Ironic processes of concentration and suppression under pressure: A study on rifle shooting in Norwegian elite biathletes.

In rifle shooting, suppressing unwanted thoughts can backfire in one's performance, causing athletes to behave contrary to their desired intention and further deteriorate their performance. PURPOSE: This study examined how priming attentional and negative cues affected participants' shooting performances toward ironic error targets under cognitive load conditions in Stroop task across two experiments. METHODS: Semi-elite biathletes (Experiment 1, n = 10; Experiment 2, n = 9) participated in the study. The study used a within-subject quasi-experimental design, particularly a one-way repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance and a 2 × 2 fully repeated measures analysis of variance, to determine the participants' hit rates and shooting response times (RTs). In both experiments, the participants completed the reverse-Stroop-based target shooting performance under low- and high-cognitive load conditions while receiving frequent priming attentional and negative cues. RESULTS: The findings from Experiment 1 suggest that regulating repetitive priming attentional thoughts is efficacious in mitigating the likelihood of ironic performance errors and interference effects. The results of Experiment 2 show that repetitive priming negative cues resulted in negligible ironic error hit rates and slower RTs in target hits under high-cognitive load conditions. The Bayesian analyses provided evidence supporting the null hypotheses. CONCLUSION: Trying to control repetitive priming attentional and negative thoughts reduces ironic performance errors to a similar degree under cognitive load conditions among biathletes, regardless of interference effects. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of suppressing task-relevant negative instructions in reducing the likelihood of ironic performance errors under pressure.

Experiences of Participants with Spinal Cord Injury at an Active Rehabilitation Camp.

This study explored the physical, social, and psychological benefits of an active rehabilitation (AR) camp as experienced by participants with spinal cord injury (SCI), and perceived fitness and mastery of being physically active six months after the camp. The study used a mixed-method design with pre- (n = 23), post- (n = 23), and follow-up questionnaires (n = 18) and individual interviews (n = 8). Fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to analyze the quantitative data and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results showed that benefits were mainly experienced in the social and psychological domains. As for the physical domain, younger and more recently injured persons with tetraplegia reported more benefits. Six months after the camp, being in the preparation stage of change and being somewhat physically active were necessary and sufficient conditions for experiencing mastery of physical activity regardless of injury type, but only persons with paraplegia experienced fitness benefits. Qualitative data shed further light on the perceived benefits of the camp. The knowledge gained from this study might help practitioners to tailor interventions to individual needs and researchers to ask questions that take into consideration the complexity of active rehabilitation and changes in physical activity behavior for people with SCI.

Psychosocial Predictors of Drop-Out from Organised Sport: A Prospective Study in Adolescent Soccer.

In recent years an increased drop-out rate in adolescents' soccer participation has been observed. Given the potentially adverse consequences of drop-out from soccer, more information about risk factors for drop-out is warranted. In the current study, Classification and Regression Tree (CRT) analysis was used to investigate demographic and motivational factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out from adolescent soccer. The results of this study indicate that older age, experiencing less autonomy support from the coach, less intrinsic motivation, being female, and lower socioeconomic status are factors associated with an increased risk of drop-out. An interpretation of the results of this study is that coaches play a central part in creating a sports context that facilitates motivation and continued soccer participation. Based on the findings of the current study we propose that soccer clubs implement theoretically informed coach education programs to help coaches adopt autonomy-supportive coaching strategies.

Dual career support among world-class athletes in Sweden: Performance, education, and employment.

In order to help talented athletes to combine sport and education, different forms of Dual Career Support (DCS) have been developed in many countries. The effectiveness of these support systems have been debated. Most studies have investigated young athletes in the beginning of their careers, less is known about athletes who reached the highest levels. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the extent to which former Swedish world-class athletes have attended dual career sport programs at upper secondary school. A retrospective design was used with 274 former world-class athletes who answered a questionnaire. In order to investigate whether there was a relationship between attending a dual career sport school and athletic characteristics, as well as post career educational and employment outcomes, a series of Chi-square tests were conducted. The main results show that more than half of the athletes did not take part in any DCS. These results indicate that DCS in Sweden is not a decisive factor for success in sports as intended. Half of all participants, regardless of whether they studied at DCS, have studied at university, and all participants had a job at the time of data collection. The majority also consider that their financial situation has improved after their sports career.

Thriving Through Relationships in Sport: The Role of the Parent-Athlete and Coach-Athlete Attachment Relationship.

The aim of this research was to examine whether attachment relationships to significant others, such as to parents and/or sports coaches, enable thriving and competition performance within sport. Two studies employing cross-sectional and prospective designs were carried out across different samples of athletes of varied skill levels and sports. In Study 1, we found athletes' attachment to their sports coach was significantly associated with athlete thriving and mediated by psychological needs satisfaction. Results of Study 2 found that athletes' secure attachment to their mother and/or father positively predicted the experience of thriving at the competition while athletes' insecure attachment did not predict thriving. Furthermore, athletes' attachment to both mother and father did not predict competition performance. Together, these two studies acknowledge the significant role that athletes' secure attachment relationships with parents and coaches play in facilitating thriving in athletes. These findings have significant implications for research and practice.

Maintaining or Losing Intervention-Induced Health-Related Behavior Change. A Mixed Methods Field Study.

The aim of this mixed methods field study was to gain a better understanding of how psychological factors can contribute to success in intervention-induced behavior change over time. While it can be difficult to change behavior, the use of interventions means that most participants succeed in change during the intervention. However, it is rare for the immediate change to automatically transform into maintained behavior changes. Most research conducted on health-related behavior change interventions contains quantitative studies that investigate key intervention components on a group level. Hence, to bring more knowledge about maintained intervention-induced behavior change, there is need for a study approach that enhances the understanding of individual participants' experiences during and after the intervention. Therefore, the present study, which was conducted in Sweden, used a mixed methods design (triangulation) consisting of pre-, post-, and follow-up quantitative data (questionnaires and body measurements) and qualitative data (interviews), where the individuals' accounts are used to broaden the understanding of the intervention and the behavior change process. All study participants were enrolled in a volitional (fee-based and non-manipulated) intervention given by certified gyms. The quantitative data collection included 22 participants who completed questionnaires and body measurements before and after the intervention, plus 13 complete body measurements 6 months after the intervention. The qualitative data included pre-interviews with 12 participants and six follow-up-interviews. The questions in both questionnaires and interviews related to expectations, efficacy, motivation, goals, achievements, behavior change, and future. Overall, the results show that levels of expectations, efficacy, and motivation cannot be used in isolation to predict maintained intervention-induced behavior change. To successfully extend and maintain immediate change, it was crucial to experience goal achievement (but not BMI change). Furthermore, enabling talk was salient in the pre-interviews with participants reporting successful immediate (and maintained) change. By contrast, pre-interview disabling talk turned out to be evident in interviews, with participants not responding to follow-up. When the qualitative and quantitative results are summarized and integrated, it appears that subjective goal achievement, combined with enabling self-talk, were crucial factors in successful maintained behavior change.

Do Athletes Have More of a Cognitive Profile with ADHD Criteria than Non-Athletes?

The current study investigates the possibility that athletes have more parallel ADHD symptoms than non-athletes. High-level youth sport athletes were compared with non-athletes in leisure time (i.e., sport) and in the school in ADHD symptoms. Athletes and students were evaluated by a trained psychotherapist using Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) on activities at school and during activities in leisure/sports time. They also filled in the Autism Spectrum Questionnaire (AQ) as a self-report assessment. Results showed significant differences in ASRS-scores for athletes in school and in their sport, with high scores in school and low scores in sport. No differences were found in AQ between the groups. The findings indicate that many athletes might display a cognitive profile of parallel of ADHD criteria. Future research needs to further investigate potential benefits of the cognitive profile in athletes and how they handle different contexts including sport and school settings.

Relating Competitive Golfers' Perceived Emotions and Performance.

The present study examined relationships between golfers' self-perceived emotions (e.g., irritability, nervousness, tension), task-oriented coping, perceived control, and performance during a golf competition. We implemented a process-oriented golf analysis in which competitors rated these variables hole-by-hole in a competitive golf round. Within a two-level Bayesian multivariate autoregressive model, we showed that (a) within persons, emotions and task-oriented coping were reactions that stemmed from performance on the previous hole; and (b) between persons, player skill level predicted both better scores and the ability to limit the influence of negative affect on performance. These findings highlight the complex nature of the relationship between emotions and performance. Future studies might use a similarly ecologically valid research design to more precisely measure aspects of time and potentially moderating effects of player skill level and personality. An increased understanding of the dynamic relationship between emotions and performance can promote the development of effective psychological interventions for optimal performance outcomes.

Mindfulness and shooting performance in biathlon. A prospective study.

The aim of the study was to examine the temporal relationship between facets of sport-specific dispositional mindfulness (i e., Awareness, Refocusing, Nonjudgemental attitude) and shooting performance in actual competitions, in a population of 25 elite biathlon athletes. Findings indicated that mindfulness facets were positively associated with shooting performance, with higher levels of Awareness, Refocusing, and Awareness being related to better shooting performance in competitions. In spite of the fact that the explained variance was quite small, even a minor shooting performance enhancement may increase an athlete's chance of winning a biathlon competition.

Coach Burnout in Relation to Perfectionistic Cognitions and Self-Presentation.

Coaching athletes is highly rewarding yet stressful, especially at the elite level where media, fans, and sponsors can contribute to an environment that, if not well-managed by the coach, can lead to burnout. Coaches who display perfectionistic tendencies, such as striving for flawlessness, may be particularly vulnerable-even more so if they are overly critical of themselves and have a tendency to ruminate over their performance, or if they are attempting to convey an image of faultlessness, or both. A total of 272 coaches completed a battery of inventories assessing burnout, perfectionistic thoughts, and the tendency for perfectionistic self-presentation. All variables correlated significantly: coaches with higher scores on exhaustion scored higher both on perfectionistic thoughts and self-presentation. However, when three subscales of perfectionistic self-presentation were considered separately, lower and nonsignificant correlations emerged. We believe that this can be explained by the heterogeneous group of coaches participating in this study. Whereas all coaches may at times ruminate privately-self-oriented perfectionism-about their perceived failure to perform to expectations, not all may feel the pressure to present themselves to others as faultless-a more socially prescribed perfectionism. This finding warrants further investigation, preferably comparing coaches at different levels of public scrutiny.

Psychological Flexibility Among Competitive Athletes: A Psychometric Investigation of a New Scale.

There is increasing interest in applying acceptance and mindfulness interventions among athletes. However, there is a lack of sport-specific psychometrically evaluated scales to measure the impact of these interventions. The present study describes the development of a measure: the Psychological Flexibility in Sport Scale (PFSS). Its validity was tested in two studies. In the first study, with 152 elite athletes from various sports, explorative factor analysis was used to evaluate the scale's validity, and one factor emerged with seven items. Significant correlations between psychological flexibility, performance, and quality of life were found. Moreover, the PFSS was significantly negatively associated with age, number of years in sport, and number of years as an elite athlete. In the second study, the confirmatory factor analysis with a new population (252 athletes) supported the one-factor solution. Further, positive associations were found with anxiety (BAI) and depression (BDI-I), indicating construct validity. In conclusion, this study presents a scale for measuring psychological flexibility in a broad range of athletes, with satisfactory psychometric properties and the potential to be a useful instrument for both researchers and clinicians in the sport field.

Written Emotional Disclosure Can Promote Athletes' Mental Health and Performance Readiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The widespread effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have negatively impacted upon many athletes' mental health and increased reports of depression as well as symptoms of anxiety. Disruptions to training and competition schedules can induce athletes' emotional distress, while concomitant government-imposed restrictions (e.g., social isolation, quarantines) reduce the availability of athletes' social and emotional support. Written Emotional Disclosure (WED) has been used extensively in a variety of settings with diverse populations as a means to promote emotional processing. The expressive writing protocol has been used to a limited extent in the context of sport and predominantly in support of athletes' emotional processing during injury rehabilitation. We propose that WED offers an evidence-based treatment that can promote athletes' mental health and support their return to competition. Research exploring the efficacy of the expressive writing protocol highlights a number of theoretical models underpinning the positive effects of WED; we outline how each of these potential mechanisms can address the multidimensional complexity of the challenging circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., loss of earnings, returning to training and competition). Considerations and strategies for using WED to support athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented.

Implicit and explicit attitudes towards sport among young elite athletes with high versus low burnout symptoms.

The development of cynical attitudes towards elite sport is a core symptom of athlete burnout and has been associated with dropout from elite sport. To date, this phenomenon has mainly been studied by investigating explicit attitudes towards sport, whereas athletes' automatic evaluations (i.e. implicit attitudes) that have been shown to influence behavior as well were not considered. This study aimed to compare explicit and implicit attitudes towards sport of young elite athletes with high (N = 24) versus low (N = 26) burnout symptoms. Using self-reported measures, general and athlete burnout symptoms were assessed. Additionally, a single-target implicit association test was administered to examine participants' automatic evaluation of sport. Statistical analysis revealed greater emotional/physical exhaustion and sport devaluation in athletes reporting high compared to low burnout symptoms. Implicit attitudes towards sport did not significantly differ between the groups. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed between different athlete burnout symptoms and implicit attitudes. Athletes with high burnout symptoms show a tendency to explicitly detach themselves from sport, thus fostering sport devaluation as a core symptom of athlete burnout. However, this process does not seem to be reflected in their implicit attitudes towards sport.

Mindfulness and Athlete Burnout: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This review aims to identify, appraise, and synthesize studies reporting the relationship between mindfulness and athlete burnout and the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on athlete burnout. Methods: Studies were identified through searching six electronic databases using combinations of three groups of keywords and manual search. Two independent reviewers screened the searched studies, extracted data of the included studies, and assessed the study quality. The extracted data were synthesized qualitatively and quantitatively. Results: Ten studies consisting of two controlled trials, six surveys, and two interview studies met the inclusion criteria. The two controlled trials had weak methodological quality, and the remaining studies were of moderate to high research quality. Results of controlled trials and interview research generally showed that MBIs had positive effects in burnout prevention. Meta-analytic results indicated a negative association between mindfulness and burnout. Conclusions: There is some evidence showing that mindfulness was negatively associated with athlete burnout. However, given the small number of interventions and qualitative studies, there is limited evidence on whether MBIs are useful in preventing athlete burnout. More studies are needed to corroborate these findings.

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations Between Athlete Burnout, Insomnia, and Polysomnographic Indices in Young Elite Athletes.

Few studies have examined the association between sleep and burnout symptoms in elite athletes. We recruited 257 young elite athletes (Mage = 16.8 years) from Swiss Olympic partner schools. Of these, 197 were reassessed 6 months later. Based on the first assessment, 24 participants with clinically relevant burnout symptoms volunteered to participate in a polysomnographic examination and were compared with 26 (matched) healthy controls. Between 12% and 14% of young elite athletes reported burnout symptoms of potential clinical relevance, whereas 4-11% reported clinically relevant insomnia symptoms. Athletes with clinically relevant burnout symptoms reported significantly more insomnia symptoms, more dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions, and spent less time in bed during weeknights (p < .05). However, no significant differences were found for objective sleep parameters. A cross-lagged panel analysis showed that burnout positively predicted self-reported insomnia symptoms. Cognitive-behavioral interventions to treat dysfunctional sleep-related cognitions might be a promising measure to reduce subjective sleep complaints among young elite athletes.

Effects of stress and mental toughness on burnout and depressive symptoms: A prospective study with young elite athletes.

OBJECTIVES: To examine in a sample of young elite athletes (a) the presence of clinically relevant symptoms of burnout and depression, and (b) a possible interaction of perceived stress and mental toughness in the prediction of burnout and depressive symptoms. DESIGN: 6-month prospective study. METHODS: A representative sample of 257 young elite athletes (M=16.82years, SD=1.44, 36% females) was recruited in North-Western Switzerland. 197 athletes were followed-up across a 6-month period. Burnout was assessed with the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM), and depression with the 9-item depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Values of ≥4.40 (SMBM) and >14 (PHQ-9) were considered indicative of clinically relevant burnout or depression. Stress perceptions were assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and mental toughness with the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ). Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test stress-buffering effects. RESULTS: The percentage of athletes with clinically relevant levels of burnout and depressive symptoms was 12% and 9%, respectively. Both cross-sectional and prospective analyses showed that compared to participants with low mental toughness, those with higher mental toughness scores reported significantly fewer mental health issues, when exposed to high stress. By contrast, when stress levels were low, mental toughness was unrelated to psychological health complaints. CONCLUSIONS: About every tenth young elite athlete reported burnout or depressive symptoms of potential clinical relevance. While high perceived stress was associated with increased psychological health complaints, mental toughness was able to off-set some of the negative consequences resulting from high stress exposure.

The role of coach-athlete relationship quality in team sport athletes' psychophysiological exhaustion: implications for physical and cognitive performance.

The present study aimed to examine associations between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and athlete exhaustion by assessing physiological and cognitive consequences. Male and female athletes (N = 82) representing seven teams across four different sports, participated in a quasi-experimental study measuring physical performance on a 5-meter multiple shuttle test, followed by a Stroop test to assess cognitive performance. Participants provided saliva samples measuring cortisol as a biomarker of acute stress response and completed questionnaires measuring exhaustion, and coach-athlete relationship quality. Structural equation modelling revealed a positive relationship between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and Stroop performance, and negative relationships between the quality of the coach-athlete relationship and cortisol responses to high-intensity exercise, cognitive testing, and exhaustion. The study supports previous research on socio-cognitive correlates of athlete exhaustion by highlighting associations with the quality of the coach-athlete relationship.

Mindfulness Mechanisms in Sports: Mediating Effects of Rumination and Emotion Regulation on Sport-Specific Coping.

The main objective of the project was to examine a proposed theoretical model of mindfulness mechanisms in sports. We conducted two studies (the first study using a cross-sectional design and the second a longitudinal design) to investigate if rumination and emotion regulation mediate the relation between dispositional mindfulness and sport-specific coping. Two hundred and forty-two young elite athletes, drawn from various sports, were recruited for the cross-sectional study. For the longitudinal study, 65 elite athletes were recruited. All analyses were performed using Bayesian statistics. The path analyses showed credible indirect effects of dispositional mindfulness on coping via rumination and emotion regulation in both the cross-sectional study and the longitudinal study. Additionally, the results in both studies showed credible direct effects of dispositional mindfulness on rumination and emotion regulation. Further, credible direct effects of emotion regulation as well as rumination on coping were also found in both studies. Our findings support the theoretical model, indicating that rumination and emotion regulation function as essential mechanisms in the relation between dispositional mindfulness and sport-specific coping skills. Increased dispositional mindfulness in competitive athletes (i.e. by practicing mindfulness) may lead to reductions in rumination, as well as an improved capacity to regulate negative emotions. By doing so, athletes may improve their sport-related coping skills, and thereby enhance athletic performance.

Athlete burnout: review and recommendations.

Over the last two decades, growing concerns regarding the negative implications of athlete burnout have spurred empirical research on the topic. In their citation network analysis of the burnout literature, Gustafsson et al. (2014), cited well over 100 publications on the syndrome. Despite considerable investigation into athlete burnout, there remain a number of unresolved questions and issues. Four main aims guide the current review. First, we highlight various models of athlete burnout. Second, we discuss the measurement of athlete burnout. Third, we describe the symptoms, antecedents, and consequences of athlete burnout with a focus on social perceptions and perfectionism. Finally, we provide suggestions for the prevention and treatment of athlete burnout via an illustration of links between theory and practice. It is our hope that this review can stimulate future research in order to help athletes avoid burnout and other severe forms of training maladaptation.