Kirsten Verkooijen
Biographic Data
| ID | 1732405 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kirsten Verkooijen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kirsten |
| FAMILY NAME | Verkooijen |
| SIGNATURE | VERKOOIJEN K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wageningen University & Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0735-7024 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 27 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Factors Facilitating the Sustainable Implementation of Social Sports Programmes
Participation in social sports programmes can benefit people in socially vulnerable positions. In this study, social sports programmes are defined as sports programmes which are designed with the specific aim to support these people. However, the continuity of social sports programmes appears problematic. This study aimed to identify factors that facilitate the sustainable implementation of social sports programmes in a local setting. For this pu…
Impact Evaluation of Community Sport Programmes and “Sport Social Work Practices”
Initiatives that employ sport as a means to achieve social objectives span a broad spectrum—from those primarily centred on sporting activities to those closely aligned with principles of social work. This thematic issue, titled Impact Evaluation of Community Sport Programmes and ‘Sport Social Work Practices’ , reflects this diversity in both terminology and approach. It brings together twelve original contributions that critically examine the de…
What makes community sports programs successful? A group concept mapping study to identify effective elements
Adults in socially vulnerable positions can benefit from participation in community sports programs. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the effective elements of these programs. To identify these elements, we consulted three groups of stakeholders: social sports coaches, program coordinators, and social workers. The effective elements were systematically arranged by means of group concept mapping (GCM), a mixed-methods approach for organ…
Public Views on Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, and Bariatric Surgery Patients
Bariatric surgery is globally stigmatized. There’s a lack of international comparative research on public perceptions of this procedure, and existing studies often overlook public perceptions of individuals undergoing it. Our cross-sectional survey investigated attitudes toward obesity, bariatric surgery, and individuals undergoing it in the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. Of 1807 respondents, the UK displayed more negative attitudes…
The positive impact of a care–physical activity initiative for people with a low socioeconomic status on health, quality of life and societal participation
X-Fittt 2.0 improved the health, QoL and societal participation of the participants. Future initiatives should take into account the aforementioned barriers, and consider a longer intervention period for more sustainable results. More complete data are needed to confirm the findings
A salutogenic perspective on sport-for-development research
Research on positive youth development through sport is confronted with a number of limitations: it lacks a clear theoretical basis of mechanisms underlying life skill development through sport, it has a narrow focus on the sports setting thereby neglecting the interplay between life domains in reaching positive youth development, and the mechanisms underlying the transfer process of newly acquired skills and competences from the sports setting t…
Effective elements of care-physical activity initiatives for adults with a low socioeconomic status
In care-physical activity (care-PA) initiatives, primary care and sports are combined to stimulate PA among adults at risk of lifestyle related diseases. Preliminary results from Dutch care-PA initiatives for adults with a low socioeconomic status (SES) indicate a decrease in participants' body weight and an improved quality of life, however, the elements that make these initiatives successful are yet to be identified. In total, 19 Dutch health p…
Boundary Spanning in Sport for Development
We can no longer claim that academic interest in the area of sport and social inclusion is lacking. Dedicated books, special issues, commissioned reports, and landmark articles on the topic of social inclusion and sport have been produced by devoted scholars. The same can be said for the burgeoning area of sport for development and peace. These relatively young academic fields seem to be struggling to create new fundamental theoretical insights a…
Using Realist Interviews to Improve Theory on the Mechanisms and Outcomes of Sport for Development Programmes
The complex nature of Sport for Development (SfD) programmes makes impact evaluation challenging. Realist evaluation has been proposed as a new, theory-driven approach to evaluate complex programmes. The present study aimed to explore the value of conducting realist interviews to gain improved insight into the mechanisms and outcomes of three SfD programmes in the Netherlands: a programme that promotes sports participation among socially vulnerab…
How young adults reflect on the role of sport in their socially vulnerable childhood
Participation in sport has often been related to positive developmental outcomes for socially vulnerable youth. However, we know very little about the role of sports participation in a socially vulnerable childhood. Taking a life-course perspective, we conducted interviews with 10 young adults to reflect on their socially vulnerable childhood and the role of sport in their lives. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we discovered that …
Examining the relationship between sports participation and youth developmental outcomes for socially vulnerable youth
Trialregister.nl NTR4621 Date of Registration: 2 June 2014 (retrospectively registered)
Care–physical activity initiatives in the neighbourhood
Initiatives addressing multiple factors at different levels in an integral way are a challenge for evaluation. Multi-methods and tools are required, and data need to be interpreted comprehensively in order to contribute to a contextual insight into what works and why in relation to HiAP and care-PA initiatives
Exploring the Sports Experiences of Socially Vulnerable Youth
Sports participation is considered beneficial for the development of socially vulnerable youth, not only in terms of physical health but also in terms of cognitive, social and emotional health. Despite the strong belief that sports clubs offer a setting for positive youth development, there is limited knowledge about how socially vulnerable youths experience their participation in these clubs. Interviews were conducted with 22 socially vulnerable…
Co-ordinated action between youth-care and sports
In the Netherlands, youth-care organisations and community sports clubs are collaborating to increase socially vulnerable youths' participation in sport. This is rooted in the idea that sports clubs are settings for youth development. As not much is known about co-ordinated action involving professional care organisations and community sports clubs, this study aims to generate insight into facilitators of and barriers to successful co-ordinated a…
The role of community sports coaches in creating optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability – a salutogenic perspective
Sport is widely recognised as having the potential to enhance the personal development of socially vulnerable youth, yet there is very limited knowledge on how community sports coaches can create optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability. We adopt a salutogenic approach in order to study whether and how community sports coaches create these optimal social conditions. Based on the salutogenic framework, a thematic an…
Strengthening sense of coherence
Sense of coherence (SOC) reflects a coping capacity of people to deal with everyday life stressors and consists of three elements: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. SOC is often considered to be a stable entity that is developed in young adulthood and stabilizes around the age of 30. Recent studies have questioned this stability of SOC and some studies report on interventions that have been successful in strengthening SOC in ad…
Intersectoral Action to Enhance the Social Inclusion of Socially Vulnerable Youth through Sport
Research shows that participation in sport is positively related to self-esteem, self-regulation skills, and social inclusion. As socially vulnerable youngsters participate less frequently in sports activities than their average peers, youth work organisations try to guide their clients (i.e., socially vulnerable youngsters) to local sports clubs and inclusive sports activities. Inclusive sports activities, however, cannot be provided by youth wo…
The power of regression to the mean
This research follows up on a study by Schultz et al. ( ), in which the effect of a social norm intervention on energy consumption was examined. The present studies included control groups to examine whether social norm effects would persist beyond regression to the mean. Both studies had a 2 (baseline consumption: below mean versus above mean) × 2 (message condition: no‐message control versus norm message) design . Based on baseline fruit ( Stud…
Enhancing life prospects of socially vulnerable youth through sport participation
Trialregister.nl NTR4621 Date of Registration: 2 June 2014
Youth crowds and cigarette smoking
This study examined the prospective relationship between crowd affiliation and smoking behavior among a national sample of 16-22 year old Danes (N = 952). Self-reported data were collected by means of a postal questionnaire at baseline and at 18 months follow-up. The sample included participants, who at baseline reported to identify with a crowd with either a low-smoking norm (n = 705) or a high-smoking norm (n = 247). The results showed that par…
The role of community sports coaches in creating optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability – a salutogenic perspective
Sport is widely recognised as having the potential to enhance the personal development of socially vulnerable youth, yet there is very limited knowledge on how community sports coaches can create optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability. We adopt a salutogenic approach in order to study whether and how community sports coaches create these optimal social conditions. Based on the salutogenic framework, a thematic an…
Exploring the Sports Experiences of Socially Vulnerable Youth
Sports participation is considered beneficial for the development of socially vulnerable youth, not only in terms of physical health but also in terms of cognitive, social and emotional health. Despite the strong belief that sports clubs offer a setting for positive youth development, there is limited knowledge about how socially vulnerable youths experience their participation in these clubs. Interviews were conducted with 22 socially vulnerable…
Co-ordinated action between youth-care and sports
In the Netherlands, youth-care organisations and community sports clubs are collaborating to increase socially vulnerable youths' participation in sport. This is rooted in the idea that sports clubs are settings for youth development. As not much is known about co-ordinated action involving professional care organisations and community sports clubs, this study aims to generate insight into facilitators of and barriers to successful co-ordinated a…
Using Realist Interviews to Improve Theory on the Mechanisms and Outcomes of Sport for Development Programmes
The complex nature of Sport for Development (SfD) programmes makes impact evaluation challenging. Realist evaluation has been proposed as a new, theory-driven approach to evaluate complex programmes. The present study aimed to explore the value of conducting realist interviews to gain improved insight into the mechanisms and outcomes of three SfD programmes in the Netherlands: a programme that promotes sports participation among socially vulnerab…
The power of regression to the mean
This research follows up on a study by Schultz et al. ( ), in which the effect of a social norm intervention on energy consumption was examined. The present studies included control groups to examine whether social norm effects would persist beyond regression to the mean. Both studies had a 2 (baseline consumption: below mean versus above mean) × 2 (message condition: no‐message control versus norm message) design . Based on baseline fruit ( Stud…
Intersectoral Action to Enhance the Social Inclusion of Socially Vulnerable Youth through Sport
Research shows that participation in sport is positively related to self-esteem, self-regulation skills, and social inclusion. As socially vulnerable youngsters participate less frequently in sports activities than their average peers, youth work organisations try to guide their clients (i.e., socially vulnerable youngsters) to local sports clubs and inclusive sports activities. Inclusive sports activities, however, cannot be provided by youth wo…
A salutogenic perspective on sport-for-development research
Research on positive youth development through sport is confronted with a number of limitations: it lacks a clear theoretical basis of mechanisms underlying life skill development through sport, it has a narrow focus on the sports setting thereby neglecting the interplay between life domains in reaching positive youth development, and the mechanisms underlying the transfer process of newly acquired skills and competences from the sports setting t…
Boundary Spanning in Sport for Development
We can no longer claim that academic interest in the area of sport and social inclusion is lacking. Dedicated books, special issues, commissioned reports, and landmark articles on the topic of social inclusion and sport have been produced by devoted scholars. The same can be said for the burgeoning area of sport for development and peace. These relatively young academic fields seem to be struggling to create new fundamental theoretical insights a…
Youth crowds and cigarette smoking
This study examined the prospective relationship between crowd affiliation and smoking behavior among a national sample of 16-22 year old Danes (N = 952). Self-reported data were collected by means of a postal questionnaire at baseline and at 18 months follow-up. The sample included participants, who at baseline reported to identify with a crowd with either a low-smoking norm (n = 705) or a high-smoking norm (n = 247). The results showed that par…
Enhancing life prospects of socially vulnerable youth through sport participation
Trialregister.nl NTR4621 Date of Registration: 2 June 2014
Strengthening sense of coherence
Sense of coherence (SOC) reflects a coping capacity of people to deal with everyday life stressors and consists of three elements: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. SOC is often considered to be a stable entity that is developed in young adulthood and stabilizes around the age of 30. Recent studies have questioned this stability of SOC and some studies report on interventions that have been successful in strengthening SOC in ad…
Intersectoral Action to Enhance the Social Inclusion of Socially Vulnerable Youth through Sport
Research shows that participation in sport is positively related to self-esteem, self-regulation skills, and social inclusion. As socially vulnerable youngsters participate less frequently in sports activities than their average peers, youth work organisations try to guide their clients (i.e., socially vulnerable youngsters) to local sports clubs and inclusive sports activities. Inclusive sports activities, however, cannot be provided by youth wo…
The power of regression to the mean
This research follows up on a study by Schultz et al. ( ), in which the effect of a social norm intervention on energy consumption was examined. The present studies included control groups to examine whether social norm effects would persist beyond regression to the mean. Both studies had a 2 (baseline consumption: below mean versus above mean) × 2 (message condition: no‐message control versus norm message) design . Based on baseline fruit ( Stud…
The role of community sports coaches in creating optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability – a salutogenic perspective
Sport is widely recognised as having the potential to enhance the personal development of socially vulnerable youth, yet there is very limited knowledge on how community sports coaches can create optimal social conditions for life skill development and transferability. We adopt a salutogenic approach in order to study whether and how community sports coaches create these optimal social conditions. Based on the salutogenic framework, a thematic an…
Exploring the Sports Experiences of Socially Vulnerable Youth
Sports participation is considered beneficial for the development of socially vulnerable youth, not only in terms of physical health but also in terms of cognitive, social and emotional health. Despite the strong belief that sports clubs offer a setting for positive youth development, there is limited knowledge about how socially vulnerable youths experience their participation in these clubs. Interviews were conducted with 22 socially vulnerable…
Co-ordinated action between youth-care and sports
In the Netherlands, youth-care organisations and community sports clubs are collaborating to increase socially vulnerable youths' participation in sport. This is rooted in the idea that sports clubs are settings for youth development. As not much is known about co-ordinated action involving professional care organisations and community sports clubs, this study aims to generate insight into facilitators of and barriers to successful co-ordinated a…
Examining the relationship between sports participation and youth developmental outcomes for socially vulnerable youth
Trialregister.nl NTR4621 Date of Registration: 2 June 2014 (retrospectively registered)
Care–physical activity initiatives in the neighbourhood
Initiatives addressing multiple factors at different levels in an integral way are a challenge for evaluation. Multi-methods and tools are required, and data need to be interpreted comprehensively in order to contribute to a contextual insight into what works and why in relation to HiAP and care-PA initiatives
How young adults reflect on the role of sport in their socially vulnerable childhood
Participation in sport has often been related to positive developmental outcomes for socially vulnerable youth. However, we know very little about the role of sports participation in a socially vulnerable childhood. Taking a life-course perspective, we conducted interviews with 10 young adults to reflect on their socially vulnerable childhood and the role of sport in their lives. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we discovered that …
Effective elements of care-physical activity initiatives for adults with a low socioeconomic status
In care-physical activity (care-PA) initiatives, primary care and sports are combined to stimulate PA among adults at risk of lifestyle related diseases. Preliminary results from Dutch care-PA initiatives for adults with a low socioeconomic status (SES) indicate a decrease in participants' body weight and an improved quality of life, however, the elements that make these initiatives successful are yet to be identified. In total, 19 Dutch health p…
Boundary Spanning in Sport for Development
We can no longer claim that academic interest in the area of sport and social inclusion is lacking. Dedicated books, special issues, commissioned reports, and landmark articles on the topic of social inclusion and sport have been produced by devoted scholars. The same can be said for the burgeoning area of sport for development and peace. These relatively young academic fields seem to be struggling to create new fundamental theoretical insights a…
Using Realist Interviews to Improve Theory on the Mechanisms and Outcomes of Sport for Development Programmes
The complex nature of Sport for Development (SfD) programmes makes impact evaluation challenging. Realist evaluation has been proposed as a new, theory-driven approach to evaluate complex programmes. The present study aimed to explore the value of conducting realist interviews to gain improved insight into the mechanisms and outcomes of three SfD programmes in the Netherlands: a programme that promotes sports participation among socially vulnerab…
A salutogenic perspective on sport-for-development research
Research on positive youth development through sport is confronted with a number of limitations: it lacks a clear theoretical basis of mechanisms underlying life skill development through sport, it has a narrow focus on the sports setting thereby neglecting the interplay between life domains in reaching positive youth development, and the mechanisms underlying the transfer process of newly acquired skills and competences from the sports setting t…
The positive impact of a care–physical activity initiative for people with a low socioeconomic status on health, quality of life and societal participation
X-Fittt 2.0 improved the health, QoL and societal participation of the participants. Future initiatives should take into account the aforementioned barriers, and consider a longer intervention period for more sustainable results. More complete data are needed to confirm the findings
What makes community sports programs successful? A group concept mapping study to identify effective elements
Adults in socially vulnerable positions can benefit from participation in community sports programs. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the effective elements of these programs. To identify these elements, we consulted three groups of stakeholders: social sports coaches, program coordinators, and social workers. The effective elements were systematically arranged by means of group concept mapping (GCM), a mixed-methods approach for organ…
Public Views on Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, and Bariatric Surgery Patients
Bariatric surgery is globally stigmatized. There’s a lack of international comparative research on public perceptions of this procedure, and existing studies often overlook public perceptions of individuals undergoing it. Our cross-sectional survey investigated attitudes toward obesity, bariatric surgery, and individuals undergoing it in the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom. Of 1807 respondents, the UK displayed more negative attitudes…
Factors Facilitating the Sustainable Implementation of Social Sports Programmes
Participation in social sports programmes can benefit people in socially vulnerable positions. In this study, social sports programmes are defined as sports programmes which are designed with the specific aim to support these people. However, the continuity of social sports programmes appears problematic. This study aimed to identify factors that facilitate the sustainable implementation of social sports programmes in a local setting. For this pu…
Impact Evaluation of Community Sport Programmes and “Sport Social Work Practices”
Initiatives that employ sport as a means to achieve social objectives span a broad spectrum—from those primarily centred on sporting activities to those closely aligned with principles of social work. This thematic issue, titled Impact Evaluation of Community Sport Programmes and ‘Sport Social Work Practices’ , reflects this diversity in both terminology and approach. It brings together twelve original contributions that critically examine the de…
Medicine (13 works) · Psychology (13 works) · Political science (11 works) · Youth Development and Social Support (11 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports (8 works) · Nursing (7 works) · Public health (6 works) · Public relations (6 works) · Qualitative research (5 works)