Goal-directed self-talk used to self-regulate in male basketball competitions.

This study examined how goal-directed self-talk may help basketball players to self-regulate in stereotypical competitive situations: seconds before a challenging game, while clearly winning or clearly losing, and at the close of a tight game. Participants were recruited in groups of three to four, until preliminary inspection of the data indicated that data saturation was reached. In the end, 34 basketball players voluntarily took part in individual interviews, writing up to three self-instructions they had used in each of the four competitive situations to self-regulate. Content analyses revealed that self-talk in competitive basketball situations serves cognitive functions (e.g., regulating cognition and behaviour), motivational functions (e.g., promoting mastery goals) and emotion and activation-regulating functions (e.g., creating activated states). More specifically, the results also indicated that athletes' self-talk may serve functions specific to the psychological demands experienced in each situation. It is argued that knowing how athletes counsel themselves, could prove important for applied sport psychologists to design psychological skill training.

FEPSAC Position Statement: Athletes' dual careers in the European context.

The aim of this FEPSAC Position Statement is to summarize current knowledge about athletes' dual careers (DCs) in the European context and propose recommendations for future DC research, practice, and policy. Inspired by the European Union's Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012), researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborated over the last decade to create the European DC discourse as a context-informed and negotiated body of DC knowledge. In this paper, we proceed from analyzing this body of knowledge using recent review papers and European DC psychological research projects to formulating seven postulates summarizing DC research findings on factors influencing athletes in their striving for DC excellence. These factors include (1) context, (2) pathways and transitions, (3) challenges, (4) resources and coping, (5) support and empowerment, (6) student-athletes' mental health, and (7) DC development environments. In the final section, we acknowledge the contributions of European DC discourse in serving athletes in their pursuit of DC excellence and European DC culture. We also provide a critical discussion on DC knowledge gaps and, on behalf of FEPSAC, offer recommendations for DC research, practice, and policy in Europe.

Perfectionistic Environments and Irrational Beliefs on the Transition to Elite Athletic Performance: A Longitudinal Study.

This study aimed to longitudinally evaluate talented athletes' levels of perfectionism, irrational beliefs, and motivations with regard to their athletic careers. A total of 390 athletes from U14, U16, and junior categories (MageT1 = 15.42) answered shortened versions of the Sport-MPS2, iPBI, and BRSQ during two consecutive seasons, along with questions referring to their current and predicted prioritization of sports and education. Participants reported high levels of perfectionistic strivings and medium to low levels of socially prescribed perfectionism and concern over mistakes decreasing from T1 to T2. A decrease was also found for demandingness and awfulizing, but increased levels were found for depreciation in T2. Participants report very high intrinsic motivation with low levels of external regulation and amotivation, but intrinsic motivation decreased from season to season. This general profile varied depending upon future expectancies toward dedication to sports and education. Those who foresaw a prioritized dedication to sports presented significantly higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionistic strivings, and intrinsic motivation, while those who considered that sports would not be prioritized in the following 5 years reported higher levels of demandingness, awfulizing, depreciation, and amotivation. Additionally, while current levels of motivation (T2) seemed to be predicted mainly by previous motivation levels (T1), significant predictive capacity was also detected for socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicting external regulations and amotivation, perfectionistic strivings negatively predicting amotivation, and depreciation negatively predicting intrinsic motivation and positively predicting both extrinsic regulation and amotivation. We discuss the potential perils of developing extremely demanding environments, as they could potentially result in poor motivational profiles of athletes in their talent development stage during the junior to senior transition.

Measurement invariance of the empowering and disempowering motivational climate questionnaire-coach in youth sport.

The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance (across five languages, two time points, and two experimental conditions) of the empowering and disempowering motivational climate questionnaire-coach (EDMCQ-C; Appleton et al., 2016) when completed by 9256 young sport participants (M age = 11.53 years, SD = 1.39 years; 13.5% female). Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the validity of a 2-factor (empowering and disempowering) model running a multiple group analysis without any equality constraint (configural invariance) followed by measurement invariance of factor loadings and thresholds (scalar invariance). Findings provided support for partial invariance across languages and scalar invariance across time and experimental groups. The factors were interpretable across the analyses, and items loaded as intended by theory except for item 15. This study provides further evidence regarding the psychometric properties of the EDMCQ-C and suggests this scale (minus item 15) can be used to provide meaningful latent mean comparisons (Marsh et al., 2013) of empowering and disempowering coach-created climates across athletes speaking the five targeted languages, across time, and across experimental groups.

Effects of the COVID-19 Health Crisis on Sports Practice, Life Quality, and Emotional Status in Spanish High-Performance Athletes.

Spain is one of the many countries highly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, establishing very restrictive measures with a complete lockdown for more than 3 months. This situation forced the complete closure of sport practice and national or international competitions, leading to a negative impact on physical and psychological health of high-performance athletes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (a) to determine the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis on Spanish high-performance athletes in terms of sports practice, life quality, and emotional state and (b) to identify the profile with the greatest difficulties during and after the lockdown. A sample of 130 high-performance athletes aged between 18 and 34 years (67 women and 63 men) participated in this study (83.1% achieved a medal in National-International elite competitions; 86.9% were considered student-athletes). Measures included socio-demographic data through a 5-dimension ad hoc survey: physical activity and exercise using an adapted version from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ); health status and limitations using an adapted version of SF-12 Health Questionnaire; Perceived stress (Short-PSS); and Mood States (29-item POMS). All participants have shown a significant decrease pre-post-lockdown in both health and performance perception, especially in women, individual athletes, medalists, and student-athletes. Strong limitations of training, attention, and motivation as well as a moderate negative emotional state during lockdown were reported, in women, individual athletes, medalists, and student-athletes. Even with an improved emotional state and energy level in the post-lockdown period, moderate-to-high stress scores were reported by women and medalists. Our findings highlight the importance of paying attention to the physical and psychological health of elite athletes on three profiles: team athletes (due to social distance), student-athletes (dual-career issues), and women athletes (prevalence of implicit gender inequalities in sport).

[Adaptation and validation of the Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale SAS-2 for young athletes]. / Adaptación y validación de la versión española de la Escala de Ansiedad Competitiva SAS-2 para deportistas de iniciación.

The aim of this study is to design a Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS-2). The questionnaire, originally developed by the Washington University research group in sport psychology to evaluate anxiety in young athletes, was translated and adapted following the APA protocol and its psychometric properties were assessed through internal consistency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and validity evidence. The Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale has revealed good internal consistency indexes in each subscale and its factor structure has faithfully replicated the one obtained in the original measure. Results indicate that the adapted version of the questionnaire is an adequate and valid measure for the assessment of anxiety in young athletes.

Where Did All the Sport Go? Negative Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Life-Spheres and Mental Health of Spanish Young Athletes.

During the 2020, the pandemic caused by the massive spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) resulted in a global crisis. In Spain, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lockdown for almost 100 days and forced the sudden stop of sport practices and competitions. This interruption had a negative impact on high-level athletes' mental health. However, its impact on young athletes, who are intrinsically developing a high-demanding dual career, remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed at (1) describing and characterizing the general impact that COVID-19 lockdown had on Spanish young athletes' life-spheres and mental health, and (2) identifying different profiles of athletes regarding life-conditions and sport-related variables. A sample of 544 young athletes (M = 15.9; SD = 1.51) participated in this study. Measures included life-conditions and sport-related information along with the Holistic Monitoring Questionnaire (HMQ) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). After the screening and description of the data, profiles were defined using a two-level cluster analysis using HMQ and GHQ-12 subscales. We explored differences in demographic and sports information between profiles using MANOVA and subsequent ANOVA. Results suggest a general negative impact of COVID-19 on young athletes' life-spheres and mental health, but with three different clusters regarding the degree of such impact. Cluster 1 grouped the 54.78% of the sample and exhibited a low negative impact of COVID-19 lockdown on life-spheres and few mental health issues. Cluster 2 grouped a 29.96% of the participants who reported a medium negative impact on life-spheres and moderate mental health issues. Cluster 3 represented 15.26% of the sample including participants who showed a high negative impact of the COVID-19 lockdown with high mental health issues. The paradigmatic participant in this third group would be a female student-athlete from a medium or low socioeconomic status with high academic demands and poor or inexistent training conditions during lockdown. Current findings emphasize the need to pay attention to young athletes' mental health and suggest possible influencing contextual variables. We suggest some applied recommendations aimed at helping clubs and sports institutions to mitigate the negative effects of such difficult circumstances on athletes' mental health.

Can Multi-Item Measures and Single-Item Measures be Trusted to Assess Self-Determination Theory Constructs in the Elderly?

BACKGROUND: Measuring complex constructs, such as those from self-determination theory models, is challenging in the elderly due to the response process, particularly in collective data gathering. In order to examine this construct in physical activity settings we aimed at determining whether single-item measures were as good as pre-existing multi-item measures. For that reason, we developed seven single-item measures targeting perceived interpersonal styles, basic needs satisfaction, and well-being. METHOD: We gathered evidence of validity and reliability for multi-item measures and single-item measures based on a sample of 128 elderly adults. Another sample of 62 elderly adults provided test-retest reliability for the single-item measures. RESULTS: Favourable evidence of the expected internal structure, concurrent validity, and reliability was obtained for competence- and relatedness-supportive styles, and for satisfaction of the basic psychological need of relatedness, fairly good evidence was obtained for subjective vitality, whereas mixed evidence was obtained for autonomy-supportive style and the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy and competence. CONCLUSIONS: Single-item measures proved to be psychometrically sound substitutes for their multi-item counterparts, but the autonomy constructs need to be reconsidered. Furthermore the response process and consequences of testing should play a prominent role when devising questionnaires for the elderly.

The Mediating Role of Coping between Competitive Anxiety and Sport Commitment in Adolescent Athletes.

Framed in cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions (Lazarus, 1999), this study aimed to test how coping mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment in a sample of adolescent athletes. Five-hundred adolescents (M = 16.42; SD = 1.54) participated in our study. Participants completed competitive anxiety, coping, and sport commitment measures. We defined the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling; and compared two different models of mediation (i.e., total and partial mediation) using structural equation modeling. Results favored partial mediation model where cognitive anxiety factors predicted sport commitment. Results from this model suggest direct and mediated structural relations between concepts. Somatic anxiety had a weak influence on sport commitment (total effects = 0.090 [-.131, .311]). Worry showed a positive influence on sport commitment (total effects = .375 [.262, .486]) through direct and mediated effects. Concentration disruption showed a negative impact on sport commitment (total effects = -.544 [-.724, -.363]) trough mediated effects only, showing a negative path on task-oriented coping and a positive path on disengagement-oriented coping. As a whole, our findings identify task coping efforts undertaken by adolescent athletes as a key element in the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the design of coping interventions in adolescents.

The Effect of Coaches' Controlling Style on the Competitive Anxiety of Young Athletes.

Framed on a Self-Determination Theory perspective, the purpose of this study was to explore the predictive capacity of coaches' interpersonal controlling style on the competitive anxiety of young athletes, considering the mediating effect of the athletes' controlled motivation on this relationship. The sample consisted of 1166 athletes, aged between 9 and 18, who ranked their perceptions of coaches' controlling style, as well as the reasons for participating in sport and their competitive anxiety before or during competition. The structural models assessing both the direct effect of the controlling style on the anxiety and the complete mediated effect of the controlled motivation on this relationship revealed good fit indices. However, a significant difference of the chi-square was obtained when comparing these models to the partial mediation model, providing evidence of this last model to be more adequate to describe the relationship between coaches' controlling style and athletes' competitive anxiety. Positive significant effects of coach controlling style on the three forms of competitive anxiety were found (ß CS-SA = 0.21, p < 0.001; ß CS-W = 0.14, p < 0.001; ß CS-CD = 0.30, p < 0.001) indicating that coach controlling style could be an antecedent for athletes' anxiety in a direct way. Although this style also predicts athletes' motivation to participate, this indirect path seems to predict competitive anxiety in a less clear way. We discuss our results facing them up to Vallerand's hierarchical model postulates, focusing on the relevant influence of coaches on the young athletes' experience in the sport context.

Exploring the factorial structure of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2: invariance across language, gender, age and type of sport.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the metric and scalar invariance of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), which is considered one of the best sport performance anxiety assessment tools for child and adolescent athletes, across four sampling variables: language, gender, age and type of sport. METHOD: The participants were 842 athletes (Mage = 11.73, SD = 2.20) from Spain, Belgium and Portugal, each of whom completed the language-adapted version of the SAS-2. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the invariance of the measurement model, and the relative importance of the sampling variables was assessed using a multiple indicator multiple causes model (MIMIC). RESULTS: The results revealed metric and scalar invariance across all sampling variables and null to modest effects of gender, age and type of sport as covariates for the factors of the SAS-2. However, there was a marked effect (ß = -.56) of language on worry, which reflected lower scores on this factor for the Flemish sample. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide evidence of the invariance of the SAS-2 across samples, thereby endorsing the reliability of its factorial structure for future multi-group research.

Experiencias del entorno deportivo de origen al asesorar a esgrimistas migrantes / Supporting Migrant Fencers in a Sporting Environment / Experiências do entorno esportivo de origem ao assessorar a esgrimistas migrantes

Resumen Objetivo. Explorar las experiencias de entrenadores y profesionales de la salud, al asesorar la transición cultural y la carrera deportiva transnacional de esgrimistas colombianos migrantes. Método. Se conformaron dos grupos focales en los que participaron nueve personas (seis hombres y tres mujeres), de un equipo multidisciplinario de alto rendimiento en esgrima: cinco entrenadores y cuatro profesionales de la salud. Los datos se analizaron por medio del análisis temático reflexivo. Resultados. Se evidencia que acompañar la transición cultural de esgrimistas migrantes impacta en el bienestar y las dinámicas de asesoramiento de entrenadores y profesionales de la salud. Se generaron dos temas centrales: (a) en guardia y (b) marchar y romper. En el primero comentaron haber experimentado sorpresa, dilemas y la sensación de pasar a un segundo plano respecto a su rol como asesores técnicos y de la salud. En el segundo, se evidenció el cambio en las dinámicas de asesoramiento (comunicación virtual) y el carácter reactivo de las relaciones a distancia. Conclusión. La migración en el deporte genera nuevos desafíos para el equipo multidisciplinario que acompaña y asesora a los deportistas, tanto mujeres como hombres. Se proponen recomendaciones prácticas para entrenadores y profesionales de la salud, basadas en la praxis cultural de la Psicología Cultural aplicada al deporte.

Abstract Objective. To explore the experiences of coaches and health science professionals while supporting the cultural transition and the transnational sports career of migrant Colombian fencers. Method. Two focus groups were conducted with the participation of nine people of the top-class, multidisciplinary team in fencing (men = 6 and women = 3), coaches (n = 5) and health sciences professionals (n = 4). A reflexive thematic analysis was performed. Results. Supporting the cultural transition of migrant fencers impacts the well-being and supporting dynamics of coaches and health professionals. Two main issues were generated: (a) En garde; and (b) Marche and retraite. Regarding En garde, participants expressed that they faced dilemmas, surprise and the feeling of fading into the background regarding their role as technical and health support providers. In Marche and retraite, the change in the counseling dynamics (e.g. virtual communication) and the reactive nature of distance relationships was clear. Conclusion. The sport migration create new challenges for the multidisciplinary team that supports and assists athletes' transnational careers. Hence, practical recommendations for coaches and health professionals based on the cultural praxis of Cultural Sport Psychology are suggested.

Resumo Escopo. Explorar as experiências de treinadores e profissionais da saúde, ao assessorar a transição cultural e a carreira esportiva de esgrimistas colombianos migrantes. Metodologia. Foram conformados dois grupos focais nos que participaram nove pessoas (seis homens e três mulheres), da equipe multidisciplinar de alto rendimento em esgrima: cinco treinadores e quatro profissionais da saúde. Os dados foram analisados por meio da análise temática reflexiva. Resultados. Foi evidenciado que acompanhar a transição cultural de esgrimistas migrantes impacta no bem-estar e as dinâmicas de assessorar de treinadores e profissionais da saúde. Foram gerados dois temas centrais: (a) em guarda e (b) marchar e quebrar. No primeiro comentaram ter experimentado surpresa, dilemas e a sensação de passar a um segundo plano respeito a seu controle como assessores técnicos e da saúde. No segundo, foi evidenciada a mudança nas dinâmicas de assessorar (comunicação virtual) e o caráter reativo das relações a distancia. Conclusão. A migraçao esportiva gera novos desafios para a equipe multidisciplinar que acompanha e assessora aos atletas, tanto mulheres como homens. São propostas recomendações práticas para treinadores e profissionais da saúde, baseadas na práxis cultural da Psicologia Cultural ao esporte.

Motivaciones hacia la actividad física de adolescentes, adultos mayores y exdeportistas de élite: Un análisis cualitativo / Motivations toward Physical Activity of Adolescents, Older Adults and Former Elite Athletes: A Qualitative Analysis / Motivações para a atividade física em adolescentes, idosos e ex-atletas de elite: Uma análise qualitativa

Resumen Objetivo. Explorar las similitudes y diferencias de los tipos de motivación hacia la práctica de actividad física (AF) de adolescentes, adultos mayores y exdeportistas de élite, desde la Teoría de la Autodeterminación, para la creación de programas de AF. Método. La recolección de los datos se llevó a cabo mediante grupos focales: tres con adolescentes, dos con adultos mayores y uno con exdeportistas. En total, participaron 17 adolescentes, 14 adultos mayores y cuatro exdeportistas. Se realizó un análisis temático. Resultados. Para cada grupo se encontró un conjunto de factores de motivación autónoma, controlada y amotivacionales hacia la práctica de AF. En común, en los tres grupos estudiados, se identificaron la diversión, la socialización y la salud como factores de motivación hacia la práctica de AF. Conclusión. Las orientaciones para la creación de programas de AF para adolescentes se centraron en la individualización de sus objetivos y la percepción en la libertad de elección relacionada con cada AF. En adultos mayores, el enfoque fue hacia nuevas experiencias, considerando de forma significativa el perfil del monitor. Para el grupo de exdeportistas se propone que el punto de partida sea la reconceptualización de la práctica de AF después de la carrera deportiva.

Abstract Objective. To explore the similarities and differences between the types of motivation towards the practice of physical activity (PA) in different populations (adolescents, older adults and former elite athletes) for the creation of PA programs that reflect the particularities of those populations. Method. The qualitative data collection was carried out through focus groups; three groups with adolescents, two with older adults and one with former elite athletes. In total, 17 adolescents, 14 older adults and four former elite athletes participated in this study. A thematic analysis was conducted. Results. The results are shown based on autonomous, controlled motivation and amotivation towards the practice of physical activity for each group. Fun, socialization and health have been identified as motivating factors towards the PA practice common in the three groups studied. Conclusion. Orientations are proposed for the creation of PA programs. For adolescents, the proposal would include the individualization of their objectives and the perception of the freedom of choice in relation to the PA. For the group of older adults, it is important to offer new experiences, taking into account the profile of the monitor. For the group of former elite athletes, the proposed starting point would be the reconceptualization of the PA practice after the athletic career.

Resumo Escopo. Explorar as similitudes e as diferencias dos tipos de motivação para a prática física (AF) de adolescentes, idosos, e ex-atletas de elite, desde a Teoria da Autodeterminação, para a criação de programas de AF. Metodologia. A recolecção de dados foi feita em grupos focais: três com adolescentes, dois com idosos e um com ex-atletas. Foi realizada uma análise temática. Resultados. Para cada grupo foi encontrado um conjunto de fatores de motivação autónoma, controlada e amotivacionais para a prática de AF. Em comum, nos três grupos estudados, foram identificadas a diversão, a socialização e a saúde como fatores de motivação para a prática de AF. Conclusão. As orientações para a criação de programas de AF para adolescentes estiveram centradas na individualização dos seus escopos e a percepção na liberdade de eleição relacionada com cada AF. Nos idosos, o enfoque foi para as novas experiências, considerando de forma significativa o perfil do monitor. Para o grupo de ex-atletas se propõe que o ponto de partida seja a reconceptualização da prática de AF depois da carreira esportiva.