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Moods have been shown to be predictive of athletic performance and a reflection of mental health status. The aims of our study were (a) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes with population norms; (b) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes grouped by gender and age bands; (c) to explore whether six distinct mood profile clusters reported in the literature were evident among triathletes and their respective prevalence; (d) to determine if pre-race mood scores predicted triathlon performance; and (e) to interpret our findings in terms of the risk of mental health issues for triathletes. Participants were 592 age-group triathletes (also referred to as recreational or amateur triathletes) who completed the Brunel Mood Scale pre-race and recorded their time goal for the race. Mean mood scores deviated significantly from population norms, with Tension and Vigor scores at the 55th and 54th percentile, respectively, and Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion scores between the 42nd and 46th percentile. Females reported higher Tension scores than males (p

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more than half the world’s population being placed in lockdown to stem the spread of the virus. The severe restrictions imposed in many nations had the potential to significantly influence the physical and psychological well-being of those affected. The aim of the current study was to investigate mood responses during the period of restrictions from March to June, 2020. Mood responses of 1,062 participants (386 male, 676 female) were collected using the Brunel Mood Scale, hosted on the In The Mood website www.moodprofiling.com. The mean pattern of mood responses reflected an inverse iceberg profile, characterized by significantly elevated scores for tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion, and below average scores for vigor; a profile associated with increased risk of mental health issues. Females reported more negative mood scores than males. Participants in the ≤25 age group reported the most negative profiles whereas those in the ≥56 age group reported the least negative profiles. Mood differences related to education status were also evident. Finally, mood scores fluctuated over time, with profiles being most negative during April and June. Overall, results confirmed significant mood disturbance during the period of COVID-19 restrictions, representing increased risk of psychopathology.

Mood profiling has been a popular assessment strategy since the 1970s, although little evidence exists of distinct mood profiles beyond the realm of sport and exercise. In the present study, we investigated clusters of mood profiles derived from the six subscales of the Brunel Mood Scale using the In The Mood website. Mood responses in three samples (n = 2,364, n = 2,303, n = 1,865) were analyzed using agglomerative, hierarchical cluster analysis, which distinguished six distinct and theoretically meaningful profiles. K-means clustering further refined the final parameter solution. Mood profiles identified were termed the iceberg, inverse iceberg, inverse Everest, shark fin, surface, and submerged profiles. Simultaneous multiple discriminant function analysis showed that cluster membership was correctly classified with a high degree of accuracy. Chi-squared tests indicated that the six mood profiles were unequally distributed according to the gender, age, and education of participants. Future research should investigate the antecedents, correlates and consequences of these six mood profile clusters.

Mood profiling is a popular method of quantifying and classifying feeling states. Previous research has identified several novel mood profiles in predominantly Western English-speaking populations (Parsons-Smith et al., 2017), and replicated the findings in the domain of sport and exercise (Quartiroli et al., 2018; Terry and Parsons-Smith, 2019). The aim of the current study was to investigate if six hypothesized clusters of mood responses were evident in a population of English-speaking sport and non-sport participants in Singapore. A seeded k-means cluster analysis was applied to the mood responses of 1,444 participants (991 male, 440 female, 13 unspecified; aged 18–65 years) who completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS; Terry et al., 1999, 2003a). The six hypothesized mood profiles (i.e., iceberg, inverse Everest, inverse iceberg, shark fin, submerged, and surface profiles) were identified clearly. Chi-squared analyses showed unequal distribution of the profiles by gender, age group, ethnicity, education level, and sport participation. Findings support the cross-cultural generalizability of the six mood profiles in English-speaking sport and non-sport samples in Singapore and contribute to investigation into the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of each mood profile.

Running in high heat and humidity increases psychophysiological strain, which typically impairs running performance. Listening to synchronous music has been shown to provide psychophysiological benefits, which may enhance running performance. The present randomized, crossover study examined effects of listening to synchronous music on psychophysiological parameters and running performance in hot and humid conditions. Twelve male runners (21.7 ± 2.2 y; 166.17 ± 7.18 cm; 60.32 ± 9.52 kg; 59.29 ± 5.95 ml kg−1 min−1) completed two running trials in simulated conditions (31°C and 70% humidity) with and without synchronous music. Participants ran on a treadmill inside a climatic chamber for 60 min at 60% V˙O2max and continued to run to exhaustion at 80% V˙O2max. Time-to-exhaustion under the synchronous music condition was 66.59% longer (mean = 376.5 s vs. 226.0 s, p = 0.02, d = 0.63) compared to the no music condition. Ratings of perceived exertion were significantly lower for the synchronous music condition at each time point (15, 30, 45, and 60 min) of the steady state portion of the running trials. Small differences in heart rate were detected between conditions. No significant between-condition differences were found in urine specific gravity, percentage of body weight loss, thermal comfort, and blood lactate. Findings suggest that listening to synchronous music is beneficial to running performance and perceived exertion in hot and humid conditions.

Music that is carefully selected to match the requirements of activities and the characteristics of individuals has been shown to produce significant impacts on performance enhancement (Priest et al., 2004). There is also evidence that music can enhance imagery (Grocke and Wigram, 2007), although few studies have investigated the effects of music on imagery in the context of sport skills. In the present study, the effects of relaxing and arousing music during imagery on dart-throwing performance, physiological arousal indices, and competitive state anxiety, were investigated among 63 novice dart throwers. Participants had moderate-to-high imagery ability and were randomly assigned to unfamiliar relaxing music (URM), unfamiliar arousing music (UAM), or no music (NM) groups. Performance was assessed by 40 dart throws at a concentric circles dartboard before and after 12 imagery sessions over 4 weeks. Measures of galvanic skin response (GSR), peripheral temperature (PT), and heart rate (HR) were taken during imagery sessions 1 and 12, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R) was administered prior to the pre- and post-intervention performance task. Dart-throwing gain scores were significantly higher for URM than for UAM and NM, with no significant difference between UAM and NM (URM = 37.24 ± 5.66, UAM = 17.57 ± 5.30, and NM = 13.19 ± 6.14, F2,62 = 5.03, p = 0.01, η2 = 0.14). GSR, PT, and HR reflected lower arousal for URM than for UAM or NM. Significant decreases in somatic anxiety were evident for URM and UAM but not NM. Significant decreases in cognitive anxiety were evident for URM and NM but not UAM. Significant increases in self-confidence were evident for URM but not UAM or NM. Performance improved in all three conditions but URM was associated with the largest performance gain, the lowest physiological indices of arousal, and the most positive CSAI-2R profiles. Listening to relaxing music during imagery may have benefits for performance in other fine motor skills.

The current study presents initial validation statistics for the Italian Mood Scale (ITAMS), a culturally- and linguistically-validated Italian version of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS: Terry and Lane, 2010). The ITAMS was administered to 950 sport participants (659 females), who ranged in age from 16 to 63 years (M = 25.03, SD = 7.62). In the first stage of the validation process, statistical procedures in Mplus were used to evaluate the measurement model. Multigroup exploratory structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized 6-factor measurement model for males and females separately and for the combined sample. Analysis of the scale scores using SPSS provided further support for the construct validity of the ITAMS with hypothesized relationships observed between ITAMS scores and measures of depression and affect. The development and validation of the ITAMS opens the way for mood-related research and sport or exercise interventions requiring mood assessments, in an Italian-language context.