ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine workers' psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic as a function of their individual coping, dyadic coping, and work-family conflict. We also tested the moderating role of gender and culture in these associations. To achieve this aim, we run HLM analyses on data from 1521 workers cohabiting with a partner, coming from six countries (Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, and Russia) characterized by various degrees of country-level individualism/collectivism. Across all six countries, findings highlighted that work-family conflict as well as the individual coping strategy social support seeking were associated with higher psychological distress for workers, while the individual coping strategy positive attitude and common dyadic coping were found to be protective against workers' psychological distress. This latter association, moreover, was stronger in more individualistic countries.
ABSTRACT
Self-regulation of learning (SRL) is a key psychological factor that supports young athletes aiming to reach the elite level by promoting their involvement in deliberate practice. We contributed to the validation of the Italian version of the Bartulovic et al. (2017) Self-Regulation of Learning - Self-Report Scale for Sport Practice by testing its factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance among elite and non-elite football players, involving 415 male professional, semi-professional, and amateur youth academy players (M age = 16.2, SD = 1.51). The original six-factor structure (planning, reflection, effort, self-efficacy, self-monitoring, and evaluation) did not fit the data well and a five-factor solution (where self-monitoring and evaluation items load on the same factor, named "self-supervision") was a better fit. This five-factor solution was measurement invariant across groups of elite and non-elite athletes. We found that elite athletes scored significantly higher than non-elite ones in each SRL subprocess. Implications for future validation studies and for the use of this tool are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Well-being in youth sport is a growing topic in literature. Practicing sports at a youth level is recognized as an important opportunity for growth and development but also an experience that conversely can prove to be tiring and cause discomfort. Sometimes expectations and pressures make it a risky experience. This is emphasized even more when looking at very popular and spectacular sports, such as football in some European Countries; practicing football often solicits the hope of becoming champions one day and thus being able living thanks to the beloved sport. How do young Italian football practitioners feel? What role do relationships with significant others belonging to the world of sport and extra-sport play on the well-being of young athletes? On which specific aspects of psychological well-being (PWB) are these relationships based? Are there any differences between elite and amateurs levels? These are the questions upon which this paper focuses, considering a sample of young Italian football practitioners. Analysis reveals a strong and positive influence of some dimensions of the relationships with significant others on PWB, specifically team effort, coach closeness, and parental learning climate. Moreover, elite players perceive significantly better relationships than sub-elite and amateurs and have significantly higher levels of PWB. Those results provide a first evidence for the importance of good relationships within and outside sport for an effective development of youth football players since they positively influence players' PWB, which is higher in elite players. It emerges the necessity to further investigate different aspects of PWB and to deepen the knowledge about the meaning of relationship in developmental athletes according to a psychosocial approach.
ABSTRACT
In this study we aim to analyze the combined effect of age-based and gender stereotype threat on work identity processes (and in particular on authenticity and organizational identification) and on work performance (self-rating performance). The research utilizes an ample sample of over fifty-year-old workers from diverse organizations in Italy. Using a person-centered approach four clusters of workers were identified: low in both age-based and gender stereotype threat (N = 4,689), high in gender and low in age-based stereotype threat (N = 1,735), high in age-based and low in gender stereotype threat (N = 2,013) and high in both gender and age-based stereotype threat (N = 758). Gender was significantly associated with these clusters and women were more frequently present in those groups with high gender stereotype threat. ANOVA results show that workers in the last two clusters score significantly lower in authenticity, organizational identification and self-rate performance. All in all, if ageism is undoubtedly problematic for older workers' identity processes, ageism and gender-stereotypes represent a double risk for women over fifty in the workplace. The analysis of the results can be beneficial both for the theoretical advancement and for the practical insights offered in the organizational and management field, where new policies of HR management can be elaborated, in order to value and to improve the workers experience.
ABSTRACT
Retirement of Italian football players is unknown, thus, after analysing current literature about leaving from sport and using a Phenomenological-Interpretative approach we develop an explorative study on Italian former football players experience of withdrawal. We interview 14 former players that competed in the highest level of Italian football Championship, to better understand their lived experience of retirement and compare it with literature. It emerges that the minority of football players choose voluntary to retire - except in the case when they enter into their Clubs as coaches or manager - and cannot plan retirement in advance; they share a strong athletic identity but the risk of identity foreclosure seems to be moderated by social support, especially from families and partners, while less from sport context (coach and teammates). Implications for future research in Italy and the work of sport psychologists and professional Clubs of football are discussed (AU)
La retirada de jugadores de fútbol en Italia es desconocida. Así, después de analizar la literatura actual y usando un enfoque fenomenológico-interpretativo, desarrollamos un estudio exploratorio sobre esta experiencia de los ex-jugadores de fútbol italiano. Entrevistamos a 14 ex-jugadores, que compitieron en el más alto nivel del Campeonato de Fútbol italiano, para comprender su experiencia de jubilación y compararla con la literatura. La minoría de jugadores de fútbol eligen voluntariamente retirarse - excepto en el caso de que entren a sus clubes como entrenadores o gestores - y no quieren planificar la jubilación anticipadamente. Comparten una fuerte identidad atlética, pero el riesgo de exclusión de identidad parece ser moderado por el apoyo social, especialmente de las familias, pero menos del contexto deportivo (entrenador y compañeros de equipo). Se discuten las implicaciones para futuras investigaciones en Italia y el trabajo de psicólogos deportivos y clubes profesionales de fútbol (AU)
