Factors contributing to elite athletes' mental health in the junior-to-senior transition: A mixed methods study.

The goals of this study were to examine factors that may affect the mental health of elite athletes during their junior-to-senior transition and to explore the types and frequency of facilitators and challenges athletes encounter during this transition. Using a cross-sectional, embedded QUAN(qual) mixed methods study design, we surveyed two samples for the study goals. All participants completed demographic data (e.g., gender, age, sports). Sample one (N = 394, Mage = 18.46 years, SD = 2.2) consisted of current transitioning athletes which completed questionnaires on stress, anxiety, depression, well-being, self-compassion, and social support. Mediation and moderation analyses revealed that stress leads to resource depletion, and that self-compassion can be an important resource for young athletes to draw upon to maintain their mental health. Regarding social support results were less conclusive. Sample two (N = 371, Mage = 27.70 years, SD = 8.3) consisted of athletes that have passed the transition. They responded to open questions about helpful strategies and challenges faced during their junior-to-senior transition, which were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results showed that during the junior-to-senior transition, external resources were more frequently mentioned than internal resources when it came to facilitators. Furthermore, external challenges were perceived as hindering more frequently than internal challenges. These findings can guide practitioners by providing potential starting points for improving the mental health of transitioning elite athletes, as well as information on helpful strategies and barriers during the transition.

Competition-Based Success Factors During the Talent Pathway of Elite Male Swimmers.

Marginal differences in race results between top swimmers have evoked the interest in competition-based success factors of long-term athlete development. To identify novel factors for the multi-dimensional model of talent development, the aim of the study was to investigate annual variation in competition performance (ACV), number of races per year, and age. Therefore, 45,398 race results of all male participants (n = 353) competing in individual events, i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley, at the 2018 European Long-Course Swimming Championships (2018EC) were analyzed retrospectively for all 10 years prior to the championships with Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis. Higher ranked swimmers at the 2018EC showed significant medium correlations with a greater number of races per year and small but significant correlations with higher ACV in 10 and nine consecutive years, respectively, prior to the championships. Additionally, better swimmers were older than their lower ranked peers (r = -0.21, p < 0.001). Regression model explained a significant proportion of 2018EC ranking for 50 m (47%), 100 m (45%), 200 m (31%), and 400 m races (29%) but not for 800 and 1,500 m races with number of races having the largest effect followed by age and ACV. In conclusion, higher performance variation with results off the personal best in some races did not impair success at the season's main event and young competitors at international championships may benefit from success chances that increase with age. The higher number of races swum per year throughout the career of higher ranked swimmers may have provided learning opportunities and specific adaptations. Future studies should quantify these success factors in a multi-dimensional talent development model.

Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mental training intends to support athletes in mastering challenges in sport. The aim of our study was to investigate the differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on psychological variables relevant to athletic performance (e.g., handling emotions or attention control). We assumed that each approach has its own strengths (e.g., mindfulness has a differential effect on the acceptance of emotions), but for some goals (e.g., attention control), both training forms are expected to be equally successful (i.e., shared effects). METHODS: A total of 95 athletes (Mage = 24.43, SDage = 5.15; 49% female) were randomly assigned into three groups: psychological skills training intervention (PST), mindfulness training intervention (MT), and wait-list control group (WL). Participants completed a questionnaire battery before and after the training (pretest and posttest). We assessed mindfulness, use of mental strategies, handling of emotions, attention in training and competition, as well as the dealing with failure. The two intervention programs each consisted of four 90-min group workshops conducted over a period of 4 weeks. RESULTS: Both interventions passed the manipulation check, that is, PST led to more mental strategies being used (probabilities > 95%), and MT led to an increase in two of three aspects of mindfulness (probabilities > 98%) when compared to WL. Compared to WL, both interventions equally improved in the ability to not let emotions interfere with performance (probabilities > 99%) and in controlling attention in training and competition (probabilities > 89%). To a lesser extend, both interventions showed shared improvements in dealing with failure indicated by more action orientation (probabilities > 82%). We found a differential effect of MT on decreased experiential avoidance: MT decreased compared to WL and PST (probabilities > 92%), whereas PST did not differ from WL. CONCLUSION: We conclude that both forms of mental training lead to improvements in performance-relevant psychological factors, especially concerning the handling of emotions and attention control. The results of our study suggest that different paths may lead to the desired outcomes, and accordingly, both forms of mental training seem justified. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN11147748 , date of registration: July 11, 2016.

Psychological skills training and a mindfulness-based intervention to enhance functional athletic performance: design of a randomized controlled trial using ambulatory assessment.

BACKGROUND: Struggling to deliver performance in competitions is one of the main reasons why athletes seek the advice of sport psychologists. Psychologists apply a variety of intervention techniques, many of which are not evidence-based. Evidence-based techniques promote quality management and could help athletes, for example, to increase and maintain functional athletic behavior in competitions/games (i.e., being focused on task relevant cues and executing movements and actions in high quality). However, well-designed trials investigating the effectiveness of sport psychological interventions for performance enhancement are scarce. The planed study is founded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and examines the effectiveness of two interventions with elite and sub-elite athletes. A psychological skills training (PST) and a mindfulness-based intervention (MI), administered as group-program, will be compared to a waiting-list control group concerning how they enhance functional athletic behavior - which is a prerequisite for optimal performance. Furthermore, we will investigate underlying mechanisms (mediators) and moderators (e.g., task difficulty, individual characteristics, intervention-expectancy and intervention-integrity). METHODS/DESIGN: The presented trial uses a randomized controlled design with three groups, comparing PST, MI and a waiting list control condition. Both group interventions will last 5 weeks, consist of four 2 h sessions and will be administered by a trained sport psychologist. Primary outcome is functional athletic behavior assessed using ambulatory assessment in a competition/game. As secondary outcomes competition anxiety, cognitive interference and negative outcome expectations will be assessed. Assessments are held at pre- and post-intervention as well as at 2 months follow up. The study has been approved by the ethical committee of the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport. DISCUSSION: Both PST and MI are expected to help improve functional behavior in athletes. By examining potential mechanisms of change and moderators of outcome we will not only be able to answer the question whether the interventions work, but also how, under what conditions, and for whom. This study may also fill a gap in sport psychology research, considering the current lack of randomized controlled trials. In the future, researchers could use the presented study protocol as template to investigate similar topics in sport psychology. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN11147748 , date of registration: 11 July 2016.

How ubiquitous are physical and psychological complaints in young and middle adulthood? A longitudinal perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate continuity and change of self-reported physical and psychological complaints in young adults over a period of 20 years. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The Zurich Study--a long-term panel survey in psychiatric epidemiology--is based on a stratified sample of 591 subjects born in 1958 (women) and 1959 (men). The sample strata combine SCL-90-R high-scorers and low-scorers in a 2:1 ratio. Up to now, the Zurich Study has included six interviews between 1979 and 1999, i.e. 20 years of life in young adults. We analysed the longitudinal frequency data of a variety of physical and psychological complaints, as well as information about subjective suffering and use of professional help. The analyses utilised on the McNemar's test, the Q-test and Markov chain models. RESULTS: Sleep disorders, depression, menstruation, backache, headache, stomach and bowel complaints yielded cumulative prevalence rates of 80% or higher. Physical and psychological complaints systematically differ with respect to the change patterns between 1979 and 1999. Moreover, strong differences were found in view of subjective suffering and use of professional help. CONCLUSIONS: Even though many self-reported physical and psychological complaints are very common in young adulthood, the underlying dynamics and the implications largely differ. It seems to be crucial whether respondents use somatic glasses or psychological lenses.