ABSTRACT
Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the anxiety of catching the corona virus of game and combat athletes. Methods: A total of 351 university student athletes were asked to fill in the "Anxiety of catching the Corona virus" scale developed by Demir et al., (2020). Independent t-test and one-way Anova tests were used for statistical differences. Conclusion: The difference between the total scale scores of individual anxiety and anxiety of catching a new type of corona virus according to gender was statistically significant (p<0.05). The difference in social anxiety sub-dimension scores according to gender was not statistically significant (p>0.05). A statistically significant difference was found in the anxiety of catching coronavirus 19 according to the students' game and combat sports (p<0.001). The anxiety of catching the corona virus is different for students who play games and fight sports. It has been determined that while the anxiety of catching corona virus 19 in university students who play games and combat sports varies according to gender and the type of sport they do, it is similar according to the sports age category. Students are moderately concerned about contracting coronavirus 19. The fact that the students who do combat sports have a higher level of anxiety than the students who play sports may be due to the close contact of the sports they are doing. In sports that require close contact, it can be recommended to use more mascots instead of paired exercises.
ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we conduct daily life, as well as sports training and sports competitions. Given the stress produced by COVID-19, and the "bubble" safety measures for the World Sambo Championship, held in Novi Sad, from the 6th to the 8th of November, 2020, athletes might have experienced more stress than athletes normally would in non-pandemic conditions. Therefore, the current study aimed to create a psychological profile of sambo athletes participating in the Sambo World Championship and living in this condition. Methods: One-hundred-fifteen participants took part in the study, completing the Profile of Mood Scale (POMS), the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. A mediation model with Fear of COVID-19 predicting both stress level directly and stress level through mood disturbance was hypothesized. Gender differences were evaluated through t-test. Results: The results showed that the sample presented higher levels of stress but no problems in sleeping. In particular, data analysis confirmed an indirect effect of Fear of COVID on Perceived stress through mood disturbance (ß = 0.14, Z = 2.80, and p = 0.005), but did not have a significant impact on the direct effect (ß = -0.04, Z = -0.48, and p = 0.63). Gender differences emerged in the perceived stress level (t = -2.86, df = 114, and p = 0.005) and daytime dysfunction (t = -2.52, df = 114, and p = 0.01) where females scored higher than males for both aspects. Conclusion: The athletes participating to the World Sambo Championship experienced stress levels determined by the mood disturbance produced by the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic. Female athletes were more stressed and showed higher daytime dysfunction. The findings of the current study are useful to understand the psychological profile of the athletes competing in the "bubble" conditions during COVID-19 pandemic.