Psychosocial Factors and Sport Injuries: Meta-analyses for Prediction and Prevention.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have suggested that psychosocial variables can increase the risk of becoming injured during sport participation. OBJECTIVES: The main objectives of these meta-analyses were to examine (i) the effect sizes of relationships between the psychosocial variables (suggested as injury predictors in the model of stress and athletic injury) and injury rates, and (ii) the effects of psychological interventions aimed at reducing injury occurrence (prevention). METHODS: Electronic databases as well as specific sport and exercise psychology journals were searched. The literature review resulted in 48 published studies containing 161 effect sizes for injury prediction and seven effect sizes for injury prevention. RESULTS: The results showed that stress responses (r = 0.27, 80 % CI [0.20, 0.33]) and history of stressors (r = 0.13, 80 % CI [0.11, 0.15]) had the strongest associations with injury rates. Also, the results from the path analysis showed that the stress response mediated the relationship between history of stressors and injury rates. For injury prevention studies, all studies included (N = 7) showed decreased injury rates in the treatment groups compared to control groups. CONCLUSION: The results support the model's suggestion that psychosocial variables, as well as psychologically, based interventions, can influence injury risk among athletes.

Things we still haven't learned (so far).

Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is like an immortal horse that some researchers have been trying to beat to death for over 50 years but without any success. In this article we discuss the flaws in NHST, the historical background in relation to both Fisher's and Neyman and Pearson's statistical ideas, the common misunderstandings of what p < .05 actually means, and the 2010 APA publication manual's clear, but most often ignored, instructions to report effect sizes and to interpret what they all mean in the real world. In addition, we discuss how Bayesian statistics can be used to overcome some of the problems with NHST. We then analyze quantitative articles published over the past three years (2012-2014) in two top-rated sport and exercise psychology journals to determine whether we have learned what we should have learned decades ago about our use and meaningful interpretations of statistics.

But what do the numbers really tell us? Arbitrary metrics and effect size reporting in sport psychology research.

Many of the measurements used in sport psychology research are arbitrary metrics, and researchers often cannot make the jump from scores on paper-and-pencil tests to what those scores actually mean in terms of real-world behaviors. Effect sizes for behavioral data are often interpretable, but the meaning of a small, medium, or large effect for an arbitrary metric is elusive. We reviewed all the issues in the 2005 volumes of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, and the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology to determine whether the arbitrary metrics used in sport psychology research were interpreted, or calibrated, against real-world variables. Of the 54 studies that used quantitative methods, 25 reported only paper-and-pencil arbitrary metrics with no connections to behavior or other real-world variables. Also, 44 of the 54 studies reported effect sizes, but only 7 studies, using both arbitrary and behavioral metrics, had calculated effect indicators and interpreted them in terms of real-world meaning.

Psychological intervention programs for reduction of injury in ballet dancers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two psychological interventions designed to reduce injury among dancers by enhancing coping skills. Participants were 35 ballet dancers. They were assigned to three conditions: control (n = 12), autogenic training (n = 12), and a broad-based coping skills condition, including autogenic training, imagery, and self-talk (n = 11). The 12-week interventions were designed on the basis of results from previous studies. For the 12 weeks following the intervention, participants were asked to practice their respective interventions three times a week. During the 24-week period (12 weeks training plus 12 weeks practice), training staff at the dance academies recorded injuries on a record sheet each day. Participants wrote injury records by themselves for another 24 weeks. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and univariate tests for each dependent variable showed that the broad-based coping skills condition enhanced coping skills, in particular, peaking under pressure, coping with adversity, having confidence and achievement motivation, and concentrating. Separate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), one using preintervention injury frequency as the covariate and one using preintervention injury duration as the covariate, revealed that participants in the broad-based coping skills condition spent less time injured than participants in the control condition.

Relaxation and health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: the example of autogenic training.

This study was a pilot project to explore the effect of an autogenic training program (AT; a relaxation intervention) on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and well-being for people with multiple sclerosis. Participants either met weekly for sessions in AT for 10 weeks (n = 11) or were assigned to the control group (n = 11). The AT group was also asked to practice the technique daily at home. Scales designed to measure HRQOL and aspects of well-being (mood and depressed affect) were taken preintervention and at week 8 of the 10-week program. ANCOVAs using a measure of social support and pretest scores as covariates revealed that at the posttest the AT group reported more energy and vigor than the control group and were less limited in their roles due to physical and emotional problems. Future research should involve studies conducted over an extended period, together with sufficiently sized samples to explore the effect of frequency of practice of relaxation training on HRQOL and well-being for people with multiple sclerosis.