An Exploratory Study on the Conceptualization of Burnout among the Professional Esports Athletes: Focused on League of Legends Champions Korea League.

Research on the stress and burnout experienced by athletes in the esports field remains limited, necessitating an approach that considers the unique environment and circumstances of esports athletes. This study aims to explore the conceptualization of burnout experiences among professional esports athletes. The participants included 88 athletes from the League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK). Among these, in-depth interviews were conducted with 7 athletes who had experience in international tournaments (the World Championship), while an open-ended survey was completed by 81 athletes. Data collected through in-depth interviews and an open-ended survey were digitized and utilized for analysis. Through critical review by another author and inductive categorization, the conceptual components of esports athletes' burnout were derived. Through the analysis of 251 raw datum, it was conceptualized into five conceptual factors: performance, overtraining, interpersonal relationships, physical and psychological exhaustion, and career and motivation. The results of this study confirm that esports athletes, like athletes in other conventional sports, experience burnout during their careers, highlighting issues in their unique environment, particularly in aspects of interpersonal relationships and training and rest conditions. This research can serve as a foundational resource for effective athletes' psychological health management in the esports field and underscores the need for further research on burnout among esports athletes.

The Longitudinal Mediating Effect of Smartphone Dependency on the Relationship between Exercise Time and Subjective Happiness in Adolescents.

The phenomenon of adolescents engaging in less physical activity as they age raises several concerns. Among these, we hypothesized that this trend may negatively impact their mental health and smartphone dependency. Thus, the aim of this study was to longitudinally examine the mediating effect of smartphone dependency in the relationship between adolescents' exercise time and subjective well-being. For analysis, publicly available data from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey were utilized, with a total of 2,242 participants' data included in the analysis. Latent growth modeling results revealed a significant linear decrease in adolescents' exercise time and subjective well-being each year, while smartphone dependency exhibited an increasing trend. Furthermore, the significance tests of indirect effects indicated that the mediating effect of the changing trend in smartphone dependency between the changing trends in exercise time and subjective happiness in adolescents was statistically significant. These findings suggest that as grade levels increase, reducing exercise time can lead to higher smartphone dependency among adolescents, ultimately resulting in decreased subjective well-being.

The Effects of Adolescents' Participation in Video Games on Cognitive Function and Motor Control Skills.

There is still a lack of understanding of the productive areas of video game participation. Therefore, in order to observe positive effects and changes in game participation, this study examines the effects of game participation on the cognitive function and motor skills from 130 adolescents. To evaluate the participants' test performance, a cognitive function and motor control skill test program consisting of 10 tests were used (Trail Making, Corsi block, Tower of London, shooting game tasks, etc.). Differences in test performances between groups were verified using one-way ANOVA and an independent t-test. The results were as follows: first, there was no difference between groups according to the frequency of game participation in every test performance. Second, the results of this study showed statistically significant differences between groups according to the play time of game participation in several test performances (Key-mapping: p = 0.40; score of Grid Shot: p = 0.01, 0.07; score of Sphere Track: p = 0.12, 0.21; accuracy of Sphere Track: p = 0.12, 0.16). Also, all the effects' size results were confirmed as medium (Cohen's f > 0.20 and <0.40). Third, high school students only showed statistically significant higher results in a Multi-tasking test performance than middle school students, and the results of the effect size were confirmed to be middle and large (Multi-tasking1: p = 0.00, Cohen's d = 0.830; Multi-tasking2: p = 0.05, Cohen's d = 0.501). The results of this study imply the need to regard game participation as a behavior that can contribute to adolescents' cognitive psychological health.

The Effect of Olfactory Inhalation on KPGA Golfers' Putting Performance, Postural Stability and Heart Rate.

Some athletes utilize olfactory inhalation treatments using ammonia salt and aromatic oils to attain their peak performance or for physical and psychological relaxation. However, there is still a lack of clear evidence on olfactory inhalation treatment and scent types via precise experiments, and there is no research regarding fine motor control performance in activities such as golf putting. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of various olfactory inhalations (lavender, citrus, and ammonia) on professional golfers' 3-meter putting performance (percentage of success), postural stability (CoP area), and heart rate (HR). In order to examine the effects of olfactory treatment on actual automated task performance, ten professional golfers were recruited for the putting task experiment. During the putting task, a biometric shirt was utilized to record the HR changes, and a force plate was used to measure changes in the CoP area. The results were as follows. First, the olfactory inhalation treatment inhibited the putting performance (no inhalation: 68.75%; lavender: 51.25%; citrus: 40.00%; ammonia: 52.50%); however, no statistically significant difference was found (p = 0.115). Second, the olfactory inhalation treatment inhibited postural stability while putting; it had a partially statistically significant lower value (address: p = 0.000; downswing: p = 0.035; total putting section: p = 0.047). Third, the olfactory inhalation treatment decreased the HR during putting; however, there was no statistically significant difference between groups (address: p = 0.838; putting: p = 0.878; total: p = 0.666). This study implies that olfactory inhalation affects putting performance, postural stability, and HR. The effect size results for the olfactory treatment in the CoP area during the putting task (address: η2 = 0.524; downswing: η2 = 0.349; total putting section: η2 = 0.298) suggest that arousal regulation through olfactory inhalation may have negative effects on dynamic postural stability in static tasks such as golf putting, showing the direction of its useful application for athletes in sports.

The Mediating Effect of Disability Acceptance in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury Participating in Sport for All.

The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of disability acceptance among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) participating in the Sport for All program through self-help group activities with other individuals with SCI. This study investigated whether disability acceptance mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction and between sense of belonging and life satisfaction. Subjects were 142 individuals with SCI participating in the self-help group with other sports activities including para table tennis, swimming, wheelchair rugby, and weight training. A simple mediation effect analysis showed that disability acceptance significantly mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction (indirect effect, b = 0.219) and between the sense of belonging and life satisfaction (indirect effect, b = 0.289). The results suggest the importance of disability acceptance for individuals with SCI participating in "Sports for All" programs.

Physical Fitness Level and Mood State Changes in Basic Military Training.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the change of fitness level and mood states in the basic military training (BMT) for midshipmen using latent growth model analysis. A total of 285 midshipmen were selected as participants in BMT. The results were as follow: First, the slope of low initial fitness level increase higher than high initial fitness level. Second, there is no significant on relation between the slope of total mood disturbance score (TMD) and initial TMD level. Third, initial fitness level might increase the difference in participants' mood state. To Sum up, participants in low initial fitness level scored lower on the results of initial TMD than people in high initial fitness level, and the rate of change in TMD of the stronger participants was larger than the others. Thus, we suggested that to consideration not only fitness level but also psychological, social aspect during in BMT.

The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Sport Participation Trajectories from Adolescence to Young Adulthood.

Given the potential negative effects of parental incarceration on millions of people, it is critical to examine the possible short- and long-term effects of parental incarceration on individuals. This study examines the effect of parental incarceration on the sports participation trajectories of children ranging from adolescence to young adulthood. Group-based trajectory models were set up using SAS analytics software to examine how parental incarceration affects the sports participation trajectories of children from adolescence to young adulthood. Data were drawn from the first four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States (N = 6504). Neither paternal nor maternal incarceration had any significant effect on the trajectories of male participants. On the other hand, females who experienced father incarceration were more likely to be in the low-stable versus high-decreasing group (coefficient = -0.721, p < 0.05). Based on the results of this study, we conclude that programs promoting sports participation are needed for females who have experienced paternal incarceration. The results of this study also suggest that group-based trajectory modeling is a useful technique to examine the trajectories of sports participation from adolescence through to young adulthood.