Resilience in Sports: Sport Type, Gender, Age and Sport Level Differences.

There seems to be a broad consensus that there is a positive correlation between resilience and sport performance. However, different studies show divergent results on the role played by certain variables in this relationship. This study aimed to analyze the possible relationships between resilience levels and the practiced sport according to gender, age, and competitive level of the athletes in 1047 competitive athletes from five different sports (handball, basketball, volleyball, athletics, and judo). Resilience was assessed with the Spanish version of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Results of independent samples t-tests or analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed no significant differences on the level of resilience according to the practiced sport or the competitive level. However, the analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that they were related to the gender and age of the athletes, being higher in males than in females, and there was a positive correlation with age. These results seem to suggest the convenience of using differentiated strategies, according to gender and age, when working on all those protective factors that could allow the athlete to perform better when facing adversity in the competitive environment.

Emotional Intelligence in Physical Activity, Sports and Judo: A Global Approach.

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been studied in relation to health and physical activity (PA) or in a sport-specific approach. EI is related to sports performance; however, combat sports seem to show characteristics of their own that involve better control of emotions than other sports. This study aimed to analyse whether there are differences in EI dimensions between those who do not achieve World Health Organization (WHO) PA recommendations, those who meet WHO PA recommendations, those who meet WHO PA recommendations practising sports, and judokas of different levels. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample comprised 2938 undergraduate students from Madrid and 487 active Spanish judokas. PA was measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). EI was assessed by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24). Three different one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA (controlling for gender and age) were conducted to compare the effect of type of group studied on the EI dimensions. Significant differences in EI dimensions were found between those who do not meet PA recommendations, those who meet PA recommendations, those who meet PA recommendations practising sports, and judo athletes of different levels. However, when controlling for gender and age, these differences remained specifically in emotional attention and in emotional repair. Judo athletes and high-performance judo athletes showed better EI than the rest of the studied groups.