Media releases

• Brock expert discusses NHL player’s Pride night boycott

  Wednesday, January 18, 2023 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY: 18 January 2023 – R0003

  A Brock University expert says Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov’s refusal to take part in the team’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride night celebration raises questions about the influence players have over team- and league-wide initiatives.

  While Provorov cited his religion as the reason he did not take part in the Jan. 17 celebration, Assistant Professor of Sport Management Taylor McKee said there were deeper issues involved.

  “The framing of this issue as one of religious expression is a false dichotomy, largely because such freedoms do not exempt any one individual from the repercussions of that expression,” McKee said. “Perhaps the most troubling aspect of these events is not Provorov’s refusal. Instead, it is the Flyers’ inaction when this expression conflicted with the stated goals of the team and organization that is most disconcerting. As a result, he has already been reframed as a martyr in certain comment sections and opinion pieces, despite the lack of formal punishment.”

  In spite of Provorov’s boycott, McKee said the individual actions of players can also make a positive difference when attempting to make their sports more inclusive.

  “When it comes to further progress regarding inclusivity, perhaps one barrier many professional sports teams face is a lack of genuine understanding regarding the marginalized communities being served by many professional sport initiatives,” he said. “Empathetic relationships to these communities can be cultivated if players, including the many Flyers players who wore Pride-themed warmup shirts and met with 50 members of the local LGBTQ+ community, are willing to actually engage with the issues promoted by teams.”

  With the actions of players sometimes indistinguishable from team initiatives, McKee said players have more power than ever to promote their own interests.

  “We are starting to understand players as not simply league employees, but as partners in growing the game,” he said. “Similarly, they also have the agency to undercut any league-wide initiatives through their own actions or stated rebuttals. This new era, aptly entitled the ‘player empowerment movement,’ endows any individual player’s actions with significantly more meaning than in previous eras of professional sport.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock anxiety and cognition research shows impact on school-age children

  Thursday, January 12, 2023 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 12 January 2023 – R0002

  As kids head back to school from the holidays and everyday stresses begin to ramp up, Brock researchers warn that anxiety can interfere with cognitive performance — even in children.

  Associate Professor Ayda Tekok-Kilic and PhD candidate Veronica Panchyshyn in the Department of Child and Youth Studies say that similar to adults, children and youth experiencing worry and anxious thoughts can show psychological symptoms, such as irritability, and physical symptoms, such as sleep disturbance, and experience social and academic challenges.

  The researchers are keen to determine why some children develop more severe anxiety than others. They believe that individual biological, societal and psychological risk factors are involved.

  “Multiple factors influence how anxiety relates to cognition,” says Tekok-Kilic, Founding Director of Brock’s Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory and the Cognition and Anxiety Laboratory at the Pathstone Children’s Mental Health Research Institute. “This relationship is also multidirectional, such that anxiety may lead to cognitive difficulties, but these cognitive difficulties may also predict anxiety.”

  Panchyshyn explains that anxious thoughts compete with other tasks, such as school work, and require simultaneous attention, which can be draining.

  “When someone with anxiety is completing a cognitively demanding task like a test question, anxious thoughts are extremely distracting,” she says. “Anxious thoughts can also consume one’s short-term memory, preventing complete focus on the task at hand.”

  She adds that anxiety in academic settings, which may range from difficulty separating from parents at drop-off to avoiding handing in homework to be “judged” by teachers, can be misinterpreted as a lack of academic ability. This can be especially true for children who experience test anxiety — and that can develop as early as Grade 2.

  The researchers say it is normal for kids to respond to stressful events, but that children whose reactions are severe or persistent may require additional support.

  Common warning signs of anxiety in childhood may include constant worrying, difficulty concentrating, irritability or avoidance of everyday activities such as going to school or seeing friends.

  They also say parents should keep an eye out for warning signs that may emerge after a traumatic stressor.

  “Uncertainty related to COVID-19 is one stressor that may provoke anxiety in some children and youth,” says Tekok-Kilic. “It is critical for parents to contextualize this uncertainty to ensure their child feels supported and understood.”

  She also notes that children look to their parents’ reactions and behaviour to determine how to regulate their own emotions in difficult situations, so caregivers can help by modelling calm behaviour in new or uncertain situations.

  “It is important to help children understand that uncertainty is part of life and help them develop strategies to cope with uncertainty, rather than trying to always control uncertainty by limiting exposure to life events that may lead to anxiety,” says Tekok-Kilic. “Most importantly, make sure to validate your child’s concerns to ensure they feel supported in uncertain situations.”

  Panychyshyn emphasizes that it is important to seek help from a health-care professional if a child is struggling.

  “Each child is different, so it may take time to find the appropriate treatment,” she says. “But with adequate care and treatment, individuals with anxiety can learn to better manage and cope with their symptoms and lead successful lives.”

  Panchyshyn recently received a MITACS Accelerate grant to continue investigating the risks that predict anxiety as part of a larger study in a research internship supervised by Tekok-Kilic and partly supported by Pathstone Mental Health.

  “Understanding these multiple risk factors and their synergistic effects will provide valuable insight toward anxiety prevention and treatment strategies in children and youth,” says Tekok-Kilic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases