Search

Mental health has become increasingly important for the applied sport psychologist, a factor which may include screening, promoting literacy, individual support, and educational programs. However, despite of this importance, few checks have been made on the perceived preparedness of sport psychologists to undertake this work and whether differences may exist between those recently qualified compared to experienced practitioners. Underpinned by the theoretical domains framework, 62 Health and Care Professions Council registered practitioner sport and exercise psychologists (30 females: age: M = 46.13 years and SD = 10.44 years and 32 males: age: M = 43.25 years and SD = 10.47 years) completed an online survey to assess whether they felt equipped to address the mental health dimension of their work. The survey comprised three sections: Demographic and background information, a series of statements (n = 31) adapted from the determinants of implementation behavior questionnaire, and three questions with space for free text comments, inviting participants to explain their level of preparedness to incorporate and deliver mental health interventions. A 6 × 12 analyses of variance yielded significant differences between domain ratings but not across levels of experience or interactions. Data from free text comments were analyzed thematically and categorized into the following three themes: (a) complementing the performance role, (b) awareness of professional boundaries, and (c) importance of further continued professional development. Combined, although practitioners emphasized importance, preparedness ratings ranged from neutral to somewhat agree, calling for further specific sport psychology‐based mental health training. Highlights: An online survey, underpinned by the theoretical domains framework, was used to assess whether registered sport and exercise psychology practitioners in the United Kingdom felt prepared to undertake the mental health dimension of their work.Analysis through ANOVA yielded no significant differences across experience or interactions, suggesting that preparedness and implementation do not differ regardless of whether recently qualified or experienced practitioners. Furthermore, average ratings across all domains revealed practitioners feel only "somewhat prepared" to address client needs in this area.Free text comments provided additional insight to levels of preparedness where practitioners noted the frequent necessity to offer mental health support, why it complements the performance focus, and how they are uniquely placed to understand the specific contextual demands, yet were cognizant of their competencies, knowledge base, and boundaries.Calls for further specific sport psychology‐based mental health training are warranted by the professional bodies in the United Kingdom to ensure practitioners feel equipped to address this increasingly important factor of their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Telomere length (TL) shortening is associated with increased cellular senescence and functional decline with age. Regular physical activity is posited to safeguard against TL shortening, but there is disagreement on how concurrent psychosocial stress may influence this relationship. The current analysis explored whether psychosocial stress is associated with TL differences in highly physically active individuals. Methods: TL was measured from capillary dried blood spots collected from Division‐I (D‐1) and Division‐III (D‐3) National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) swimmers (N = 28) and non‐athlete students from the same schools (N = 15). All participants completed Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and student‐athletes completed an additional questionnaire to assess psychosocial factors associated with their lifestyle; The Student Athletes' Motivation towards Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ). Semi‐structured interviews further contextualized how student‐athletes internalize their stress. Results: There was no significant difference in TL or PSS scores between swimmers and controls. D‐1 swimmers reported significantly higher career and student‐athlete motivation scores compared to D‐3, but non‐significantly higher PSS and similar academic motivation scores. Themes from interviews with collegiate swimmers included COVID‐19 stress, fear of injury, pressure from academics, expectations to perform, and financial pressures. Conclusions: These themes may have contributed to higher PSS scores in D‐1 swimmers compared to D‐3 but did not appear to impact their TL. Given differences in perceived stress, sources of stress, and SAMSAQ scores, further analyses with larger sample sizes are needed to better understand how these factors influence human biology and health while engaged in intense physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to identify both the latent profiles of coaching styles based on athletes' perceptions and their subsequent associations with athletes' motivation and sport commitment. The sample comprised young athletes from various sports types. Participants provided self‐reports of their perceptions of their coaches' behaviors, and their sport commitment and sport motivation. Cluster analyses revealed three coaching style profiles: Cluster 1 were coaches with a “low coaching style,” including those who lacked an autonomy‐supportive and those with a low controlling coaching style. Cluster 2 was labeled “Supportive coaching style” and represented coaches who were more apt to be autonomy‐supportive and less controlling. Cluster 3 was a “Controlling coaching style” and included coaches who demonstrated a low autonomy‐supportive and a high controlling style. Compared with athletes in Cluster 3, athletes in Clusters 1 and 2 reported higher levels of adaptive motivation and commitment variables. Thus, youth athletes perceived three clusters of coaching styles (Low coaching style, Supportive coaching style, and Controlling coaching style), and these profiles were associated with varying levels of athletes' motivation and commitment to sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comprehensive overview of various topics in sports psychology and their impact on athletes. It discusses the growth of sports psychology in Colombia and the need for research dissemination. The article also explores pain management in physically active women, the effectiveness of mental toughness programs for injured athletes, the role of real-time data in athlete performance, the relationship between pupil diameter and shooting performance in basketball, the prediction of self-compassion through sports, and the benefits of square dance in delaying cognitive decline. Additionally, the article presents two studies on the relationship between personality traits and burnout among athletes, as well as the impact of perfectionism on athletes' emotional cognition. Another study examines the relationship between personal values and physical activity in China. These findings have important implications for athletes and sports professionals. [Extracted from the article]

In competitive and elite sports, mental health and athletic performance cannot be considered separately. Mental disorders in sports are bidirectionally associated with reduced athletic performance. A decline in performance, both within and outside of sport, can be a sign of mental disorder. Additionally, poor athletic performance is a potential risk factor for mental disorders in athletes. The central role sports psychiatrists play in the mental health of athletes is well‐established. However, their role in athletic performance is less well‐described and more controversial, perhaps due to a perception that performance is purely a secondary outcome of good mental health. This paper discusses the role that sports psychiatrists can play in athletic performance within competitive and elite sports. Performance can be distinguished into three key focus areas for sports psychiatrists: (i) performance restoration, (ii) performance maintenance, and (iii) performance enhancement. These should be considered throughout the continuum of mental health care, from prevention, treatment, to ongoing care for mental disorders. When reduced performance is due to a mental disorder, psychiatric treatment should purposefully aim to restore functioning and performance as part of management. Maintenance of performance is, similarly, an important element of the prevention, psychiatric treatment, and ongoing care of mental disorders. Holistic sports psychiatrists may also choose to aim for athletic performance enhancement beyond the context of mental health symptoms and disorders, to help athletes flourish and achieve their goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hedonic smartphone use has been associated with dependence and addiction studied under the umbrella term Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU). Research usually explores total screen time as an index of PSU. A few studies suggest that exercise is inversely related to smartphone use time. However, it is unknown which primary characteristics of exercise behavior are related to more moderate smarthone use. Furthermore, the purpose of smartphone use, such as hedonic use associated with PSU versus utilitarian use, was not tested in the sports and exercise contexts. Hedonic use generally means playing with the smartphone for joy, distraction, and satisfaction. Utilitarian use implies practical and valuable use. There is a conjecture that sports involvement may foster utilitarian use through increased involvement in sports‐related information‐seeking, goal‐setting, and self‐monitoring. Methods: Therefore, we examined whether weekly exercise frequency, workout duration, and perceived exercise intensity relate to total daily smarthone and hedonic use and whether this relationship is mediated by sports‐related utilitarian device use. We tested regularly exercising adults (n = 360, 132 males, Mage = 39.0 ± 9.8, Mweekly exercise = 5.8 ± 1.9) who volunteered for this study and provided demographic information about their exercise habits and smartphone use. Results: The results revealed that all exercise parameters mediated the total daily smartphone use, with perceived exercise intensity being a negative predictor. Further, exercise frequency and duration (but not intensity) positively predicted sports‐related smartphone use, which inversely predicted hedonic use. Conclusion: These results suggest that exercise parameters directly relate to daily smartphone use, which completely mediates hedonic use. These findings may partially account for the frequently reported inverse relationship between regular exercise and PSU by suggesting that the connection is mediated via sports‐related smartphone use. Key points: Exercise frequency and duration are positive predictors of daily smartphone use.Exercise intensity is a negative predictor of total daily smartphone use.Exercise frequency and duration are positively related to sports‐related smartphone use.Sports‐related smartphone use is a negative predictor of hedonic smartphone use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The high frequency of eating disorders (EDs) in sports speaks of a need for early‐stage preventive measures. Objectives: This study evaluated the acceptability of an age, sex, and sports adapted version of the "Body Project" and changes in mental health symptoms. Methods: This noncontrolled pilot study included a class of athletes from 18 sports (N = 73, 13–14 years) at a sport‐specialized junior high school in six small‐group workshops. We interviewed 34 athletes on program acceptability, and all athletes responded to questionnaires at pretest, posttest, and 6‐month follow‐up including the Body Appreciation Scale 2–Children, Social Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire‐4 revised, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Short form‐12 modified, and questions about body appearance pressure (BAP). Results: Athletes found the program acceptable and beneficial, but some missed physically oriented activities or did not identify with the focus, particularly boys. There were acceptable levels in mental health constructs before the workshops. There were temporary changes in the percentage of boys experiencing "BAP in society" by −14.8% points (95% CI: −.6 to.0, p =.04), % in total group experiencing "BAP at school" by +11% points (95% CI:.0–.2, p =.05), thinness idealization by girls (g =.6, p =.002) and total group (g =.4, p =.006), and muscularity idealization by boys (g =.3, p =.05) and total group (g =.23, p =.04). Discussion: Athletes experienced benefits from the Young Athlete Body Project. Seeing stabilization in outcomes may mean a dampening of the otherwise expected worsening in body appreciation and ED symptoms over time. Public Significance: Adolescent athletes are at risk for developing EDs. Due to lack of prevention programs for this group, we adapted and evaluated a well‐documented effective program, the Body Project, to fit male and female athletes <15 years. The athletes accepted the program and experienced participation benefits, with stronger acceptance among girls. Our promising findings encourage larger scaled randomized controlled trials to further evaluate a refined version this program among very young athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although sport psychology practitioners and researchers acknowledge the importance of continued professional development (CPD) for professional effectiveness and excellence, few studies have explored the influence of CPD activities on the practitioners' practice and thinking. This study examined qualified Swedish sport psychology practitioners' experiences of engaging in a CPD program and how it impacted their professional development. The Swedish Sports Confederation offers a CPD program that targets performance enhancement services and psychotherapy for sport psychology practitioners. We explored the influence of this CPD program on the professional development of 13 graduates (five females; age in years: M = 41.2, SD = 8.3) via semi‐structured interviews. Our stance involved a realist ontology and constructionist epistemology. We followed the six‐step Reflexive Thematic Analysis procedures to analyze data. We identified four themes of CPD: (1) Critique (participants decided to do the CPD program because of perceived gaps in their knowledge and skills), (2) Change (participants discussed several changes as a result of the CPD program), (3) Context (participants discussed the aspects of the CPD program that promoted change), and (4) Challenge (participants mentioned issues related to having completed the program). The study provides insights into the value of CPD activities for sport psychology practitioners, advances current knowledge on practitioner maturation, and illustrates how CPD fits within a practitioner's lifelong learning. Future research could investigate the professional development of mid‐career sport psychology practitioners engaging in other CPD programs to confirm or extend this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a compilation of research articles in the field of psychology and sports. The articles cover various topics such as the effects of natural environments on self-control, the impact of auditory rhythm on motor timing, and the use of innovative technologies in athlete training. Other articles explore the relationship between sports motivation and physical self-conception in female adolescents, the effects of yoga on relaxation and serving accuracy in volleyball players, and the role of effort and motivation in adolescent athletes. Additionally, the document discusses the risk-taking behavior of rock climbers and the effects of acute training on executive function in college students. The articles provide valuable insights and practical implications for athletes and coaches. Another study in the document focuses on the relationship between coaching styles and athlete perceptions. Male and female student athletes emphasized the importance of the coaching relationship and provided insights into favorable and unfavorable coaching styles. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the emotional aspects of athletics and the impact of coaching on athletes. The article also highlights the significance of different coaching styles, with favorable styles being caring, constructive, and knowledgeable, while unfavorable styles are characterized by coaches who are perceived as not caring, degrading, and negative. Overall, the document emphasizes the importance of understanding the coach-athlete relationship and the implications of different coaching styles. [Extracted from the article]

Background and Aims: The influence of temperature on various aspects of daily life is often underestimated, and its effects on mental health are not widely recognized. Understanding and addressing the relationship between temperature and mental well‐being is crucial in the context of climate change and rising global temperatures. This perspective aimed to investigate the effects of high temperatures on mental health and identify proactive strategies to mitigate these effects. Methods: This perspective adopted a twofold approach, including a comprehensive literature review and socioecological framework. The literature review involved extensive searches across Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus to identify relevant, peer‐reviewed articles, and reports from diverse disciplines. Results: The perspective emphasized the significance of recognizing heat stress and its consequences on mental well‐being. Chronic heat stress can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and cognitive impairment. Vulnerable populations include, the very young, older adults, and individuals with pre‐existing mental health conditions. Socioeconomic factors can further exacerbate vulnerability, highlighting the need for tailored strategies to manage mental health challenges during high temperatures. Additionally, the article identified and discussed proactive coping strategies to minimize both the psychological and physical impacts of heat stress. Mindfulness, stress management techniques, and therapy are suggested as effective means for individuals to manage psychological distress. Conclusion: Implementing preventive measures are essential steps in promoting mental wellness in high temperatures. Proactive strategies by addressing the physiological and psychological effects of heat and considering the specific needs of vulnerable populations can help individuals and communities navigate the challenges posed by rising temperatures and promote resilience and preserve their mental well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research tested the impact of score line, spectator presence and game location on athletes' non‐verbal behaviour (NVB). Two studies (N = 240; N = 160) tested whether the NVB of soccer players differed as a function of score line, spectator‐presence and game location by asking participants to guess the current score, the dominance, pride and confidence of soccer players in videos. Results demonstrated that NVB ratings were more negative when the athletes were trailing (less dominant, less proud, and less confident) compared to leading. Study 1 showed more non‐verbal expressiveness (social facilitation) of pleasant feelings (being in a high lead) and lower expressiveness (social inhibition) of negative feelings (trailing) in the presence of spectators. Study 2 indicated that leading at away games led to higher non‐verbal expressiveness, whereas leading at home games led to less non‐verbal expressiveness in the presence of a supportive audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unequal proportions of male and female participants in exercise research might be attributed, in part, to differences in interest and willingness to participate. We tested if men and women are equally interested and willing to undergo exercise research procedures and if they consider different factors when deciding to participate. Two samples completed an online survey. Sample 1 (129 men, 227 women) responded to advertisements on social media and survey‐sharing websites. Sample 2 (155 men, 504 women) was comprised of undergraduate psychology students. In both samples, men were significantly more interested to learn their muscle mass amount, running speed, jump height, and ball throwing ability, and more willing to receive electrical shocks, cycle or run until exhaustion, complete strength training that causes muscle soreness, and take muscle‐building supplements (all p ≤ 0.013, d = 0.23–0.48). Women were significantly more interested to learn their flexibility, and more willing to complete surveys, participate in stretching and group aerobics interventions, and participate in home exercise with online instruction (all p ≤ 0.021, d = 0.12–0.71). Women rated the following significantly more important when deciding to participate: study's implications for society; personal health status; confidence in own abilities; potential anxiety during testing; type of research facility; time to complete study; and invasiveness, pain/discomfort, and possible side effects of procedures (all p < 0.05, d = 0.26–0.81). Differences in interest and willingness to participate in research probably contribute to different proportions of men and women as participants in exercise research. Knowledge of these differences might help researchers develop recruitment strategies aimed at encouraging both men and women to participate in exercise studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence has linked sporting leisure time physical activity (sporting‐LTPA) to healthy cognition throughout adulthood. This may be due to the physiological effects of physical activity (PA), or to other, psychosocial facets of sport. We examined associations between sporting‐LTPA and cognition while adjusting for device‐measured PA volume devoid of context, both in midlife (N = 4041) participants from the 1970 British Cohort Study and later‐life (N = 957) participants from the British Regional Heart Study. Independent of device‐measured PA, we identified positive associations between sporting‐LTPA and cognition. Sports with team/partner elements were strongly positively associated with cognition, suggesting LTPA context may be critical to this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A team's ability to respond positively to adversities, problems, and obstacles during their season is an essential part of success in collective sports. Grounded in team resilience theory and using a multilevel analytical approach, this study examined the relationship of the characteristics of resilience and vulnerability under pressure with perceived individual and team performance. Participants were 676 soccer players (530 males and 146 females) aged 15–42 years (M = 21.40, SD = 5.38), who played on 64 senior and under‐18 soccer teams of several national leagues in Spain. In the final month of the season, factors related to team resilience and individual and team performance were analyzed. We estimated multilevel models by including perceived individual and team performance as dependent variables. Characteristics of resilience and vulnerability under pressure were considered as fixed and random effects (i.e., individual‐ and team‐level intercepts and slopes). At the individual level, results showed that characteristics of resilience were positively associated with subjective individual and team performance, whereas vulnerability under pressure was negatively related to perceived team (but not individual) performance. At the team level, only characteristics of resilience positively predicted team performance. These findings suggest that more resilient teams report more successful performance from an individual and team perspective, whereas teams that are more vulnerable under pressure report poorer team performance. Taken together, the study underscores the importance of practitioners to develop strategies that improve their teams' resilience, given that team resilience helps to achieve positive subjective individual and team outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental, motor, and guided imagery techniques are commonly used in sports psychology, but less often in medical education. Utilization of imagery‐based techniques (IBTs) in combination with traditional teaching methods may provide a low‐cost, innovative approach to improving outcomes in graduate medical education. Objective: The objective was to assess whether medical students demonstrate greater proficiency in the ability to obtain central venous access in simulation trainers following exposure to guided, mental, and motor imagery teaching methods in comparison to traditional methods. Methods: Volunteer fourth‐year medical students during their emergency medicine rotation were randomly assigned to two groups, traditional plus imagery teaching or traditional teaching alone. The control group watched a video tutorial on central line placement methods. The study group watched the same video with the addition of imagery components. Participants filled out survey questions before and after the video and again after line placement. Proctors blinded to student group assignments then observed student placement of an internal jugular triple‐lumen catheter on a simulation trainer and completed a standardized performance rubric. Results: Sixty medical students participated. Two were excluded for having performed five or more lines either clinically or in a previous simulation. There was no difference in self‐perceived competence in line placement prior to watching the video or in the number of lines previously performed between groups. The imagery group (n = 25) averaged 1.3 errors/need for intervention compared to 2.2 errors/need for intervention in the control group (n = 33; p = 0.045, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02 to 1.61). Time to place the line was similar—8.9 min for the control group versus 8.6 min for the imagery group (p = 0.74, 95% CI −1.39 to 1.95). Conclusions: The use of IBTs may be a promising adjunct to traditional medical teaching of procedures in emergency medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides summaries of presentations and research topics related to psychology. It covers a range of subjects, including the history of teaching psychology at Charles University in Prague, the hypnosis movement in Republican China and Hong Kong, the development of Czechoslovak sport psychology, the history of experimental psychology at Padua University, the history of theoretical psychology in Japan, and the role of Japanese women psychologists before World War II. The study also explores the impact of World War II on Russian psychology, Sigmund Freud's interpretation of dreams and his relationship with writing, the critical psychology movement, and legislation surrounding cognitive testing for dementia in Japan. This comprehensive study offers insights into various aspects of psychology from diverse cultural and historical perspectives. [Extracted from the article]

Issue addressed: Australian sport policy calls for a diverse sector to get more individuals more active. This study contributes to an evidence base of alternative sport options that may increase physical activity levels in adolescents, as we sought to understand why Australians decide to participate in fencing when aged <18 years. Methods: A retrospective, mixed‐methods survey design was employed to measure why a participant started fencing and what participants like about fencing compared to other sports. Free‐text qualitative data were analysed thematically. Quantitative data were collected to answer secondary objectives, using nonparametric tests to determine significance between the median scores prefencing and postfencing for enjoyment and frequency of participation. Results: One hundred and one fencers across Australia who started fencing aged <18 years completed the survey. Respondents primarily started fencing for fun/enjoyment, followed by the desire to try something different/alternative/nonmainstream. Four themes were identified relating to why a participant decided to start fencing: (i) external motivators, (ii) influence of interest and imagination, (iii) developing the self and (iv) the supportive culture. Conclusions: Fencing may encourage adolescent participation in physical activity due to unique characteristics which attracts individuals for reasons beyond the need to be active alone, and instead affords a space for self‐exploration, learning, and belonging. Further research is required to identify how fencing can engage different cohorts of adolescents, and any barriers to participation. So what?: Fencing could be utilised to promote engagement in physical activity among Australian adolescents by emphasising the creative, mental, and inclusive aspects of the sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports video analysis has received much attention as it turned to be a hot research area in the field of image processing. This motivation offers opportunities that develop fascinating applications supported by analysis of different sports, especially soccer. Ball identification, in soccer images, is an essential task not only for goal‐scoring but also for performance evaluation. However, ball detection suffers from several hurdles such as occlusions, fast‐moving objects, shadows, poor lighting, color contrast, and other static background objects. Although several ball detection techniques have been introduced such as Frame Difference, Mixture of Gaussian (MoG), Optical Flow, and so forth; ball detection in soccer games is still an open research area. In this paper, a new Fuzzy Based Ball Detection (FB2D) strategy is proposed for identifying the ball through a set of image sequences extracted from a soccer match video. FB2D can accurately identify the ball even if it is attached to the white lines drawn on the playground or partially occluded behind players. FB2D is compared to recent ball detection techniques. Experimental results show that FB2D outperforms recent detection techniques as it introduces both the highest level of detection accuracy in the testing stage and the lowest possible error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sports, players had differences in psychological training principles, sports characteristics, and personal athletic ability due to differences in sports plans. At the same time, the winning and losing rules of various competitions would also limit the psychological training and tactical ability of players. The current problem with mental training for athletes was that it is impossible to accurately understand the mentality of athletes and make a reasonable adjustment plan. Therefore, this paper adopted a machine learning algorithm and used the methods of psychological testing and questionnaire research to carry out extensive research on the training and regulation of remote sports psychology. The possible psychological barriers and adjustment methods of athletes are supplemented, focusing on the comparison of four aspects: psychological endurance before training, control accuracy, anxiety score before psychological training, and the effects of before and after adjustment. And after in-depth research on the problem of athletes' psychological training, the conclusion showed that the psychological tolerance value of athletes has increased by 18.9%, the accuracy of control of athletes' psychological problems had increased by 13%, the psychological anxiety of students had also been alleviated and improved, and the overall score had increased by 12.5%. A more systematic mental training program for athletes was introduced in order to provide a basis for improving the effectiveness of mental training for athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once virtual reality technology (Virtual Reality, VR) came out, it has received a lot of attention; in recent years, it has been widely used in the study of psychology. Because it can improve the ecological validity of experimental research, the level of conditional control, reproducibility, and avoid the dangers of field operations, it has been introduced into the field of psychology by many researchers. Compared with traditional sports psychology research methods, virtual reality technology has the characteristics of multiperception, immersion, interaction, and imagination to get a better, more realistic feel and increase people's interest in sports. Taking the application of virtual reality technology in table tennis teaching in colleges and universities as an example, this study aims to review the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; summarize the theory, practice, and prospect of the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; and add new content to the research of sports psychology. It aims to review the principles, characteristics, and application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the application of virtual reality technology in sports and point out the problems that need to be paid attention to when using this method; explore the application of virtual reality technology in sports psychology; and add new content to the research of sports psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Extracurricular activity participation is associated with positive academic, health, and behavioral outcomes for adolescents, but these findings may reflect unobserved confounding rather than participation effects.Method: Data were drawn from 3885 adolescents aged 12-15 in a nationally representative cohort of Australian adolescents. Effects of participation in three kinds of extracurricular activity (team sport, individual sport, and arts) on an array of outcomes were modeled using fixed-effects regression to account for potential unobserved confounding.Results: Strong bivariate relationships between all forms of activity participation and positive adolescent outcomes were found. These associations were much smaller in the fixed-effects analysis, but beneficial effects of sports for mental health and arts for peer group characteristics remained statistically significant. Minimal effects of extracurricular activity participation for academic achievement were found.Conclusion: Extracurricular activity participation has beneficial effects on adolescents' mental health and exposure to peers' delinquent behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sports health is gradually attracting attention, and computer vision technology is integrated into sports health to improve the quality of sports and increase the motivation of athletes. A deep learning sports health video propagation detection and recognition system is built through the mode of video propagation to provide real-time training information for sports and scientific body index parameters and exercise data for sports health programs. An athletics action estimation network (AAEN) is promoted, which initially obtains the correlation features and depth features between human skeleton key points through partial perception units. Then, all the joint point features are classified and correlated based on the affinity field range through the confidence map of the human skeletal node region. All video frames are then fused with similar joint features at the temporal level to extract motion key points in the time scale, and human posture prediction is achieved by fitting between the motion features and the dynamic database. To show the high efficiency of our method, we select three main databases for validation, and the results prove that AAEN outperforms by 13.96%, 16.90%, and 15.10% in precision, F1 score, and recall compared to the SOTA in sports health video detection and recognition. Our method also performs better overall in the same type of algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scouts of soccer clubs are often the first to identify talented players. However, there is a lack of research on how these scouts assess and predict overall soccer performance. Therefore, we conducted a large-scaled study to examine the process of talent identification among 125 soccer scouts. Through an online self-report questionnaire, scouts were asked about (1) the players' age at which they can predict players' soccer performance, (2) the attributes they consider relevant, and (3) the extent to which they predict performance in a structured manner. The most important results are as follows. First, scouts who observed 12-year-old and younger players perceived they could predict at older ages (13.6 years old, on average) whether a player has the potential to become a professional soccer player. This suggests that scouts are aware of the idea that early indicators of later performance are often lacking, yet do advise on selection of players at younger ages. Second, when identifying talented players, scouts considered more easily observable attributes, such as technical attributes. However, scouts described these often in a broad sense rather than in terms of specific predictors of future performance. Finally, scouts reported that they assess attributes of players in a structured manner. Yet, they ultimately based their prediction (i.e. final score) on an intuitive integration of different performance attributes, which is a suboptimal strategy according to existing literature. Taken together, these outcomes provide specific clues to improve the reliability and validity of the scouting process. Based on a large sample of soccer scouts, we examine three issues that are important in the process of identifying talented soccer players: The age at which good performance predictions can be made, which attributes are relevant predictors, and how performance predictions are formed. Scouts who observe players in young age cohorts believe that the age at which they can predict performance is older than the players they typically scout, suggesting that they are aware that early indicators of performance are often lacking. Technical performance attributes are considered as most important performance predictors by scouts, but these are often described in a broad - rather than specific - sense. Scouts indicate that they predict performance in a structured manner, but form their overall performance prediction on an intuitive integration of different performance attributes, which can be a suboptimal approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain an edge in performance, athletes, coaches, trainers, and sport psychologists worldwide leverage findings from psychological research to develop training and performance strategies. The field of sport psychology draws upon research on stress, anxiety, mindfulness, and team building to develop these strategies. Here, we introduce human-animal interaction as a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance. Structured interactions with animals—particularly therapy dogs—can provide physiological benefits associated with stress and the oxytocin system, psychological benefits for anxiety and motivation, and social benefits through social support. Yet these effects have not yet been systematically investigated in athletes. Integration of human-animal interactions into athletics can occur through animal visitation programmes and resident therapy animal programmes. Integrating human-animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programmes, and these interactions are not a panacea that will work in every situation. But, given the amount of human-animal interaction research suggesting benefits in medicine, mental health, and education contexts, it is worthwhile exploring potential benefits not just for athletic performance, but also for injury prevention and recovery. Human–animal interaction is a potential area of research that may apply to athletic performance. Structured interactions with animals can provide physiological, psychological, and social benefits to athletes, through it is not a panacea that will work in every situation. Integrating human–animal interactions into athletics presents some unique challenges and limitations that must be considered before implementing these programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) examine the relationship between the number of head impacts sustained in a season of men's collegiate club ice hockey and behavioral traits of aggression and sensation seeking, and (2) explore the neural correlates of these behaviors using neuroimaging. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Participants (n = 18) completed baseline surveys to quantify self‐reported aggression and sensation‐seeking tendencies. Aggression related to playing style was quantified through penalty minutes accrued during a season. Participants wore head impact sensors throughout a season to quantify the number of head impacts sustained. Participants (n = 15) also completed baseline anatomical and magnetic elastography neuroimaging scans to measure brain volumetric and viscoelastic properties. Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine relationships between (1) impacts, aggression, and sensation seeking, and (2) impacts, aggression, and sensation seeking and brain volume, stiffness, and damping ratio, as an exploratory analysis. Results: Number of head impacts sustained was significantly related to the number of penalty minutes accrued, normalized to number of games played (r =.62, p <.01). Our secondary, exploratory analysis revealed that number of impacts, sensation seeking, and aggression were related to stiffness or damping ratio of the thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal cortex, but not volume. Conclusions: A more aggressive playing style was related to an increased number of head impacts sustained, which may provide evidence for future studies of head impact prevention. Further, magnetic resonance elastography may aid to monitor behavior or head impact exposure. Researchers should continue to examine this relationship and consider targeting behavioral modification programs of aggression to decrease head impact exposure in ice hockey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships between team (n = 10) and player post-game emotions following two consecutive games. In addition, the relationship between emotional contagion susceptibility and player post-game emotions was assessed. Applying an experience sampling methodology, male amateur and semi-professional soccer players (N = 114, Mage = 25.46 years, SD = 9.24) completed a sport emotion questionnaire shortly after the conclusion of two competitive games. Participants also completed a dispositional emotional contagion questionnaire prior to post-game data collection. Multilevel regressions revealed that teams' collective post-game emotions were strongly associated with players' post-game emotions, after accounting for within- (e.g. time, game outcome) and between-person (e.g. formal leaders, emotional contagion susceptibility) differences. In addition, partial support was found to indicate that emotional contagion susceptibility was associated with players' post-game emotions. In this context of soccer, the findings suggest that collective emotions following a game are more indicative of individual players' emotions than an individual's general tendency to mimic the emotions of others. From an applied perspective, the findings demonstrate the importance of coaches and players being mindful of the team's emotional climate after a game and the impact it may have on players, especially when that climate is negative. We assessed the relationship between soccer team (n = 10) and player (N = 114) post-game emotions. We also assessed how emotional contagion susceptibility was linked to post-game emotions. Multilevel regressions revealed that team's collective post-game emotions are more indicative of players' post-game emotions than a player's emotional contagion susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount of research conducted on female football players, compared to male players, is sparce. Even though research on female football players has increased the past decade, there is still a lack of studies of how psychological factors affect their performance. The objective of the current systematic review was therefore to summarize existing quantitative research into the relationship between psychological factors and performance in women's football. Literature was sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, and PsychInfo. Two independent reviewers applied the selection criteria and assessed the quality of the studies. A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. The total number of participants was 1449, and 15 psychological factors were examined in relation to football performance. The results revealed a tendency for higher leveled players to score higher on psychological factors like mental toughness, conscientiousness, and executive functions. They also had lower levels of anxiety. Enjoyment and a perceived mastery climate were related to increased levels of performance and perceived competence. Mood was unrelated to performance. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elite football can make players feel nervous, and personality characteristics, as well as experience, affect how well pressure is handled before important games. Studying the psychological characteristics of female football players can provide information on how well psychological pressure is handled and generate knowledge on how to support players in order to improve performance. Based on a sample of 128 female elite football players from 8 top‐level teams, the present study investigates whether psychological characteristics and football experience/player stus in elite female football players can predict state anxiety before important matches. Our results outline that high age and national team experience negatively predicted most of the trait anxiety subscales. In line with previous research, no psychological differences were found between goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and strikers while starting players revealed to have significantly lower trait anxiety. When measuring before important matches, we found that somatic state anxiety was negatively associated with senior national team experience and positively associated with worry trait anxiety and fear of failure. Cognitive state anxiety was negatively associated with hope for success and positively associated with somatic and worry trait anxiety. Self‐confidence was positively associated with youth national team experience and negatively associated with worry trait anxiety. It can be concluded that psychological characteristics and national team experience are both important for optimal state anxiety before important matches in elite‐level women's football. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports' Paper of the Year for 2023 went to a study by Camilla Tvede Schytz and colleagues on the effects of muscle glycogen levels on short-term, high-intensity cycling exercise. Despite differences in glycogen levels, performance was unaffected, with lower glycogen levels actually resulting in a lower body mass, likely due to the binding of water with glycogen.

A sea change in attitude towards mental training in sport has occurred over the last 25 years - you used to have to be mad to see "the psych", whereas now many would say you have to be mad I not i to - but there is no doubt that barriers remain and hesitation or even resistance towards psychological input is common. Most teams do not operate a "performance culture" In addition to individual interventions in sport, attempts to achieve performance gains through psychological means often focus on team culture. While surface-level techniques can help athletes cope with stressful situations through standard mental preparation and emotional regulation routines, some athletes prefer a deeper dive, seeking internal change to address the root cause of mental performance blocks. [Extracted from the article]

This community‐based study investigated whether (1) a novel sport psychology informed positive youth development program, My Strengths Training for Life™, improved resilience and well‐being and (2) young people differed in outcomes according to demographics (gender, ethnicity, social inclusion, and learning difficulty). A total of 246 young people (M age = 19.74, SD = 2.31) living in a large housing service completed questionnaires on demographics, mental skills, and pre and postprogram resilience and well‐being. Baseline differences in resilience and well‐being existed for ethnicity and learning difficulty status but did not influence MST4Life™ outcomes. There was a significant improvement in resilience and well‐being over time, which was associated with mental skills development. Implications apply for policy, program commissioners, and research: (1) novel sport psychology interventions can improve the well‐being of disadvantaged youth, and (2) demographics at baseline should be considered in intervention planning and evaluation with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musculoskeletal injuries are prevalent in professional soccer and can result in lost training time or match play. It is intuitive that the "return to play" (RTP) pathway will depend, in large part, on the expertise of sports medicine practitioners (e.g. surgeons, physicians, physiotherapists) responsible for player's recovery. Consensus statements on returning athletes to sport following injury acknowledge the contributions of sport psychology and sports nutrition. However, specific consideration on how to integrate these two recognized – but often overlooked components of injury rehabilitation – into existing sport medicine approaches has yet to be examined. Using a framework of milestones directed by the medical physician and physical trainer, the evidence is summarized and suggestions provided on the integration of sports psychology and sports nutrition into an interdisciplinary RTP approach. We examine recovery from a phase approach (acute injury and functional recovery) to highlight interdisciplinary opportunities in the management of musculoskeletal soccer injuries. An interdisciplinary approach is understood to achieve outcomes that could not be achieved within the framework of a single discipline. The incorporation of sports psychology and nutrition theoretically compliment milestones used in current medically-based RTP models. Our hope is that this article serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary practice and research – not only in sports nutrition and sports psychology – but across all sport and exercise disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wray Vamplew, an economic historian by training, has been conducting research into sports history for half a century. Player unions/associations and collective bargaining are performing an increasingly important role in the allocation of resources within sport. 1 TableFormation of Player Associations, 1900-2019 HT

Background: High anxiety levels are common in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and anxiety can affect sport performance, but sport competitive anxiety profiles in athletes with ID are unknown. Methods: A total of 303 athletes; 116 with ID (33% female, M age = 22.64, SD = 3.94), and 187 without ID (54% female, M age = 21.81, SD = 3.23), completed the modified questionnaire Sport Anxiety Scale‐2‐FLemish‐ID (SAS‐2‐FL‐ID). Results: The SAS‐2‐FL‐ID was a valid tool to use in a population of athletes with ID. They had higher trait anxiety (9.36 ± 2.62) than peers without ID (7.58 ± 2.44), F = 26.95, p<.001. With respect to sport anxiety, they only scored higher on the "concentration disruption" subscale. Their overall level of competitive anxiety across all subscales (24.14 ± 7.73) was significantly lower compared to athletes without ID (26.51 ± 7.49), F = 27.10, p<.001. Conclusion: On the sporting field, athletes with ID worry less and feel less somatic anxiety compared to athletes without ID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that an empowering motivational climate in organized sport has been linked to attitudes favoring migrants' integration. The purpose of the present study was to further test the relationship between motivational climate and acculturation attitudes, and to explore the role of prosocial skills as potential mediators of this relationship in adolescent athletes from the host population. Participants were 338 (13.61 ±.95 years of age) Greek adolescents (167 girls) participating in organized sport. Participants' acculturation attitudes, prosocial skills, and perceptions of the coach‐created motivational climate were measured. Analysis of structural models revealed that an empowering motivational climate was positively related with prosocial skills, reflecting empathy and altruism, which in turn were positively linked with acculturation attitudes favoring migrants' integration. The results of the present study replicate previous findings regarding the links between empowering motivational climate and acculturation attitudes, and further, provide evidence that prosocial skills such as empathy and altruism mediate this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Reducing concussion risks in athletes depends on self‐reporting. Often, athletes decide whether to report concussions or continue playing and risk serious health consequences. Fuzzy‐trace theory (FTT) predicts that reliance on gisty, categorical representations of risky decisions, not amounts of risk/reward, encourages risk avoidance and application of bottom‐line values, or gist principles, thus promoting healthy decisions. Applying FTT, we test whether intentions to report are predicted by gist‐based thinking about risks and values. High school and college students (N = 1,366) were assessed for concussion knowledge, social pressures to not report (by coaches/parents/teammates), categorical gist‐based thinking, endorsement of gist principles expressing values, and intentions to report. As expected, the older group scored higher on gist measures. For young adults, categorical thinking, and gist principles predicted intentions, controlling for sex, knowledge, and social pressures. For adolescents, categorical thinking again predicted intentions. For both age groups, adding FTT's predictors accounted for significantly more variance than baseline models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Objective: Effectiveness of behavioural obesity treatments in adolescents is modest. Thus, incorporating participant feedback may lead to improvement of intervention acceptability. This qualitative study's objective was to assess perceived barriers/facilitators to weight loss and healthy lifestyles among diverse adolescents with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). Methods: Adolescents ages 14–19 with BMI ≥ 85th percentile participated in focus groups and identified perceived barriers/facilitators to weight loss and healthy lifestyles. Results: Ten sex‐stratified focus groups (n = 41; n = 13 males, n = 28 females) were conducted in 2018 and 2019. Females reported experiencing weight struggles, whereas males often stated no struggles with weight, despite all participants meeting criterion for OW/OB. Barriers included eating behaviours, family members and internal motivation, with additional barriers of physical activity, friends, time and support cited in females. Facilitators included parental, familial and peer support of healthy eating and exercise, modelling behaviours, internal motivation and organized sports. Two additional findings regarding adolescents' perceived barriers/facilitators include substantial overlap and sex differences of perceived barriers/facilitators. Conclusions: Adolescent males and females with OW/OB experience weight status differently, affecting their perceived barriers/facilitators to weight loss and healthy lifestyles. Tailoring weight management interventions to the unique needs of adolescent females versus adolescent males has the potential to improve intervention quality and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applied psychology is characterised by a variety of theoretical models, informing distinct approaches to classification, explanation, and intervention in service-delivery. Such theoretical or psychological models include behavioural, biological, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, and social paradigms, with exposure to these models and attitude formation occurring within the structured university-based stage of sport psychology development. It is, therefore, important for the sport psychological domain to investigate developing attitudes, given these models inform subsequent professional practice and decision making. Accordingly, the present study explored the attitudes of Stage-1 sport psychology students through a modified form of the Maudsley Attitude Questionnaire (34 males, Mage = 24.71 years, SD = 7.23 and 42 females, Mage = 24.76 years, SD = 6.20). The questionnaire was designed to assess attitudes across eight psychological models (e.g. biological, cognitive) and four sport psychology issues (pre-performance anxiety, a lack of confidence, depression, and eating disorders). Analyses of variance demonstrated significant main, model, and interaction effects. No one psychological model was endorsed by all respondents, with model endorsement varying significantly as a function of the issue presented. Principal Axis Factoring revealed a large contribution attributable to cognitive–behavioural and 'eclectic' (mixed elements of social constructionism, biological, and psychodynamic) models. In contrast, the spiritual model represented low levels of participant endorsement and application. Investigation of Stage-1 students can promote an evidence-based understanding on currently developing attitudes and inform the development of sport psychology education, supervision of training routes, and subsequent professional delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐talk is a psychological skill that benefits motor performance by controlling and organizing performers' thoughts. While the behavioral effects of self‐talk are clear, research on the mechanisms underpinning the effects of different modes of self‐talk is sparse. To address this issue, we propose and test a psychophysiological model of the effects of self‐talk on motor performance. Forty golf novices practiced a golf putting task while using either instructional or motivational self‐talk preceding each putt. We measured performance (radial error), technique (club kinematics and muscle activity), cardiac activity (heart‐rate and event‐related heart‐rate change), as well as electroencephalographic alpha power and connectivity in a randomized (group: instructional self‐talk, motivational self‐talk) experimental design. Instructional self‐talk promoted superior technique and was associated with greater parietal alpha power and weaker connectivity between frontal and parietal electrodes and all other scalp sites, possibly indicative of increased top‐down control of action. These findings provide initial evidence for an information‐processing mechanism underlying the benefits of instructional self‐talk. They also cast doubt on the validity of left‐frontotemporal connectivity as a measure of verbal‐analytic processing during motor tasks. Motivational self‐talk led to increased heart‐rate and reduced event‐related heart rate variability, suggesting an effort‐based mechanism to explain the benefits of motivational self‐talk. Our study represents the most complete multi‐measure investigation of self‐talk to date. We hope that our psychophysiological model of self‐talk will encourage researchers to move beyond the exclusive reliance on behavioral and self‐report measures to discover the mechanisms underlying the benefits of self‐talk for performance. Self‐talk is a psychological skill that benefits motor performance by controlling and organizing performers' thoughts. This is the first study to adopt a multi‐measure psychophysiological approach for the investigation of self‐talk during a complex and ecologically valid motor task such as golf‐putting. In doing so, it offers a psychophysiological foundation of the differential effects of the effects of this cognitive technique on skill execution and opens a new avenue for researchers in sport psychology and motor skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of mental fatigue on passing decision-making in professional soccer athletes. A controlled and counterbalanced cross-over design was adopted consisting of three visits with a 1-week interval between sessions. Twenty professional soccer male athletes participated in three randomized conditions divided into three visits: control, 15-min Stroop task, and 30-min Stroop task. Inhibitory control was accessed by the Stroop task (accuracy and response time) before and after induced mental fatigue protocol. The athletes played a training match (90-min) following the experimental conditions. The Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used for the passing decision-making analysis. The GPAI analysis showed impaired passing decision-making performance following the 30-min Stroop task compared with the 15-min and control condition (F(2,17) = 6.99, p =.01). Moreover, an increase in response time during the Stroop task was found following 30-min Stroop task condition (F(2,17) = 6.57, p =.03) compared to 15-min of Stroop task and control conditions. Prolonged cognitive tasks may be considered a mediating factor in passing decision-making performance in male professional soccer athletes throughout a full-length training match. Thus, athletes should avoid highly demanding-cognitive tasks before a soccer match. Future studies are required to explore more ecological cognitive tasks to induce mental fatigue (i.e. smartphones and video-games) and their effects on other performance indicators (e.g. physical, technical, tactical) in a full-length training match setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research over the past 15 years on the placebo effect has substantiated its contribution to the efficacy of established treatments for a range of clinical conditions and identified its underlying mechanisms. There is also evidence that placebo effects contribute to the performance benefits of many ergogenic aids, and that performance can worsen when dummy treatments are associated with expectations of a harmful outcome (i.e. nocebo effect). Unfortunately, the bulk of sport research involving placebos and nocebos continues to be hampered by outdated definitions and conceptualizations of placebo effects and their mechanisms. This has implications not only for research but also application, as nearly 50% of athletes report experiencing a beneficial placebo effect, and a similar proportion of coaches report providing placebos to their athletes. The objective of this paper is to attempt to stimulate research by presenting updated definitions of placebo and nocebo effects in the context of sport, describing their major mechanisms and, highlighting the importance of the psychosocial context on placebo effects in the sport setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although self‐talk during competitive sports is common and predictive of athletes' motivation, experiences, and performance, it is difficult to accurately assess self‐talk. An important, yet underexplored, next step in the assessment of self‐talk is to rely on a multi‐method approach. The present study sought to examine whether tennis players' self‐talk assessed either via self‐reports or via a live‐recorded procedure would relate to each other. Competitive tennis players (N = 120; Mage = 25.22; SDage = 9.82) were asked to perform multiple tennis exercises while verbalizing their thoughts, which were audio‐recorded and subsequently coded. Prior to exercise engagement, they indicated their fear of failure, while, after exercise engagement, they reported on their experienced pressure and self‐talk using questionnaires. There was substantial correspondence between the coded and self‐reported measure, allowing the estimation of a latent factor representing a multi‐method assessment of self‐talk. Moreover, in a theory‐consistent way, both latent factors representing negative and positive self‐talk were related to a hypothesized antecedent (ie, fear of failure), with negative self‐talk also relating to a hypothesized consequence (ie, perceived pressure). Overall, the present study shows that athletes' self‐talk can be measured reliably through different methods. Guidelines for the assessment of self‐talk in future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we know what nations intend when they wage war? Scholars of the just war tradition have tended to assume that belligerent nations intend whatever their heads of state say they intend. But this confuses descriptions of intentions—only some of them sincere—with intentions themselves. In truth, intentions are much more action‐oriented and embodied than scholars have so far realized. Nor have scholars of the just war tradition adequately reckoned with the corporate character of national intentions. In order to remedy this, I draw upon the insights of both neuroscience and the scholarly subfield known as "cognitive sports psychology" in order to craft a robustly embodied and adequately corporate account of a nation's wartime intentions. But we cannot simply plug this new understanding of intention into existing formulations of what qualifies as a just war. Assessments of national intentions will remain overly verbal and insufficiently corporate as long as scholars split war into the three phases of jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and jus post bellum. Because intention is action‐oriented, we cannot know what a nation intends until it has acted; intention unfolds across all phases of war and therefore cannot be fully known until a war is finished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Previous research by the authors found that mental toughness, as measured by the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48 (MTQ48; Clough, P.J., Earle, K., & Sewell, D. [2002]. Mental toughness: the concept and its measurement. In I. Cockerill (Ed.), Solutions in sport psychology [pp. 32–43]. London: Thomson Publishing), was significantly associated with performance on the list‐method directed forgetting task. The current study extends this finding to the item‐method directed forgetting task in which the instruction to Remember or Forget is given after each item in the study list. A significant positive association was found between the correct recognition of Remember words and the emotional control subscale of the MTQ48. No significant associations were observed with other measures of mental toughness or personality. The findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between mental toughness and cognitive control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: One factor in reducing the likelihood of sports‐related brain injuries is the recognition of risks. However, using colloquial terms may deemphasize the severity of these risks. We hypothesized that using colloquial language to describe sports‐related brain injuries will lead to greater willingness to take on the risk. We conducted two experiments, varying the label describing an injury (getting your bell rung, concussion, or brain injury) and assessing willingness of current athletes, former athletes, and nonathletes to accept this risk as part of sports participation. High‐school and college athletes were willing to expose themselves to a high probability of risk, compared with nonathletes, when described colloquially. However, risk thresholds were low and indistinguishable across groups when using the term "brain injury." Findings remained significant when controlling for knowledge, age, and sensation seeking. These differences indicate that the term "getting your bell rung" should not be used to describe a brain injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to make fast, accurate decisions is an essential skill for all who play sport. However, measuring this ability has proved difficult for coaches and talent identification practitioners. Pattern recognition (a key factor in decision making) has commonly been measured using pattern recall tasks. This study aimed to understand whether accuracy when recalling rugby union patterns is a valid measure of on-field decision making performance. In Study 1, professional players recalled structured patterns of players from still images (N = 20) viewed for 5 s. On-field decision-making markers, including coaches' rankings of decision-making ability, playing position, number of years playing professionally and total number of years playing rugby union, were used as predictor variables of recall accuracy. Results showed that only total number of years playing rugby union was correlated with recall accuracy, suggesting that caution is necessary when adopting these tasks for talent identification purposes. The structured stimuli used in Study 1 were not representative of a true rugby union game, so Study 2 tested novice and expert players on a pattern recall task that included structured, semi-structured and unstructured rugby union patterns. Experts were significantly more accurate than novices when recalling structured and semi-structured patterns; however, there were no differences when recalling unstructured patterns. It was concluded that structured and semi-structured patterns should be used in future studies to test whether pattern recall tasks can be used for talent identification in rugby union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given sport's ever-increasing value and competitiveness, the race to identify and develop the next generation of sporting talent has never been more intense. Accordingly, in an effort to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of talent development, and recognising the critical role that psychology plays in these processes, this paper seeks to develop a formative assessment tool that will allow practitioners to measure and monitor the development of the psychological skills, characteristics and behaviours - both adaptive and maladaptive - that underpin effective development. Following a process of item generation and justification, a 135-item questionnaire was completed by 512 developing male athletes from academy-based team sports. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify any underpinning latent factor structures, resulting in an 88-item, 7-factor solution that accounted for 40% of the explained variance, with an overall reliability of α = 0.879. A subsequent discriminant function analysis was conducted and the questionnaire was able to correctly classify 72.9% of participants based on their responses. Accordingly, the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence Questionnaire version 2 (PCDEQ2) provides talent development environments with a valid and reliable measure form which to base effective psycho-behavioural interventions, ultimately improving the effectiveness of talent development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross‐sectional study was conducted with 605 practitioners of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) to test the hypothesis that high arousal rituals promote social cohesion, primarily through identity fusion. BJJ promotion rituals are rare, highly emotional ritual events that often feature gruelling belt‐whipping gauntlets. We used the variation in such experiences to examine whether more gruelling rituals were associated with identity fusion and pro‐group behaviour. We found no differences between those who had undergone belt‐whipping and those who had not and no evidence of a correlation between pain and social cohesion. However, across the full sample we found that positive, but not negative, affective experiences of promotional rituals were associated with identity fusion and that this mediated pro‐group action. These findings provide new evidence concerning the social functions of collective rituals and highlight the importance of addressing the potentially diverging subjective experiences of painful rituals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, titled "Sports Augmented Cognitive Benefits: An fMRI Study of Executive Function with Go/NoGo Task," has been retracted by Hindawi due to evidence of systematic manipulation of the publication process. The investigation revealed discrepancies in scope, description of the research, and availability of data, as well as inappropriate citations and incoherent content. The retraction notice aims to alert readers that the article's content is unreliable. Additionally, the article failed to meet human-subject reporting requirements. Wiley and Hindawi have implemented additional measures to safeguard research integrity. The corresponding author has been given the opportunity to respond to the retraction. [Extracted from the article]

Summary: A prominent topic is whether visual or motor expertise makes greater contribution to expert visual anticipation in sport. This stems from psychological theories, such as common coding theory, which predicts perception and action can inform each other in a bidirectional manner. This paper reviews the literature that has investigated visual and motor expertise contributions to expert visual anticipation in sport. First, psychological theories are discussed that predict visual and motor contributions to perceptual–motor behaviour. Second, classifications of motor skills and studies are presented to evaluate the literature reviewed. Third, literature is reviewed with reference to performance, learning, and transfer of visual anticipation, which are all vital for successful sports performance. The review aims to stimulate thought about mechanisms underpinning visual and motor expertise relative to performance, learning, and transfer of anticipation skill, which can better guide the practitioner to improve skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]