William Massey

• Professor (Assistant) at Oregon State University

Background Many students would benefit from trauma‐informed physical activity (PA); however, there is a lack of systematic guidance on incorporating trauma‐informed practices across school‐based PA opportunities. The purpose of this study was to generate a feasible framework for trauma‐informed school‐based PA. Methods Framework development was gu...

BACKGROUND When well implemented, recess is a critical part of the school day for children's healthy development. We explored the implementation of a recess improvement process in 5 elementary schools across 3 states. METHODS We conducted a mixed‐methods implementation study in which we visited each school 3 times over 1 school year, collecting ob...

BACKGROUND School recess quality is vital to children's social and emotional skill development. However, there is a research‐to‐practice gap where academic findings are ineffectively translated back to schools. The aims of this study were to examine how a co‐designed intervention would impact negative behaviors observed during recess and to explore...

Objectives Previous research has shown the most common memory of physical education (PE) was embarrassment, and that childhood memories of PE relate to physical activity (PA) attitude, intention, and sedentary behavior in adulthood [13]. Recess memories may have a similar effect on adult attitudes towards PA, given that recess is a physically activ...

Background Previous research has shown that school recess can provide children with physical, social and cognitive benefits; yet, recess opportunities and experiences may be different for different groups of children, specifically for children living in lower income environments, children of different racial groups other than white, and for childre...

The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into frenzied action, creating a series of ongoing stressors: school/work closings, remote learning, canceled events, family strife, fear, and a significant loss of social interactions. It is now unsurprising to learn that children's mental health has suffered. As social connection is tight...

Background: Previous research has shown that school recess can provide children with physical, social and cognitive benefits; yet, recess opportunities and experiences may be different between children with and without disabilities. Parent perceptions of recess are important to consider as they serve as advocates for their children’s access and opp...

BACKGROUND A majority of research findings have focused on recess as instrumental to achieving minutes of physical activity rather than focusing on the psycho-social benefits associated with a high-quality recess environment. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between recess quality and teacher-reported social, emotion...

Previous researchers have demonstrated that sport participation can be a place of purpose, a place of celebrated deviance, and/or a value-neutral endeavor for children who have experienced developmental trauma. While previous research has focused primarily on sport as a positive influence, the purpose of this paper is to examine where disillusionme...

Background: Schools and outdoor public spaces play a substantial role in children's physical activity. Yet, the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates bound many children to their available home spaces for learning, movement, and development. The exact effect this mandate had on children's physical activity may vary among families. Objective: To unders...

School recess can provide social, emotional, and physical benefits for children. Yet, not all children experience recess the same, as inequity in access to recess and variability in the quality of recess exist. Researchers have yet to understand the long-term implications of recess experiences on adult well-being and physical activity behaviors. Th...

Objectives To examine the relationship between school recess policies, the quality of the recess environment and body mass index (BMI) among elementary school children. Study design Observational. Methods Data were collected at 23 schools across four geographically distinct regions of the United States. Measures included recess observations using...

Objective: The purpose of the study was to understand, from the perspective of parents, how the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates affected children’s physical activity.Design: Open-ended surveySetting: Online Method: Data were collected from 335 parents living in the United States of America. Parents answered an open-ended prompt to describe their...

School recess can provide social, emotional, and physical benefits for children. Yet, not all children experience recess the same, as inequity in access to recess and variability in the quality of recess exist. Researchers have yet to understand the long-term implications of recess experiences on adult well-being and physical activity behaviors. Th...

Objective This study aimed to examine some common problems observed during school recess and translate findings to evidence-based, practical solutions that can be applied within schools on a more systematic level. Design Observational study. Setting Elementary schools in the USA. Method Data were collected from 112 school recess periods at 25 pu...

Objectives Schools can provide an optimal environment for promoting children’s health behaviours. The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model addresses 10 aspects of the school environment that can be used to promote student health behaviours and academic outcomes: namely, Health Education; Nutrition Environment and Services; Employ...

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine how perceived barriers change before and after a 3-month period of modified ride-on car use. Methods: This study used a qualitative content analysis of perceived barriers. Fourteen caregivers (13 mothers; 1 grandmother) responded to a single-question, free-response survey before and after a 3-month...

Background: To date, there is scant literature that examines the recess context concurrent with, but separate from, levels of physical activity. The primary purpose of the current study was to examine how recess quality impacted physical activity levels, and how this was moderated by gender. A secondary purpose was to examine if differences in chi...

Purpose: Modified ride-on cars have emerged as an early powered mobility option for young children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to identify, extract, and synthesize perceived barriers of modified ride-on car use reported in previous studies. Methods: This study was descriptive using a qualitative content analysis of previousl...

Background To date, there is scant literature that examines the recess context concurrent with, but separate from, levels of physical activity. The primary purpose of the current study was to examine how recess quality impacted physical activity levels, and how this was moderated by gender. A secondary purpose was to examine if differences in child...

The purpose of this study was to critically examine the qualitative research on childhood trauma survivors’ experiences of sporting activities. A comprehensive search of health and social science databases, manual journal searches, and contact with experts yielded 7,395 records. Full-text screening resulted in a final sample of 16 studies. Meta-stu...

The purpose of this study was to test the responsiveness of the great recess framework-observational tool (GRF-OT) to detect changes in recess quality. GRF-OT data were collected at two time points (fall 2017 and spring 2018) in four geographically distinct regions of the United States. Following recommendations by Massey et al. (2018), a three-day...

Active commuting to school (ACS) is an important source of physical activity among children. Recent research has focused on ACS and its benefits on cognition and academic achievement (AA), factors important for success in school. This review aims to synthesize literature on the relationship between ACS and cognition or AA among children and adolesc...

Over the past decade, much attention has been paid to school-based recess and the implications of recess on child development. Large and influential groups such as the American Academy of Paediatrics (2012), the Centers for Disease Control (2017), and SHAPE America (2017) have cited recess as a crucial component to the school day, noting the potent...

This paper reports findings of two systematic reviews of Sport for Development (SfD) evidence, with a particular focus on managerial and policy implications. We suggest that the outcomes of the systematic reviews yield significant insights regarding the current state of the SfD literature, particularly with respect to the diversity of interventions...

Background The growing number of sport-based youth development interventions provide a potential avenue for integrating sport meaningfully into the U.S. public health agenda. However, efficacy and quality must be reliably established prior to widespread implementation. Methods A comprehensive search of databases, peer-reviewed journals, published...

Objective The purpose of the current study was to examine reliability and validity evidence for an observational measure of playground play during recess. Observational data of what children played at recess were collected at 236 recess sessions across 26 urban elementary schools. An inductive content analysis of children’s type of play and activit...

The purpose of this study was to examine individual variables associated with children's levels of recess physical activity (PA), as well as environmental influences that influence children's engagement during recess. Participants (n = 146) were 4–6th grade students across seven schools. PA data were collected using the Fitbit Flex. Psychological n...

Health and education disparities continue to persist in low-income communities, and in communities with a high proportion of racial and ethnic minorities. Despite recess being a main contributor to children's school-based physical activity (PA), children in the aforementioned communities have less access to recess opportunities. The purpose of this...

Recently published reviews have begun the process of synthesizing the knowledge within the growing Sport for Development (SfD) field, but there is a need to critically evaluate the research on which these findings are based. This systematic review is a critical appraisal of both quantitative and qualitative evidence in academic and grey literature...

Increasingly, qualitative researchers are merging methods, processes and principles from multiple methodologies in all stages of a research study. Naturally, this brings tensions into the research process, with concerns about the integration (and/or lack of attention) of distinct historical, epistemological and theoretical approaches. While there i...

Background: Physical activity (PA) remains the primary behavioral outcome associated with school recess, while many other potentially relevant indicators of recess remain unexamined. Few studies have assessed observations of teacher/student interactions, peer conflict, social interactions, or safety within the recess environment. Furthermore, a ps...

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a peer-leadership training program on youth from a low-income urban school district. The methodological approach was grounded in community-based participatory research, in which a multicomponent school-based recess and physical activity program was examined. Data included 15 focus groups conduc...

Community violence negatively impacts the educational, social, and emotional needs of youth, particularly those living in under-resourced communities. Social and environmental influences can help youth develop resilience to this pervasive, destructive cycle of community violence. A particularly effective approach is programming that fosters positiv...

To enhance the specificity of psychological skills training (PST) interventions, the purpose of the current study was to examine stage of change and gender differences in the combination of transtheoretical model (TTM) constructs (i.e., decisional balance pros and cons, self-efficacy, cognitive and behavioral processes of change) among collegiate s...

Objective To identify the effects of a structured and multifaceted physical activity and recess intervention on student and adult behaviour in school. Design Mixed-methods and community-based participatory approach. Setting Large, urban, low-income school district in the USA. Methods Data were collected at three time points over a 1-year period....

This collection of papers is made up of diverse, contemporary, and thought-provoking examples of qualitative methods in the study of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). In this conclusion, we reflect on some of the key themes that cut across the contributions. Four main topics are discussed: Interpretation (the subjects and voices at the centre...

Sport remains a huge draw for young people, with the dominant narrative remaining one of sport for good. However, it is likely that alternative narratives exist, particularly as the role of sport in development is complex and multi-faceted. Moreover, within the dominant narrative that proposes the use of sport for positive development, how sport co...

Within under-resourced urban communities, sport is a huge draw for many young males, with a commonly shared belief that sport can lead to a better life. However, there is a paucity of research examining the experience of elite athletes from under-resourced areas. Additionally, there has been insufficient research that examines the interrelated syst...

Research has demonstrated the efficacy of psychological skills training (PST), yet many athletes do not appear ready to do whatever it takes to improve the mental aspects of performance. Although the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM), generally, and readiness to change, specifically, have received considerable attention in a range of...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of systems theory to facilitate more robust and rigorous program design, implementation and evaluation in the SFDP field. Given the gap between micro-level program successes and macro-level change, a need exists to explore systems theories as a way to promote integration across various sectors of deve...

Context: Research from the sport medicine professional's (SMP's) perspective indicates that SMPs are often required to address psychosocial aspects of injuries during treatment. However, only a few authors have investigated injured athletes' experiences with these concerns. Objective: To explore injured professional athletes' views on the role o...

Mobile computing devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) that have low-friction surfaces require well-directed fingertip forces of sufficient and precise magnitudes for proper use. Although general impairments in manual dexterity are well-documented in older adults, it is unclear how these sensorimotor impairments influence the ability of older adu...

Multichannel surface electromyograms (EMGs) were used to examine the sensitivity of EMG-EMG coherence to infer changes in common oscillatory drive to hand muscles in young and older adults. Previous research has shown that measures of coherence calculated from different neurophysiological signals are influenced by the age of the subject, the visual...

We used multi-channel surface electromyograms (EMGs) to examine if electrode location influences coherence measures derived from pairs of EMGs recorded from two hand muscles during a pinch task. A linear probe of 16 electrodes was used to estimate the location of the innervation zone in first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor pollicis brevis (...