Catherine M Sabiston

University of Toronto | U of T · Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education

Little is known on how changes in lifestyle behaviors affect mental health among immunosuppressed individuals who observed stricter physical and social distancing measures due to higher risk of complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the association between changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary...

Despite increasing access to sport and exercise opportunities, girls and women in Canada continue to face gender disparity in sport participation. Several media campaigns have emerged to address this disparity and advocate for gender equity in sport. However, there is little understanding or evaluation of the content of these media campaigns. Infor...

Purpose: To determine the prevalence and content of discussions regarding physical activity (PA) promotion between individuals with a current or past diagnosis of cancer and their oncology care team. Methods: Design and Procedure: A cross-sectional survey on PA discussion between individuals with a current or past diagnosis of cancer and their o...

Research Objectives To determine the prevalence and content of discussions regarding physical activity (PA) promotion between cancer survivors and their oncology care team at a cancer treatment institution in Canada. Design A cross-sectional survey was used to gather data on PA discussions between cancer survivors and their oncology care team. Se...

Objective(s) To explore the use, parameters, and effectiveness of Partner-Based peer support exercise interventions for cancer survivors. Data Sources Six electronic databases (AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, EMCORE, OVID Medline, and PsycInfo) were searched for studies up to January 21, 2021. The search strategy included “cancer,” “physical activity,” “exe...

Introduction Patients’ unwillingness to be randomized to a mode of exercise may partly explain their poor recruitment, adherence, and attrition in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise in oncology. It is unknown whether a preference-based trial can improve recruitment, adherence, retention, and clinical outcomes compared to a RCT of the s...

Body image is a commonly-reported factor perpetuating declines in physical activity levels during adolescence. However, the evidence is predominantly qualitative, cross-sectional, and focused on females. Furthermore, the affective dimension of body image has been overlooked compared to the perceptual (e.g., misrepresentations of body size) and cogn...

Introduction Transition-age youth (16–29 years old) are disproportionately affected by the onset, impact and burden of serious mental illness (SMI; for example, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorders). Emerging evidence has increasingly highlighted the concept of resilience in mental health promotion and treatment approaches...

Few studies describe sport participation profiles in the general population using multiple characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify sport participation profiles during adolescence and to describe transitions across profiles from grades 5 to 12 (age 10 to 18 years). We used data from 916 participants (55% girls; age 10...

Background Women treated for breast cancer are at risk for worsening health-related quality of life (QoL), cardiac function, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the associations of self-reported moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) during cancer treatment with concurrent measures of QoL...

Background Whether individual, environmental, and psychosocial factors predict changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is poorly addressed in prostate cancer (PC) survivors undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Purpose This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial examined changes in MVPA following a supervised...

BACKGROUND Exergaming may be an important option to support an active lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE The objectives of this study were to: (i) explore whether change in exergaming status (stopped, started, stable and never exergamed) from before to during the pandemic related to change in walking or moderate-to-vigorous physical...

To examine associations of physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) with quality of life (QoL) in men on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer. A pooled analysis of 106 men on ADT was conducted. PA and SED were assessed using accelerometers. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) was used to assess self-reported...

Physical activity (PA) motives are associated with both moderate‐to‐vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) and mental health. Studies examining whether PA motives relate directly to mental health or indirectly through MVPA are lacking. This study examined the direct effect of five PA motives (i.e., enjoyment, competence, fitness, social, appearance) on menta...

Purpose The association between stressful life events and depressive symptoms is well established, but the role of coping style in this association is less clear. We examined whether problem-focused, emotion-focused or avoidant coping style mediated and/or moderated the association in young adults. Methods Data were drawn from a 20-year longitudina...

Testicular cancer survivors report unmet supportive care needs that are associated with poorer physical and mental health, yet engagement in traditional supportive care is low. The Ball’s in Your Court intervention was designed to engage testicular cancer survivors in supportive care by leveraging a community-based sport and exercise model. Age-app...

Background Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is endorsed to improve cardiovascular outcomes in cancer survivors. The quality of CR-based research in oncology has not been assessed. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of reporting and evidence from CR-based intervention studies in oncology and to explore associations between inte...

Despite the evidenced benefits of participating in organized sport, adolescent girls consistently report lower rates of sport participation, worse sport experiences, and higher dropout rates, compared to boys. Body image concerns have been linked to this gender disparity and established as a critical predictor of disordered eating, thus necessitati...

Physical activity (PA) can help manage cancer treatment-related side effects and improve well-being following treatment; however, resuming PA after a period of inactivity due to cancer can be challenging. The purpose of this study was to explore adolescents and young adults (AYAs) experiences transitioning back into PA after a period of inactivity...

Background Prostate cancer survivors (PCS) experience long-term side effects beyond treatment such as fatigue, depression and anxiety. Quality and engaging supportive care programs are needed to reduce these chronic and debilitating effects. Independent of physical activity (PA), high volumes of sedentary behavior (SB) are associated with chronic d...

Background The majority of breast cancer survivors do not engage in sufficient levels of exercise. Community-based exercise programs (CBEP) may mitigate low rates of exercise participation; however, few programs exist. Previous research exploring the determinants of CBEP implementation for cancer survivors is limited in that it has predominantly fo...

It is well understood that mood intolerance is a predictor of eating disorder (ED) symptoms. However, it is unclear whether intolerance of specific emotional experiences predicts ED symptoms. The current study used an ecological momentary assessment design to assess associations between the intensity and intolerance of general and body-related self...

Objective Examine the association between self-conscious emotions and adolescents’ implicit attitudes (i.e., automatic evaluations or “gut reactions”) towards sport. Design In this cross-sectional design, 162 adolescents completed self-report questionnaires and a single category implicit association task. Study protocols transitioned from in-perso...

We examined change in walking, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and meeting MVPA guidelines from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identified factors associated with newly meeting and no longer meeting MVPA guidelines during the pandemic. Complete data were available for 614 young adults participating in the ongoing Nicotine...

Partnering with community agencies to implement physical activity (PA) interventions within the care for individuals with serious mental illness is important for improving the translation of research into practice. As such, a case study was conducted to explore individual participant experiences (N= 5, 60% male) and contextual circumstances that ma...

75 Background: Recruitment for most exercise trials is challenging and often hindered by participants’ inability to travel to the study centre and/or unwillingness to be randomized. Thus, patients in exercise randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are highly selected and may not reflect real-world experiences. Our objectives were to compare baseline c...

Scoping reviews and rapid reviews are intentional approaches to systematically synthesize research. In sport and exercise psychology, scoping reviews can summarize information to describe what is known on a relevant topic. Rapid reviews offer accelerated knowledge synthesis through a streamlined timely and cost-effective approach that is directed a...

Background Identifying cancer-specific physical activity programs and post-secondary courses targeting students in academic settings (i.e., “real world” opportunities) may promote physical activity behaviors among cancer survivors. Using knowledge synthesis methods such as systematic scoping study methods may facilitate knowledge tool development a...

Introduction: Girls are often less motivated to participate in community sport compared to boys. Having a strong social identity with a sports team is positively associated with motivation to continue participation in sport, yet the mechanisms explaining this association are not well-known. In the current study, physical self-concept is tested as a...

Physical activity (PA) is important for managing the side effects and long-term outcomes of cancer treatment, yet many adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs) are not meeting PA guidelines. Body image and social support are two factors that can influence PA behavior and require further attention in this population. The purpose of...

IntroductionDespite the recommendations for cancer survivors to engage in physical activity (PA), little is known about the effects of both PA and sedentary time (ST) on key health symptoms. This study prospectively examined the lifestyle behaviors of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ST as predictors of depressive symptoms, pain, and fatigue in b...

The transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral model of eating disorders defines clinical perfectionism as unidimensional, despite a large body of literature demonstrating that perfectionism is multidimensional. Studies examining the associations between perfectionism dimensions and eating disorders have been mixed. The present study examined self-critic...

Background: There is a need for better alignment between research on sport and physical activity and the needs of those who are in a position to implement the findings. To facilitate advancement and alignment, we identified the top research priorities of sport and physical activity knowledge users from various sectors. Methods: For this priority...

Background/rationale or Objectives/purpose: Coping is poorly understood, particularly amongst young adults affected by cancer (YA). The Brief COPE questionnaire may provide insight into this phenomenon. Yet, it can be scored variably, and the implications of each approach are unknown. We sought to describe three Brief COPE scoring approaches and to...

Background/rationale or Objectives/purpose: The mental health of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with cancer is poorer compared to their peers without cancer. However, existing work has been based on dominant populations. AYAs with cancer who are Black, Indigenous, a Person of Colour, or from other sociocultural communities have been...

This study explored how athletes’ symptoms of mental disorders changed over the course of pandemic year. Predictors of baseline levels and changes in symptoms of mental disorders were also examined. Surveys were completed four times throughout a year by Canadian athletes training for the 2020 Olympics/Paralympics (ntime1 = 186, ntime2 = 142, ntime3...

Many girls who participate in sport struggle to negotiate the complex relationship between their desired appearance and maintaining a physique that facilitates performance. As a result, these athletes experience a range of emotions about their bodies that impact their psychological well-being. We examined appearance- and fitness-related emotions us...

This study examines the association between rates of change in daily fruit and vegetable intake and in weekly levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) over a 15-month period in women following primary treatment completion for breast cancer. Breast cancer survivors (N = 199) self-reported fruit and vegetable intake and wore...

The sport team social environment plays an important role in athletes’ experiences, including their enjoyment of sport, and these experiences may influence athletes’ decision to continue or dropout of sport. In the current study, enjoyment was examined as a mediator of the relationship between social identity and sport dropout. Adolescent girls ( N...

Background: Peer-based exercise interventions that cultivate new opportunities for support with a fellow cancer survivor may result in increased exercise volume. It is not clear whether adding qualified exercise professional (QEP) support to peer-based interventions improves health outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whe...

Objectives Self-compassion protects against the occurrence of negative body image experiences and may be particularly useful in defending against negative body- and appearance-related self-conscious emotions in sport. The aim of this study was to examine within- and between-person associations between self-compassion and appearance-related self-con...

The Pediatric Collections: Sports Medicine Playbook will increase pediatric providers’ understanding of the injuries that young athletes may incur – including their history, treatment, and prevention. Each section includes a unique expert introduction and they cover such topics as the benefits of physical activity, injuries, and concerns including...

Body-related self-conscious emotions are important predictors of exercise motivation, yet the association between body-related self-conscious emotions and reasons for exercise has not been explored. Researchers have typically examined body-related emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, pride, embarrassment, envy) in isolation, but they may interact in uniqu...

Barriers, facilitators, and motivators to exercise for cancer survivors living in urban settings are well described in the literature. However, there is a lack of comparable information for cancer survivors living in rural communities. We describe the exercise behaviours, barriers, facilitators, and motivators to exercise participation of cancer su...

Introduction Exercise is vital to health and well-being after a cancer diagnosis yet is poorly integrated in cancer care. Knowledge mobilization (KM) is essential to enhance exercise opportunities. We aimed to (1) develop and refine a list of highly important exercise oncology research and KM themes and (2) establish the relative importance of the...

This study examined the longitudinal associations between five physical activity (PA) motives and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) across a 5-year period spanning late childhood to middle adolescence. METHODS: Data (n = 937; 55% girls; mean age = 10.33 years) were drawn from the Monitoring Activities for Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits study. PA...

Purpose Exercise and physical activity (hereafter, collectively referred to as PA) preferences and benefits are becoming increasingly well characterised in cancer survivors, yet evidence from adolescent and young adult cancer survivors (AYAs) is scant. We describe the overall PA behaviour and support preferences of AYAs and explore subgroup differe...

We examined relationships between pattern of team sport participation during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (i.e., non‐participants, initiators, discontinuers, sustainers) and indicators of mental health. Data on team sport participation and mental health from high school to young adulthood were drawn from the longitudinal NDIT...

Despite the extensive benefits of sport participation, girls consistently participate at lower rates, are more likely to drop out, and report worse sport experiences compared to boys. Body image is a critical factor identified to influence sport participation for adolescent girl athletes. Strategies to mitigate the impact of body image in sport are...

Introduction Researchers have increasingly focused on the mental health of elite athletes. However, there remains a paucity of research on the mental health of elite Canadian athletes, and the prevalence of mental disorders among this population is unknown. Purpose This study evaluated the prevalence of symptoms of mental health disorders, specifi...

Purpose Examine feasibility and acceptability of a group-mediated cognitive-behavioral (GMCB) intervention targeting planned, self-managed physical activity (PA). Design Sequential mixed methods, single arm pre-/post-test design with a 4-week follow-up. Participants Post-treatment gynecologic cancer survivors. Methods Participants attended 8 wee...

Background Physical activity (PA) is a therapeutic approach to address post-secondary student mental health, yet the effect of PA on occupational outcomes has been understudied among students. Purpose This study (1) identified and described occupational performance issues (OPIs) among post-secondary students seeking mental health support and (2) a...

Body image is an intrapersonal self-regulatory factor in physical activity behavior change and exercise and sport participation intentions, retention, and drop-out. Also, the self-regulation of behavior is thought to mitigate or perpetuate body image concerns. In this chapter, the bi-directional relationship between sport and exercise behaviors and...

Purpose Home-based exercise interventions offer many health benefits; however, the environments that constitute home-based exercise are not well-understood. The purpose of this study was to explore what constitutes the “home” for cancer survivors engaging in home-based exercise and identify factors of the environment that may impact exercise partic...

Individuals who perceive themselves as “overweight” experience higher negative body-related self-conscious emotions than those who do not. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests internalized weight stigma may be an important mediator of the relationship between weight perception and self-conscious emotions. Overcoming common measurement limita...

Introduction Body image concerns may contribute to poor sport experiences and low sport participation in girls. Objectification theory and evidence from studies in non-sport contexts suggests body talk may elicit an environment that fosters negative body image. However, the phenomenon of body talk within adolescent girls sport is not well-understoo...

Body image is an important constructworthy of examination in physical activity contexts, as it is a notable correlate, antecedent, and outcome of physical activitybehavior (Sabiston et al., 2019). Physical activity is broadly described in this chapter asstructured exercise, sport, leisure and lifestyle activity. Within this chapter, the definition...

Abstract: The mental health (MH) of elite Canadian athletes is understudied, yet a prospective understanding of athletes’ MH could inform periodized interventions designed to target athlete MH at different times in a competitive season. The purpose of this project was to identify the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorde...

Resistance training is an important component of exercise that has widespread positive distinct health benefits. However, studies examining exercise motivation typically assess general forms of exercise, thus unable to identify motivational distinctions between aerobic and resistance training. Three studies were conducted to explore the distinction...

Preoccupation and concerns about body weight, shape, size, and function have been shown to contribute to the significant gender disparity in sport participation which disfavours girls. To adequately address this gender gap and support girls in sustained participation in sport, the development of sport-specific interventions is critical to the effec...

Whether physical activity (PA) tracking devices are associated with PA motivation in young adults is largely unknown. We compared total PA minutes per week, total minutes walking/week, meeting moderate-to vigorous PA guidelines, and past-year activity tracking across motivation cluster profiles among 799 young adults. Participants with “self-determ...

There has been a surge in “quarantine15” social media posts during the self-isolation and lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic. Given the influence of other body and weight-centered social media content (e.g., Fitspiration, Fatspiration) on body image and weight stigmatizing thoughts and attitudes, characterizing the features of q...

Objective Cancer and treatment can produce temporary or permanent body changes, which may affect the body image (BI) of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer (AYAs). This evidence has not been comprehensively summarized. A scoping review was conducted to explore the available evidence on BI among AYAs and identify the definitions, theo...

Objective: To examine the differences in experiences of stress, emotional well-being, and physical activity among international and domestic students. Participants: Domestic (n = 4,035) and international (n = 605) students at a large Canadian university. Methods: Responses to items on stress, emotional well-being (happiness and satisfaction with li...

Physical activity (PA) levels among adolescent girls continue to steadily decline, especially for those classified as ‘at-risk’. To mitigate these trends, Girls United and on the Move (GUM) was created as a dual-component PA and psychosocial program. The primary purpose of this study was to explore participant experiences within GUM, with a seconda...

Motor learning may be enhanced when a single session of aerobic exercise is performed immediately before or after motor skill practice. Most research to date has focused on aerobically trained (AT) individuals, but it is unknown if aerobically untrained (AU) individuals would equally benefit. We aimed to: (a) replicate previous studies and determin...

The purpose of this study was to explore body image correlates of voluntary consumption of physique-salient media. A secondary aim was to assess changes in affect following media consumption. Young adult men (n = 47; mean age = 20.2 years) and women (n = 87; mean age = 19.5 years) were discretely exposed to images of same-sex models with idealized-...

Affective judgments are one of the strongest predictors of physical activity. Engaging in body surveillance during physical activity is theorized to reduce access to pleasant affective experiences thereby compromising the influence of affective judgments. However, empirical tests of this relationship are lacking. This study examined associations be...

The socialization of girls to habitually monitor their bodies, via the process of body surveillance, contributes to an increased risk of negative physical and psychological experiences. The present study examined if body surveillance may also contribute to the decrease in physical activity that is observed in girls during adolescence, and if this a...

Aim Providing effective support for students with mental health concerns is a priority on post-secondary campuses. Recreational programming including physical activity is an evidence-informed approach that can be used to support mental health and well-being. Yet, limited research has examined effective and acceptable strategies for using campus-bas...

Exploring tenets of basic psychological needs theory, the objective of this study was to examine the association between psychological needs satisfaction, exercise behavior, and physical and mental health among testicular cancer survivors. The present study investigated whether psychological needs satisfaction was directly associated with increased...

Motor learning may be enhanced when a single session of aerobic exercise is performed immediately before or after motor skill practice. Most research to date has focused on aerobically trained (AT) individuals, but it is unknown if aerobically untrained (AU) individuals would equally benefit. We aimed to: a) replicate previous studies and determine...

Exercise is known to improve fatigue among adult cancer patients however there is limited understanding of this relationship in children, adolescents, and young adults (AYA) with cancer. The aim is to evaluate the effect of exercise on fatigue outcomes among children and AYA with cancer and to identify important parameters of exercise (frequency, i...