Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2011, 8, 234 -243

2011 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Effortful Persistence and Body Mass as Predictors
of Running Achievement in Children and Youth:
A Longitudinal Study
Jeffrey Lie! Ping "iang! Audrea Y# Johnson! and $i%Man &o'
Background: Schools often include running in their physical education and health curriculum to increase
physical activity and reduce childhood overweight. But having students run around may not be enough to sustain
physical activity habits if motivational factors are not well understood. This study examined effortful persistence
as a predictor of running. Methods: Participants were 246 th graders! and data on their demo"graphic
information! body mass index #B$%&! effortful persistence! and time to complete a '"mile run were collected
across 4 years. Results: Between th to (th grades! effortful persistence predicted time to complete a '"mile run
even when B$% was ta)en into account at every grade except for *th grade. +an)"order stability was found in
ma,or variables across"time! but no across"time prediction was found for effortful persistence on a '"mile run.
Conclusions: -ac) of longitudinal predictions bodes well for interventions aimed at increasing physical activity!
because children or youth with high B$%s or low effortful persistence are not destined for future
underachievement on physically challenging activities. .iven the stability of variables! interventions that target
fostering self"regulatory efficacy or effortful persistence may be particularly important for getting children on
tra,ectories toward healthy and sustained levels of physical activity.
Keywords: self"regulation! self"efficacy! running motivation! school health! childhood overweight
The prevalence of overweight in children and youth
in the /nited Sates has tripled since the '061s!
'
and the
2orld 3ealth 4rgani5ation
2
declared obesity a global
epidemic. To foster physical activity which may reduce
childhood overweight! many schools have implemented
running programs into the physical education #P.6.&
curriculum.
7
8lthough a person9s running performance is
associated with their body mass! it is important for school
health professionals to consider the person9s self"
regulatory beliefs! motivation! and behavior #eg! effortful
persistence& for running. -ittle is )nown about the relative
contributions of body mass index #B$%& and effortful
persistence on running performance as children transition
from middle childhood to adolescence.
4!
:urther! the
ma,ority of previous research has focused on the
conse;uences of overweight or obesity with less attention
on understanding the determinants of physical activity
behavior. Thus! the current study examines the concurrent
and longitudinal predictions of running per"formance
from B$% and effortful persistence as well as
-iew! <ohnson! and =wo) are with the >ept of 6ducational
Psychology! Texas 8?$ /niversity! @ollege Station! TA.
Aiang is with the >ept of 3ealth ? =inesiology! Texas 8?$
/niversity! @ollege Station! TA.
the differential continuity of the 7 ma,or variables from
th to (th grades.
There is considerable evidence documenting the
health benefits of participating regularly in moderate"
intensity physical activity.
6
%n childhood and adolescence!
the most common problems associated with obesity or
overweight include increased ris)s for cardiovascular!
metabolic #including ris)s for developing diabetes&!
orthopedic #such as foot or hip&! and psychosocial #such
as peer harassment and stigmati5ation& problems.
*
%mpor"
tantly! obese children generally do not Bgrow outC of their
obesity! with approximately *1D of obese adolescents
remaining obese as adults.
*
6pidemiological studies on
adults have demonstrated that physical activity serves as a
protective factor against chronic diseases such as
coronary heart disease! non"insulin"dependent diabetes
mellitus! osteoporosis! colon cancer! anxiety! and depres"
sion.
6!(!0
Thus! identifying effective strategies that pro"
mote physical activity beginning in childhood and youth
has become prominent school and public health issues.
Because overweight is a condition that typically
arises when the number of calories consumed exceeds the
number of calories burned!
*
one strategy to increase
calorie expenditure is to promote physical activity. To
promote physical activity in children and youth! many
schools have adopted or established running programs in
the physical education curricula.
7
8lthough running
programs in schools could be a low"cost and effective
()*
way to promote physical activity in children and youth!
simply having students run around may not be enough to
sustain physical activity habits if motivational factors are
not well understood.

Thus! the current study examines

effortful persistence as a self"regulatory and motivational
construct that predicts performance in a '"mile run for th
to (th graders within" and across"grades.
Body Mass and Physical Activity
Typically! a person gains weight when energy inta)e of
food mismatches energy expenditure through physical
activity.
'1
%t has been documented that regular! moderate
to vigorous physical activity is an effective prevention or
treatment method of overweight and obesity because it is
lin)ed to improvements in insulin sensitivity! blood
pressure! and reduced ris) of health"related mortality.
''
Body mass index #B$%& has been commonly used as a
simple proxy or surrogate measure of defining overweight
and obesity in children and adolescents.
'2!'7
8lthough
there are different ways of calculating B$%! the @enters
for >isease @ontrol and Prevention
'
used a formula of
dividing weight in pounds by height in inches s;uared and
multiplying by a conversion factor of *17 to assess B$%.
4besity and overweight for age and sex can be defined by
levels of B$% relative to healthy children or adolescents
in a reference population. 8ccording to the 8merican
8cademy of Pediatrics! children who are at or above the
0th percentile on B$% are classified as obese while those
who are between the (th and 0th percentile are
classified as overweight for their age and gender in
comparison with a normative sample.
'4
Thus! children9s
and adolescents9 B$% needs to be interpreted relative to a
reference population of healthy children and adolescents.
*
%t is important to consider developmental and sex
differences in B$%. 2hen age and sex are ta)en into
account! B$% scores of children have been found to
provide accurate estimates of body composition.
'
Eet!
B$% is an index that does not distinguish between fat
mass and lean mass.
'6
Fonetheless! the relatively high
correlations between B$% and other measures of weight
status and adiposity
'7
ma)e the use of B$% a relatively
accurate! low"cost! and simple method to assess over"
weight in children and adolescents in the schools.
Effortful Persistence as +nde,
of Self%Regulatory Efficacy
8lthough highly overweight individuals tend not to be
very physically active! this does not necessarily imply that
body mass causes physical inactivity particularly when
body mass appears to be a relatively modest predictor of
physical activity habits.
''
:actors such as self"regulatory
s)ills! including self"monitoring and self"reinforcement!
have been found to contribute to continued physical
activity.
'*
3uman agency refers to intentional or willful
behavior! and the capacity for self"regulation is partly
Effortful Persistence ()-
reflected in personal agency and self"efficacy which are
)ey features of social cognitive theory.
'(
8ccording to
social cognitive theory!
'(
self-regulatory efficacy refers to
an individual9s belief that she or he has the ability to
mobili5e and maintain effort needed to persist and achieve
a goal even in the face of obstacles or challenges.
'0G22
Thus! effort and persistence reflect self" regulatory
efficacy that is important for achievement or perfor"
mance.
27G2
+esearch indicates that children who are able
to willfully sustain or increase their effort as well as
persist in the face of difficulty are more li)ely to achieve
challenging or long"term goals.
26!2*
3ereafter! we use the
term effortful persistence to refer to self"perceived effort
and persistence! defined as self"perceptions of continued
investment and overall amount of time! energy! or wor)
expended on a tas) or goal.
Effortful Persistence and Achievement
of Challenging .as's
@onsistent with motivational theories such as goal
orientation theory and an expectancy value model of
achievement choices! research indicates that effortful
persistence is important for achievement or attainment of
challenging or long"term goals.
26!2(!20
>ifferent theo"rists
use slightly different terminology! but goal orienta"tions
could be broadly classified into performance and mastery
goal orientations.
26
The ma,ority of research on children9s
or adolescents9 goal orientations tends to examine
academic or school"related achievement!
20
with growing
research in the area of physical activity.
71
+esults on
relations between performance or mastery goals and
achievement have been somewhat mixed! partly because
of methodological differences across studies and partly
because there are approach and avoidance components
within each goal orientation.
20!7'
.enerally! mastery
#intrinsic& goal orientations are viewed as being con"
sistently associated with indices of self"regulation such as
effortful persistence toward achieving challenging or
long"term goals. Thus! self "efficacy beliefs #including
self"regulatory efficacy& are developed and strengthened
by mastery experiences.
'(!21
%n contrast! performance
goal orientations tend to be viewed as less consistently
associated with effortful persistence.
20
Effortful Persistence and Performance
on /%Mile Run
+udisill
72
conducted an experiment as)ing children to
balance on a stabilometer #ie! balance board&! and found
that training children to perceive that their per"formance
was dependent on practice and effort helped them to
perform better and persist longer at mastery attempts with
subse;uent trials. %n high school students! mastery"
approach goals #ie! mastering tas)s! learning! and
understanding& have been predictive of student reports of
persistence and effort expended toward physi"cal
education.
4
Similar findings have been found in a
()0 Liew et al
sample of Tur)ish high school students!
77
with effort and
persistence being positively associated with goals to
master learning s)ills #mastery goals& and to outperform
peers #performance"approach goals& or avoid performing
poorly #performance"avoidance goals&. There has been
relatively limited research on perceived effortful persis"
tence as a predictor of running performance in children
and adolescents.
7G!77!74
.uided by social cognitive #eg!
self"regulatory efficacy& and motivational theories #eg!
goal orientation theory and an expectancy value model of
achievement choices&! we expect that children who
perceive themselves as being high on effortful persistence
would derive a sense of accomplishment from challenge
or intrinsic interest in a tas) #ie! have a mastery goal
orientation&. Thus! we hypothesi5e such children to
complete a '"mile run relatively ;uic)ly even when their
B$% is ta)en into account. Specifically! we hypothesi5e
that effortful persistence would provide uni;ue predic"
tion of time to complete a '"mile run above and beyond
contributions from body mass index within each grade.
+elatively limited wor) has been conducted on the devel"
opment of children9s goal orientations especially in the
context of health"related behavior or physical education!
20
so we tentatively hypothesi5e modest '"year differential
continuity #ie! ran)"order stability& in effortful persistence
across grades. 3owever! if there is at least modest mean
level stability in effortful persistence across grades! we
are unsure if effortful persistence will explain additional
variance in the time to complete a '"mile run ' year later!
especially if there is no significant change in the ran)"
ordering of individuals9 time to complete a '"mile run
across"grades.
Methods
Partici1ants
%nstitutional approval of study protocol and informed
consent from participants were obtained before data col"
lection. 8t the start of data collection in the th grade! 77
students were recruited from 2 intermediate schools in a
rural community of Texas! and 246 of those th graders
#'72 boys! ''4 girlsH $ age I '1.(( years! S> I .40& had
data from th to (th grades. The community was served
by a school district that included elementary schools! 2
intermediate schools! 2 middle schools! and ' high school.
8nalyses were conducted to compare the 246 students to
the students without data from th to (th grades on the
demographic and study variables. Students from a
particular school at th grade were less li)ely to have data
from th to (th grades!
2
#'& I '2.'1! P J .1'! but no
other differences were found.
Procedures
8cross 4 years #grades to (&! data were primarily col"
lected by researchers using the same procedures and
measures during students9 regularly scheduled P.6.K
wellness or athletics classes at the end of each school year.
Students reported on their demographic information and
perceived effortful persistence on running activities using
;uestionnaires. Luestionnaires were administered to the
children during their regularly scheduled P.6.Kwellness or
athletics classes by the researchers without the presence of
physical education teachers or coaches. Specifically! each
item was read aloud to the students when they were in grades
and 6. But when students entered *th and (th grades! they
completed the ;uestionnaires by themselves as they were
able to read and understand all the ;uestion"naire items.
Students were encouraged to as) ;uestions if they had
difficulty understanding instructions or ;uestion"naire items.
Fo ;uestions were raised while the students completed the
;uestionnaires that too) approximately 71 minutes to
administer.
8s part of their th and 6th grade P.6.Kwellness
classes! students were re;uired to participate in run"
ning programs. %n the *th and (th grades! students had
a choice of either enrolling in a P.6.Kwellness class or
an athletics class #but both types of classes involved
running activities&. %mportantly! '"mile run was timed
only in P.6.Kwellness classes and resulted in some
miss"ing data on '"mile run for students in athletics
classes. Students9 height and weight in the th and 6th
grades were measured by the researchers with the
assistance of the P.6.Kwellness teachers. %n the *th and
(th grades! students9 height and weight were measured
by their P.6. teachers as part of their fitness testing if
they were enrolled in P.6.Kwellness classes or were
measured by the researchers if they were enrolled in
athletics classes. These measurements were then used
to calculate B$% through the formula defined by the
@enter for >isease @ontrol and Prevention #@>@P&.
'
Measures
The same measures were collected across 4 years
#from grades to (&. $easures included demographic
vari"ables! B$%! effortful persistence! and time to
complete a '"mile run.
2emogra1hic 3aria4les
Students reported on their age! gender! grade level! school
attended! and ethnicity which was coded as 2hite"8mer"
ican #6.7D&! Blac)"8merican #0.0D&! 8sian"8merican
#0.0D&! 3ispanic"8merican #(.*D&! or 4ther #6.2D&. :or
school attended! students in this sample typically attended
one of 2 intermediate schools and then transitioned to one
of 2 middle schools at *th grade in the community.
Effortful Persistence
Students reported on their effortful persistence in run"ning
activities on a "point scale #'I not li)e me to I very
much li)e me& using items #! ranged from .60 to .(*
from th to (th grades& adapted from Aiang and -ee.
7
Sample items included B% overcome difficulties to
participate regularly #in running&!C B% spend extra time
and effort trying to do well #in running&!C and B% try to run
as many laps as % can every time when we go out
running.C :or each grade! scores for effortful persistence
were computed as the average of the items.
Body Mass +nde, 5BM+6
B$% was calculated from th to (th grades by divid"
ing weight in pounds by height in inches s;uared and
multiplying by a conversion factor of *17.
'
3eight and
weight measurements were collected at schools by the
P.6. teachers or researchers using professional"grade
mechanical scales. This type of scale is typically used
at medical settings such as hospitals and can accurately
and efficiently measure height and weight. Thus! such
scales are widely used in schools by school nurses and
P.6. and health instructors.
.ime to Com1lete /%mile Run
Time to complete a '"mile #'.6 )m& run was recorded
by either the students9 P.6.Kwellness teacher or a
researcher. :or students in athletics classes in *th and
(th grades! there were missing data on '"mile run.
Results
8ttrition! descriptive! and correlational findings are
conducted first. @oncurrent and longitudinal prediction of
time to complete a '"mile run from B$% and effortful
persistence were then tested with path analyses.
Mariables were screened for normality and outli"
ers! and all responses were within reasonable ranges.
76
8ccording to cutoff values of 2 for s)ew and * for )ur"
tosis!
7*
only B$% at 6th grade was modestly positively
s)ewed #s)ew statistic I 2.70 and )urtosis statistic I
'2.(&.
.ransition 7rom Physical Education
to Athletics Classes
+ecall that in the *th and (th grades! students had a
choice of enrolling in a P.6.Kwellness class or an athlet"ics
class. Therefore! participants who were in athletics classes
had missing data on B$% and time to complete a '"mile
run in *th and (th grades. 8ttrition analyses were
conducted to examine whether there were differences in
the means of ma,or variables between participants who
had versus those who had no data on the '"mile run at (th
grade. >ifferences were found at 6th grade! 2il)s9s Fs#7!
27*& I *.40! P J .1'. Specifically! participants who were
in athletics reported higher effortful persistence and
completed the '"mile run faster at 6th grade than those
who were not in athletics classes! ts#'!270& I (.'6 and
21.46! Ps J .1'! respectively. .iven the plausible differ"
ence between the full and subsamples! we analy5ed the
hypothesi5ed path model with the full sample and then
Effortful Persistence ()8
the subsample who had '"mile run data at (th grade to
compare the pattern of results. The reason of testing the
possible difference between the complete data #ie! the
data only included students who had no missing values&
and the full data #with all students including the ones who
had missing values on '"mile run& is to examine whether
the missingness #or the missing data mechanisms& has any
substantial impact on the estimation of the path model.
8lthough we cannot directly examine the type of miss"ing
data mechanism in our data! the comparison of the 2
datasets can still provide some indirect information on the
influence of the missing data.
2escri1tive Statistics
$eans and standard deviations for the ma,or variables
are presented in Table '. Partial correlations
controlling for age and gender among ma,or variables
are presented in Table 2.
Relations of 9ender :ith Ma;or 3aria4les
To test whether boys and girls differed on #a& effortful
persistence! #b& B$%! and #c& time to complete a '"mile
run! multivariate analyses of variance #$8F4M8s& were
conducted for variables at each grade. .ender differences
were found only at the th grade! 2il)s9s Fs #7! 226& I
4.''! P J .1'! with boys completing the '"mile run faster
than girls! Fs#'! 22(& I 6.*1! P J .1. To account for such
relations between gender and ma,or variables! paths were
included for gender on time to complete a '"mile run at
th grade in the path analysis.
Relations of Ethnicity :ith Ma;or
3aria4les
To test whether ethnic groups differed on #a& effortful
persistence! #b& B$%! and #c& time to complete a '"mile
run! multivariate analyses of variance #$8F4M8s& were
conducted for variables at each grade. Fo ethnic differ"
ences were found except for at (th grade! 2il)s9s Fs#'2!
221& I '.02! P J .1. Eet! univariate results indicate no
ethnic differences on ma,or variables at (th grade.
Relations of Age :ith Ma;or 3aria4les
@orrelations indicate that age was generally not associ"
ated with ma,or variables with a few exceptions. 8t th
grade! older students tended to report higher levels of
effortful persistence! r#244& I .'7! P J .1. 8mong 6th
graders! age was inversely correlated with B$% and
with time to complete a '"mile run so that older
students tended to have lower B$% and completed the
'"mile run more ;uic)ly! rs#24'& I G.'4 and G.'0! Ps J
.1 and .1'! respectively. To account for such relations
between age and ma,or variables! paths were included
for age on B$% and on time to complete a '"mile run
at 6th grade in the path analysis.
.a4le / Means and Standard 2eviations of Ma;or 3aria4les for .otal Sam1le and 4y 9ender
.otal Sam1le 5< = (*0>?@6 Boys 5n = /)/>*A6 9irls 5n = //*>*/6
3aria4les Mean S2 Mean S2 Mean S2
6ffortful persistence . 7.'2 .(46 7.' .( 7.'' .(
.6 7.62 .0( 7.6' .0* 7.64 .0(
.* 7.*' .02 7.66 .07 7.*( .07
.( 7.( .01 7.6 .(( 7.62 .02
B$% . '0.6 4.'4 '0.04 4.44 '0.72 7.*(
.6 '0.(* 4.7' '0.*7 4.62 21.12 7.06
.* 2'.42 .*' 2'.4* 6.4 2'.7 4.0
.( 22.6 .64 22.6 .*6 22.1 .6'
Time on mile run . '1.4* 2.'2 '1.21 2.'6 '1.(1 2.17
.6 0.*7 2.74 0.6* 2.27 0.*( 2.70
.* ''.'6 2.( ''.42 7.12 '1.02 2.*1
.( '1.( 2.4( ''.'' 2.6' '1.'7 2.7'
8bbreviationsN .! grade.
.a4le ( Partial Correlations Among Ma;or 3aria4les :ithin and Across 9rades Controlling for ChildBs
Age and 9ender
Effortful 1ersistence Body Mass +nde, Mile run
-th 0th 8th Ath -th 0th 8th Ath -th 0th 8th Ath
6ffortful persistence

th

6th .2*OO

*th .'4O .7OO

(th .21OO .46OO .(OO

Body $ass %ndex

th G.1( G.16 G.14 .1'

6th G.1* G.'7O G.'1 G.1( .77OO

*th G.16 G.2'O G.27O G.'1 .'OO .*6OO

(th G.'4 G.26O G.2*OO G.26O .4OO .(2OO .(1OO

$ile run

th G.4'OO G.'0OO G.'2P G.1* .4'OO .'4O .2O .2'P

6th G.2'OO G.4OO G.41OO G.70OO .20OO .47OO .1OO .6OO .70OO

*th G.' G.44OO G.42OO G.7'OO .2*OO .'OO .4OO .2OO .2(OO .*(OO

(th G.10 G.70OO G.4'OO G.1OO .'(P .42OO .4'OO .2OO .2(OO .*6OO .6*OO
Note. P P J .'1! OP J .1! OOP J .1'.
()A
Across%.ime Mean%Level Changes
in Ma;or 3aria4les
To examine mean"level changes in ma,or variables from
year"to "year! paired"sample t"tests were conducted.
+esults indicate that effortful persistence increased from
th to 6th grades! t#24& I 6.06! P J .1'! with no signifi"
cant mean"level changes found in later grades. Beginning
at 6th grade! there were at least marginal mean "level
increases in B$%. Specifically! B$% increased from 6th to
*th grades! t#0*& I 7.0! P J .1' and marginally increased
from *th to (th grades! t#*(& I '.*2! P J .'1. :or the '"
mile run! students ran faster the following year at th and
*th grades! ts#272! (*& I 4.6' and 2.21! Ps J .1' and
.1! respectively! but not at 6th grade when students
ran slower the following year! t#06& I 7.**! P J .1'.
Relations Beteen Predictor
and $utcome 3aria4les
To examine relations between predictor and outcome
variables! partial correlations among the ma,or variables
controlling for age and gender were conducted. Because
results are presented in Table 2! we summari5e the pat"
terns of findings. :rom th to (th grades! higher levels of
effortful persistence were associated with less time to
complete a '"mile run concurrently and across at least '
or more years. 3igher levels of body mass were associ"
ated with more time to complete a '"mile run within and
across all grades #with the relation 4 years later being
marginally significant&.
Path Analyses
To handle missing data due to students being in athletics
classes! full information maximum li)elihood #:%$-&
estimation in $Plus #v.'&
7(
was used. %mportantly! path
analysis was conducted on the full sample #F I 246& and
also on the sample of students who remained in
P.6.Kwellness classes #ie! had '"mile run data at (th gradeH
n I ''6& and patterns of prediction were the same for both
models. The finding of similar pattern of results suggests
that the missingness in '"mile run data might not have
substantial influence on the estimation of the path model.
Thus! results are presented for the full sample which
would provide greater statistical power for analyses. Path
analysis was conducted using structural e;uation
modeling #S6$& to examine the concurrent and
longitudinal predictions of running performance from
B$% and effortful persistence as well as the differential
continuity of these 7 ma,or variables from th to (th
grades. Path analysis accounted for consistencies in all
measures #from ' year prior&. Based on findings from
descriptive analyses! path analysis accounted for age on
effortful persistence at (th and 6th grades! age on '"mile
run at 6th grade! and gender on effortful persistence at th
grade. To assess how well the models fit the data! we
included information from 7 different model fit indices
#ie! S+$+ or standardi5ed root mean s;uare residual!
Effortful Persistence ()?
@:% or comparative fit index! and +$S68 or root
mean s;uare error of approximation& as recommended
by a number of methodologists.
70!41
The longitudinal model #see :igure '&! with B$% and
effortful persistence as predictors of time to com"plete '"
mile run! provided good fit to the data!
2
#7! F I 246& I
(0.2'! P I .11H @:% I .06H +$S68 I .1H S+$+ I .16.
8s recommended by the modification indices! the residual
variances between B$% at 6th and *th grades! B$% at *th
and (th grades! between effortful persistence at *th and
(th grades! and between '"mile run at *th and (th grades
were allowed to correlate and made theoretical sense
given that these were the same measures but ta)en ' year
apart. +esults indicate that there was '"year differential
#ie! ran)"order& continuity for the 7 ma,or variables from
th to (th grades. %nde"pendent of consistencies in
measures from ' year prior! model paths indicate that high
effortful persistence and low B$% both provide uni;ue
prediction of faster time to complete '"mile run in the
expected directions at th and 6th grades. 3owever! at *th
grade! neither effortful persistence nor B$% predicted
time to complete '"mile run. By (th grade! effortful
persistence predicts '"mile run once again but not B$%.
.iven continuity in all ma,or variables! no across"time
predictions of '"mile run were found from effortful
persistence or B$%.
2iscussion
%n general! effortful persistence predicted performance
on a '"mile run even when B$% was ta)en into
account. Between th to (th grades! this pattern of
results was found at every grade except for *th grade.
+esults have implications for enhancing physical
activity that may reduce the li)elihood of childhood
and adolescent overweight.
Effortful Persistence and Achievement
of Physically Challenging .as's
6ffortful persistence was conceptuali5ed as an index of
self"regulatory efficacy!
21
or individuals9 belief in their
abilities to use internal resources to put forth effort and
persevere at a behavior or activity even in the face of
obstacles or challenges.
'0
@onsistent with social cogni"
tive theory!
'(
results from partial correlations controlling
for age and gender indicate that effortful persistence was
correlated with less time to complete a '"mile run within
and across at least ' or more years from th to (th grades
#see Table 2&. 8t all grades except for *th! results from
path analysis show that students9 effortful persistence
predicted less time to complete a '"mile run! above and
beyond contributions from their B$% #see :igure '&. Such
findings are also consistent with goal orientation
theory.
26!2(!20
Because mastery goal orientations are viewed
as being consistently associated with indices of self"
regulation such as effortful persistence toward achieving
challenging or long"term goals!
20
we speculate
(
*
@
7igure / Q Path analysis of effortful persistence and B$% as predictors of time to complete the '"mile run within and across grades to (.
2
#7! N = 246& I (0.2'! P I .11! @:% I
.06! +$S68 I .1 #01D @% I .17 to .1*&! S+$+ I .16. /nstandardi5ed coefficients are presented above parenthesesH the numbers in parentheses are standard errors. :or
readability of figure! paths from age on effortful persistence at th and 6th grades! age on '"mile run at 6th grade! and gender on effortful persistence at th grade were tested but
not included in figure. P P J .'1! O P J .1! ** P < .1'.
that students with high levels of effortful persistence are also
li)ely those with mastery goal orientations toward physical
activity and running. :urther! such a finding would be
compatible with the notion that self"efficacy beliefs #such as
self"regulatory efficacy& are developed and strengthened
when children are offered opportuni"ties for mastery
experiences.
'(!21
%n the current study! the '"mile run for th
to (th graders was a tas) that re;uires sustained physical
exertion for at least approximately '1 minutes #range I 0.*7
to ''.'6 minutesH see Table '&. 6ven when body mass was
ta)en into account! effortful persistence continued to
contribute to less time to com"plete the '"mile run. Thus!
findings suggest that students who are able to self"regulate
by putting forth effort and persistence are not only able to
accomplish the '"mile run! but accomplish it in less time.
Such a view would be con"sistent with results from .uan and
colleagues
4
who found that mastery"approach goals
significantly contributed to student reports of persistence and
effort expended toward physical education. The lac) of
findings at *th grade is li)ely associated with the fact that
students had a choice of either enrolling in a physical
education class or an athlet"ics class beginning at the *th
grade. +ecall that attrition analyses indicated that participants
who were in athletics reported higher effortful persistence
and completed the '"mile run faster at 6th grade than those
who were not in athletics classes. %mportantly! we verified
that the patterns of prediction that were found remained the
same even when path analysis was conducted on the
subsample of students who remained in P.6.Kwellness classes.
Body Mass and Achievement of
Physically Challenging .as's
8lthough B$% is an index that does not distinguish between
fat mass and lean mass!
'6
B$% is a relatively low"cost!
simple! and accurate method to assess over"weight in the
schools.
'2!'7
Because regular moderate to vigorous physical
activity is part of an effective preven"tion or treatment
method of overweight!
''
body mass! and performance on the
'"mile run would li)ely be associ"ated with one another. 8s
expected! results from partial correlations controlling for age
and gender indicate that higher B$% was correlated with
more time to complete the '"mile run within and across all
grades #with the rela"tion B$% at th grade and time to
complete the '"mile run at (th grade being marginally
significantH see Table 2&. 3owever! results from path analysis
suggest that body mass appear to become increasingly less
predictive of achievement of physically challenging tas)s
such as the '"mile run from th to (th grades. 8lthough
higher B$% predicted more time to complete the '"mile run
at th and at 6th grades! above and beyond contributions
from effortful persistence! B$% no longer predicted perfor"
mance on the '"mile run at *th or at (th grades. %n fact! by
(th grade! it was effortful persistence! not B$%! that
predicted performance on the '"mile run #see :igure '&.
Effortful Persistence (*/
2evelo1mental Changes and Sta4ility
7rom -th to Ath 9rades
There were mean"level changes in effortful persistence!
B$%! and time to complete a '"mile run. 6ffortful per"
sistence increased from th to 6th grades! with no mean"
level changes in later grades. Starting at 6th grade! there
were at least marginal mean"level increases in B$%. :or
'"mile run! students ran faster the following year at th
and *th grades! but not at 6th grade when students ran
slower the following year. This is consistent with the fact
that students had a choice of enrolling in athletics classes
at *th grade and those who transitioned to athletics classes
also completed the '"mile run faster than those who were
not in athletics classes at 6th grade. :urthermore! this
transition and shift in motivational pattern may be exem"
plified by those experienced by adolescents in high school
who pursue their own goals while balancing competing
goals from their parents! teachers! or peers.
!4'
4ne"year
differential #ie! ran)"order& continuity was found for
effortful persistence! B$%! and time to complete a '"mile
run. Such stability in the ma,or variables li)ely contrib"
uted to the lac) of across"time prediction from effortful
persistence or B$% on time to complete a '"mile run a
year later. Thus! early interventions that target children9s
self"regulatory efficacy such as increased motivation!
effort! and persistence or children9s overweight are
important as these factors appear to remain relatively
stable over time without special intervention or treatment.
Study Limitations and 7uture 2irections
8 strength of the current study is its longitudinal design
that allowed for the examination of stability and changes
in measures! as well as the relative contributions of self"
regulatory efficacy and B$% on achievement of a
physically challenging tas) within" and across"time in
children and youth. 3owever! note that timings of the '"
mile run were measured by either the P.6. teacher or a
researcher! and interrater reliabilities could not be
calculated. 8lthough it may re;uire greater resources
from researchers! future studies could have both a P.6.
teacher and a trained research assistant simultaneously
time students9 '"mile run so interrater reliabilities could
be calculated. 8nd while extremely challenging due to the
lac) of extra time in students9 schedules! future studies
could consider ways to continue collecting data on the
achievement of the '"mile run from students who are no
longer enrolled in P.6.Kwellness classes. :urthermore!
participants were transitioning from middle childhood to
early adolescence between th to (th grades. Thus!
additional research is needed to understand the develop"
mental #eg! psychological! physical! and social& changes
that children undergo as they transition from childhood to
adolescence which may influence the stability or change
in! as well as the relations between! their effortful per"
sistence! B$%! and performance on the '"mile run. 8nd
(*( Liew et al
while the '"mile run was used as an index of
achievement of a physically challenging activity! there
are many other developmentally appropriate physical
activities that may be implemented for children and
youth to enhance physi"cal activity in the schools.
:uture research may examine whether similar patterns
of results are found for other types of physical activity.
+m1lications for Policy and Practice
%t is important to note that neither effortful persistence nor
B$% predicted time to complete a '"mile run across"time
when accounting for consistencies in measures. +ecall
that physical activity has been found to be one component
of an effective prevention or treatment method of over"
weight and obesity. Thus! a lac) of longitudinal predic"
tions actually bodes well for efforts aimed at increasing
physical activity in children and youth. %n other words!
children or youth who begin with high B$%s or low levels
of effortful persistence are not destined for future
underachievement on physically challenging activities.
Eet! stability was found for all ma,or variables from th to
(th grades! partly because children9s behaviors tend to be
relatively resistant to change without intervention.
42
Thus!
school health and early childhood intervention strategies
for maintaining and enhancing self"regulatory efficacy for
physical activity might be particularly important in start"
ing children on tra,ectories toward healthy and sustained
levels of physical activity. :or example! health educators
could help foster students9 self"regulatory efficacy for
physical activity by emphasi5ing and rewarding par"
ticipation! effort! and persistence. Because running does
not re;uire special e;uipment or facilities! schools often
implement running programs into their P.6. curriculum.

+egardless of the type of physical activity! activities

should be developmentally appropriate and foster a sense
of mastery and self"efficacy including instilling a sense of
choice and purpose.
47
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