The impact of stress, recovery and coping on burnout symptoms of young elite table-tennis players: A prospective multilevel study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the role of stress, recovery, and coping on table-tennis athlete burnout symptoms in considering both the roles of individual and contextual (training center) factors. Methods: One hundred and fifty-nine youth elite table-tennis players (Mage = 14.07, SD = 2.13) involved in 15 intensive training centers completed self-report questionnaires and socio-demographic data. Results: When time 1 (T1) levels 1 (individual) and 2 (training group, contextual factor) stress, recovery, and coping were simultaneously entered as predictors of each of the three burnout symptoms (physical and emotional exhaustion, sport devaluation, reduced accomplishment) at T2 (controlling for levels 1 and 2 burnout at T1), the results of multilevel analyses revealed that: (a) T1 level 1 recovery significantly negatively predicted T2 reduced accomplishment (ß = -0.23, p = 0.03); (b) T1 level 2 disengagement-oriented coping significantly negatively predicted T2 reduced accomplishment (ß = -0.71, p = 0.03); and (c) T1 level 2 task-oriented coping marginally significantly positively predicted T2 physical and emotional exhaustion (ß = 0.99, p = 0.06). Conclusion: Results of the present study provided evidence for the usefulness to disentangle the variances attributable to the individual (level 1) and contextual (level 2; training group) levels of the predictors (recovery, stress and coping) of athlete burnout. Moreover, rather than examining the antecedent role of stress on athlete burnout, it could be particularly fruitful to explore theoretical constructs able to annihilate the maladaptive effects of chronic stress such as coping and recovery.

The Predictive Role of Perceived Support from Principals and Professional Identity on Teachers' Motivation and Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study.

The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of perceived support from principals and teacher professional identity (TPI) on teacher's motivation, vigour and burnout using a longitudinal design during a school year. A sample of 544 secondary teachers reported their perceived support from principals and TPI at the beginning of the year (T1) and their self-determined motivation, vigour, and burnout both at the beginning (T1) and at the end of the year (T2). Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that the support from principals was associated with T1 TPI. T1 TPI only partially predicted T2 self-determined motivation (controlling T1 scores), and T2 self-determined motivation was associated with T2 burnout and vigour (controlling T1 scores). The SEM revealed a positive process involving perceived support from principals, pedagogical expertise, autonomous motivation, and well-being indicators. In summary, the present study extends the knowledge about the teacher well-being process and the role of contextual and individual antecedents. In an applied perspective, to prevent burnout, teachers need efficient initial and continuing pedagogical education to be armed in front of the students and need the support of their principals during the school year.

The role of dispositional emotion regulation strategies on the longitudinal emotional process and subjective performance during a competitive season.

The purpose of this study was to shed light on the associations between emotion regulation (ER) strategies used, their emotional processes (including cognitive appraisals and discrete emotions), and subjective performance across a competitive season. A sample of fifteen national-level rink hockey players completed ER questionnaire at the beginning of the season (T0) and reported their experiences of everyday appraisal, emotions, and subjective performance every week. A series of hierarchical linear modelling analyses (HLM) were performed to investigate the associations between the variables. Sobel tests were computed to identify the mediating effects of emotions and appraisals on these relationships. HLM results revealed that (a) T0 adaptive ER strategies were positively related to adaptive appraisals; (b) adaptive appraisals were positively related to pleasant emotions and negatively with unpleasant emotions and opposite relationships emerged for maladaptive appraisals; (c) happiness was positively associated with subjective performance. Sobel tests provided evidence of mediating effects of (a) appraisals in the relationships between T0 adaptive ER and pleasant emotions; and (b) happiness in the relationships between appraisals and subjective performance. The results highlighted the positive relationships between the adaptive dispositional ER strategies at the beginning of the season and the emotional experiences. Moreover, the analyses revealed relationships between appraisals, emotions, and subjective performance of athletes. In sum, this study provided additional knowledge about the capture of the emotional process during a competitive season highlighting the associations between a variety of emotions and selected key variables in a competitive context (i.e. ER strategies, appraisal, subjective performance).

Are performance trajectories associated with relative age in French top 100 youth table tennis players? - A longitudinal approach.

Although relative age effects in sports have been studied worldwide, the underlying mechanisms are still under debate. This study adds to the existing knowledge by providing a further exploration of the association between relative age and the performance trajectories over four years in youth players of an individual skill/technique based sport: table tennis. Data of 1000 French male and female youth top 100 players across five ages (U14, U15, U16, U17 and U18) were collected from the ranking lists over a four-year period. A series of latent growth analysis was conducted per subsample and revealed three performance trajectories for male U14, U16 and U17 as well as for female U17 and U18 and four performance trajectories for male U15 and U18 and female U14, U15 and U16. Results of chi-square tests revealed that the players' birth quartiles were significantly associated with the performance trajectories only for male players U18 with a large effect size (p = 0.01; W = .48). All other male subsample only showed a trend for the male subsamples for those born in the fourth quartile. No relations or trends were found in the female subsamples. Future research in relative age effects should further explore individual characteristics and pathways while using a longitudinal approach in a prospective design and evaluate influencing constraints (and solutions) in a more comprehensive way.

Self-determined motivation, emotional process and subjective performance among young elite athletes: A longitudinal hierarchical linear modelling approach.

This study aimed to explore relationships between contextual self-determined motivation, everyday appraisals and emotions related to the competitive environment and subjective performance of young elite athletes. Thirty-one young tennis players (18.45 years ± 4.63) involved in intensive training centres completed initial (Time 0 - T0) self-determined motivation questionnaire and a fortnightly logbook including everyday cognitive appraisals, discrete emotions and subjective performance. We computed a series of hierarchical linear modelling analyses (HLM) to explore the relationships between the variables and Sobel tests to examine the mediating effects. HLM results showed that: (a) T0 autonomous motivation was positively associated with adaptive appraisals (challenge and benefits); (b) threat and loss were positively related to unpleasant emotions (anxiety, anger, dejection) and negatively associated with pleasant emotions whereas challenge and benefits were positively related to pleasant emotions and negatively associated with unpleasant emotions; (c) subjective performance was positively associated with happiness and negatively associated with dejection. Moreover, the Sobel tests revealed that: (a) appraisal was a mediator of the relationship between T0 self-determined motivation and discrete emotions; and; (b) emotions were mediators of the relationship between appraisals and subjective performance. In sum, the present study showed that young athletes' self-determined motivation assessed at the beginning of the study impacted their everyday cognitive appraisals, their experience of pleasant and unpleasant emotions, and their subjective performance levels along a 4-month period. To conclude, this study highlighted the relationships between the self-determined motivation, the emotional process and the performance of young elite athletes involving in intensive training settings.

Longitudinal Sport Motivation Among Young Athletes in Intensive Training Settings: Using Methodological Advances to Explore Temporal Structure of Youth Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire Scores.

This study aimed to examine the factor structure, the simplex structure, and the self-determination continuum of the Youth Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (YBRSQ); to test longitudinal invariance of the YBRSQ and to examine differential item functioning in the YBRSQ responses as a function of sex, type of sport, and competitive level; and to explore the dynamics of change and stability of motivational regulation across the competitive season in a sample of 736 adolescent athletes involved in intensive training settings across 3 measurement points (beginning, middle, and end). Results provided evidence of a simplex structure of YBRSQ scores and revealed differences between self-determination-theory-based measures of motivation in various contexts. Results revealed partial strict temporal invariance of the YBRSQ and did not reveal differential item functioning. Finally, the results demonstrated an increase in amotivation and external regulation and a decrease in intrinsic motivation across the season, probably because of daily pressures.

Longitudinal Sport Motivation Among Young Athletes in Intensive Training Settings: The Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Thwarting in the Profiles of Motivation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal profiles of sport motivation using a 3-wave design (beginning, middle, and end of the season) among a sample of 736 adolescent athletes involved in intensive training centers. The authors explored whether several subgroups of athletes representing distinct motivation profiles emerged from the analyses and whether athletes reporting various scores of satisfaction and thwarting of basic psychological needs (BPNS and BPNT) at time 1 (T1) belonged to distinct motivational profiles at T1, T2, and T3. Results of latent profile transition analyses showed 4 different profiles: highly self-determined, self-determined, moderate autonomous and controlled motivation, moderately self-determined (T1 and T2), and high autonomous and controlled motivation (T3) profiles. Moreover, the likelihood of belonging to particular profiles was significantly predicted by athletes' BPNS and BPNT scores assessed at T1. Thus, a motivational profile approach may prove useful in understanding sport motivation as a dynamic system.

The prognostic relevance of psychological factors with regard to participation and success in table-tennis.

This study examined the prognostic relevance of self-determined motivation, coping, burnout, perceived stress and recovery experienced by 159 youth table-tennis players involved in intensive training centers with regard to their participation and success six years later. Results of ANCOVAs showed that players who still practiced at time 2 (T2; six years later; n = 130) reported lower time 1 (T1; while they were involved in intensive training centers) amotivation (large effect), disengagement-oriented coping, sport devaluation and reduced accomplishment (moderate effects) than their counterparts who dropped out at T2 (n = 29). Results of ANCOVAs also showed that international (n = 18) and/or national players (n = 86) at T2 reported significantly lower T1 amotivation (large effect), disengagement-oriented coping and sport devaluation (moderate effects) in comparison to regional (n = 26) players at T2. Finally results of correlational analyses showed that T2 performance and/or six-year performance progress were significantly and weakly correlated with introjected and external regulations, perceived stress and perceived recovery, and significantly and moderately correlated with amotivation, disengagement-oriented coping, sport devaluation, and reduced accomplishment. Overall, this study provided insights into the role played by self-determined motivation, coping, burnout, perceived stress and recovery in the table-tennis players' dropout and performance level six years later.