. Discriminant analysis showed significant differences between the low and high absenteeism groups in two domains: attraction to social group and attraction to group task (p<0.01 ). the mean values for groups with low and high delays in the four domains of group cohesiveness (atg-s, atg-t, gi-s and gi-i) were 32.6, 22.7, 27.3 and 17.7 and 27.3, 23.1, 26.9 and 18.2, respectively. there was significant differences between the low and high-delay groups in attraction to social group (atg-s) (p<0.05). conclusion: trying to make group physical exercises attractive and forming homogenous groups for the participating women could be a motivating factor for attending such classes with perseverance.< pan>


Keywords: Attraction, Group Cohesion, Group task, Interplay, Physical exercise, Physical fitness, Pregnant women, Second trimester, Social group


To cite this article:



Figures, Charts, Tables













References

  1. Ramzaninezhad R, Hoseini Keshtan M, Dadban Shahamat M, Shafiee Kordshooli Sh. The relationship between collective efficacy, group cohesion and team performance in professional volleyball teams. Braz J Biomotricity. 2009;3(1):31-9.
  2. Sánchez JC, Yurrebaso A. Group cohesion: Relationships with work team culture. Psicothema. 2009; 21(1):97-104.
  3. Ramazaninezhad R, Hoseini Keshtan M. The relationship between coach’s leadership styles and team cohesion in Iran football clubs professional league. Braz J Biomotricity. 2009;3(2):111-20.
  4. Spink KS. Group cohesion and collective efficacy of volleyball teams. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 1990;12(3): 301-13.
  5. Wankel LM, Yardley JK, Graham J. The effects of motivational interventions upon the exercise adherence of high and low self-motivated adults. Can J Appl Sport Sci. 1985;10(3):147-56.
  6. Carron AV, Widmeyer WN, Brawley LR. Group cohesion and individual adherence to physical activity. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 1998;10(2):127-38.
  7. International Socity of Sport Psychology. Physical activity and psychological benefits: A position statement from the international society of sport. J Appl Sport Psychol. 1992;4(1):94-8.
  8. Fox KR. Self-esteem, self-perceptions and exercise. Int J Sport Psychol. 2000;31(2):228-40.
  9. Carron AV, Colman MM, Wheeler J, Stevens D. Cohesion and Performance in Sport: A Meta Analysis. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2002;24(2):168-88.
  10. Evans CR, Dion Kl. Group cohesion and performance: A meta ananlysis. Small Group Res. 1991;22 (2):175-86.
  11. Mullen B, Copper C. The relation between group cohesiveness and performance: an integration. Psychol Bulletin. 1994;115(2):210-27.
  12. Patterson MM, Carron AV, Loughead TM. The influence of team norms on the cohesion-self-reported performance relationship: a multi-level analysis. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2005;6(4):479-93.
  13. Teoman N, Ozcan A, Acar B. The effect of exercise on physical fitness and quality of life in post menopausal women. Maturitas. 2004;47(1):71-7.
  14. Vandenakker CB, Glass DD. Menopause and aging with disability. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2001;12(1):133-51.
  15. Ward A, Morgan WP. Adherence patterns of healthy men and women. J Cardiac Rehabil. 1984;4(1): 143-52.
  16. Asci FH, Kin A, Kosar SN. Effect of participation in an 8 week aerobic dance and step aerobics program on physical self-perception and body image satisfaction. Int J Sport Psychol. 1998;29(4):366-75.
  17. May AM, Duivenvoorden HJ, Korstjens I, van Weert E, Hoekstra-Weebers JE, van den Borne B, et al. The effect of group cohesion on rehabilitation outcome in cancer survivors. Psychooncology. 2008;17(9):917-25.
  18. Annesi JJ, Whitaker AC. Weight loss and psychologic gain in obese women--participants in a supported exercise intervention. Perm J. 2008;12(3): 36-45.
  19. Allgöwer A, Wardle J, Steptoe A. Depressive symptoms, social support, and personal health behaviors in young men and women. Health Psychol. 2001;20(3):223-7.
  20. Fraser SN, Spink KS. Examining the role of social support and group cohesion in exercise compliance. J Behav Med. 2002;25(3):233-49.
  21. McNicholas SL. Social support and positive health practices. West J Nurs Res. 2002;24(7):772-87.
  22. Resnick B, Nigg C. Testing a theoretical model of exercise behavior for older adults. Nurs Res. 2003; 52(2):80-8.
  23. Cramp AG, Brawley LR. Moms in motion: a group mediated cognitive-behavioral physical activity intervention. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006;3:23.
  24. Carron AV, Widmeyer WN, Brawley LR. The development of an instrument to assess cohesion in sport teams: the group environment questionnaire. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 1985;7(3):244-66.
  25. Field A. Discovering statistics using spss. 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications; 2009. p. 602.

COPE
SID
NLM
AJMB
IJBMLE
IJBMLE

Home | About Us | Current Issue | Past Issues | Submit a Manuscript | Instructions for Authors | Subscribe | Search | Contact Us

"Journal of Reproduction & Infertility" is owned, published, and managed by Avicenna Research Institute .
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution –NonCommercial 4.0 International License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.

Journal of Reproductoin and Infertility (JRI) is a member of COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION ETHICS . Verify here .

©2024 - eISSN : 2251-676X, ISSN : 2228-5482, For any comments and questions please contact us.