The adapted French version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-FR): Evidence of validity and reliability and relationships with sport well-being.

BACKGROUND: Effectively managing their athletic and academic projects is a major challenge for student-athletes. The salience of the identity they develop in each of these contexts can affect their well-being and is therefore an important variable to consider. Examining these mechanisms in countries and student-athlete support systems other than the United States is also important. AIM: This study aims to both translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of a French version of the Academic and Athletic Identity Scale, the AAIS-FR, and to examine the additive and interactive relationships of the two identities with sport burnout and engagement. METHODS: Participants were 359 French student-athletes (50.42% female) who were competing at various levels (ranging from regional to international). RESULTS: Results from analyses using a slightly modified version of the original scale provided evidence of construct (i.e., factor structure) and concurrent (i.e., expected relationships between both identities and several correlates identified in previous work) validity, as well as reliability (i.e., internal consistency) and invariance across gender and sport competition levels of the AAIS-FR. In addition, regression analyses revealed a favourable relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being (i.e., positive with engagement and negative with burnout), no relationship between academic identity and sport well-being, and no interaction between the two identities. CONCLUSION: While further research is needed to provide additional evidence for the validity of the AAIS-FR, researchers can still use this tool to measure the salience of the two identities of French-speaking student-athletes.

"A shoulder to lean on during your first year"-An exploration into a Canadian post-secondary institution's peer mentor program for varsity student athletes.

The transition period from high school to post-secondary can be particularly challenging for many, including varsity student-athletes (SAs). To better support SAs through this transitional experience, some institutions have created peer mentor programs. What is unclear, however, is the perceived value of these mentorship programs from the perspectives of multiple stakeholder positions. This paper contributes to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by presenting findings of a program evaluation that investigated the perceived value of a peer mentor program to its stakeholders. To accomplish this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 participants to discuss SA's experiences with being a first year student, making the transition from high school to post-secondary studies, and also, to discuss their lived experiences with the peer mentor program developed for SAs. Using the findings from the inductive thematic analyses, the peer mentor program's effectiveness, areas of strengths, and areas of improvement are discussed to better align with the stakeholders' needs and experiences. Findings offer insights into a) the trials and tribulations of the first year SA experience, b) how peer mentor programs can better support SA's transition to post-secondary education, c) the benefits of conducting a program evaluation, and d) strategies to enhance the peer mentor program to better support students' needs.

'Probably just sexism'- gendered experiences of resource access in rugby.

Research pertaining to the experiences of women in rugby is scarce, which, coupled with the limited visibility of the sport and difficulty accessing resources, suggest that women's rugby remains undervalued. Indeed, evidence of such gender inequalities remains largely anecdotal, with little rigorous research undertaken to understand the perspectives of women in rugby. This study aimed to explore the experiences of a diverse cohort of rugby players in relation to their participation in the sport and their ability to access resources. Twenty UK-based rugby players (10 men, 9 women and 1 non-binary person aged 29.1 ± 8.3 years) from school, university, club, military, and semi-professional environments, volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews (36 ± 12 minutes) discussing their rugby experiences in relation to their gender and playing level. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and a reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken. A widespread under-prioritisation of women in rugby was highlighted. Gender biases were apparent in access to changing rooms, pitches, quality coaches, and playing opportunities, and were reportedly propagated at the managerial level. Irrespective of gender, some amateur players reported difficulty accessing a suitable rugby environment. Insufficient player numbers precluded the formation of second teams, often resulting in inexperienced players competing beyond their ability. Women's rugby players experienced considerable gender bias. This exploratory study highlights a need to address such issues to protect player welfare. Interventions to change the culture in rugby clubs and increased representation of women in managerial positions in rugby are recommended to enact meaningful change.

A Biopsychosocial Model for Understanding Training Load, Fatigue, and Musculoskeletal Sport Injury in University Athletes: A Scoping Review.

ABSTRACT: McClean, ZJ, Pasanen, K, Lun, V, Charest, J, Herzog, W, Werthner, P, Black, A, Vleuten, RV, Lacoste, E, and Jordan, MJ. A biopsychosocial model for understanding training load, fatigue, and musculoskeletal sport injury in university athletes: A scoping review. J Strength Cond Res 38(6): 1177-1188, 2024-The impact of musculoskeletal (MSK) injury on athlete health and performance has been studied extensively in youth sport and elite sport. Current research examining the relationship between training load, injury, and fatigue in university athletes is sparse. Furthermore, a range of contextual factors that influence the training load-fatigue-injury relationship exist, necessitating an integrative biopsychosocial model to address primary and secondary injury prevention research. The objectives of this review were (a) to review the scientific literature examining the relationship between training load, fatigue, and MSK injury in university athletes and (b) to use this review in conjunction with a transdisciplinary research team to identify biopsychosocial factors that influence MSK injury and develop an updated, holistic biopsychosocial model to inform injury prevention research and practice in university sport. Ten articles were identified for inclusion in this review. Key findings were an absence of injury surveillance methodology and contextual factors that can influence the training load-fatigue-MSK injury relationship. We highlight the inclusion of academic load, social load, and mental health load as key variables contributing to a multifactorial, gendered environmental, scientific inquiry on sport injury and reinjury in university sport. An integrative biopsychosocial model for MSK injury in university sport is presented that can be used to study the biological, psychological, and social factors that modulate injury and reinjury risk in university athletes. Finally, we provide an example of how causal inference can be used to maximize the utility of longitudinally collected observational data that is characteristic of sport performance research in university sport.

Tran slation , cultural adap tation an d psycho metric anal ysis of U rd u ver sion of Vic torian; institu te of sp or ts ass es sme nt: Achill es quest i onnaire fo r athletes with achilles tendinopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To translate, culturally adapt and psychometrically analyse the Urdu version of the Victorian Institute of Spor t Assessment-Achilles questionnaire. METHODS: The cross-sec tional study was conducted at the Pak istan Sports Board, Lahore, Pakistan, from June 17, 2021, to February 15, 2022, and comprised patients with Achilles tendinopathy in group A and healthy controls in group B. Beaton's guidelines for cultural adaptation and validation for self-repor ted measures were followed to translate and validate the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles questionnaire in Urdu language. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. RESULTS: Of the 180 subjects with mean age 28.06±5.95 years, 125(69.6%) were males. There were 130(72.2%) patients in group A and 50(27.8%) controls in group B. The overall mean score of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment- Achille s questionnaire was 55.99±25.43; group A 41.14±9.54 and group B 94.60±4.22. The Urdu version exhibited excellent internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha values 0.95, and excellent test-retest reliability (p<0.001). Absolute reliability was expressed by standard error of measurement 5.317 and minimal detectable change (6.38). Convergent validity demonstrated strong correlation with the physical domain (r=0.81) of the Urdu version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Brief Version. CONCLUSIONS: The Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles questionnaire could be utilised for assessing severity of Achilles tendinopathy among Urdu-speaking population for clinical as well as research purposes.

The bright side of sports: a systematic review on well-being, positive emotions and performance.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review regarding the relationship between positive psychological factors, such as psychological well-being and pleasant emotions, and sports performance. METHOD: This study, carried out through a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines considering the Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed and SPORT Discus databases, seeks to highlight the relationship between other more 'positive' factors, such as well-being, positive emotions and sports performance. SETTINGS: The keywords will be decided by a Delphi Method in two rounds with sport psychology experts. PARTICIPANTS: There are no participants in the present research. ASSESSMENT: The main exclusion criteria were: Non-sport thema, sample younger or older than 20-65 years old, qualitative or other methodology studies, COVID-related, journals not exclusively about Psychology. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: We obtained a first sample of 238 papers, and finally, this sample was reduced to the final sample of 11 papers. RESULTS: The results obtained are intended to be a representation of the 'bright side' of sports practice, and as a complement or mediator of the negative variables that have an impact on athletes' and coaches' performance. CONCLUSIONS: Clear recognition that acting on intrinsic motivation continues to be the best and most effective way to motivate oneself to obtain the highest levels of performance, a good perception of competence and a source of personal satisfaction.

Exploring the role of mindfulness on obligatory exercise among young athletes: mediating roles of obsessive passion and cognitive state anxiety.

Introduction: In the current trend toward youthfulness and age reduction in competitive sports, the issue of obligatory exercise among young athletes is becoming more severe. This not only affects their physical and mental health but also hampers their future prospects in the sports world. While delving into the impact of mindfulness on the issue of obligatory exercise among young athletes, it reveals the mediating role of obsessive passion and cognitive state anxiety. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional research that employs convenience and snowball sampling methods. We selected 403 young athletes from several universities and high-level sports teams in the central-southern region of China as valid samples and used AMOS v.23 to construct a structural equation model to validate the hypotheses. Results: The research findings indicate a significant positive correlation between obsessive passion, cognitive state anxiety, and obligatory exercise. Furthermore, obsessive passion and cognitive state anxiety mediate the relationship between mindfulness and obligatory exercise. This implies that young athletes can better regulate their emotional state during training, manage training loads sensibly, and avoid issues with obligatory exercise through mindfulness training. Discussion: In conclusion, to enhance the cognitive levels of young athletes and reduce their obligatory exercise behaviors, national sports authorities and coaching teams should develop reasonable mindfulness training programs for athletes and encourage their participation in mindfulness training.

Impact of androgenic anabolic steroid use on cardiovascular and mental health in Danish recreational athletes: protocol for a nationwide cross-sectional cohort study as a part of the Fitness Doping in Denmark (FIDO-DK) study.

INTRODUCTION: The use of androgenic anabolic steroids (AASs) among recreational athletes is steadily increasing. However, knowledge regarding the potentially harmful effects of AAS primarily originates from case reports and small observational studies. This large-scale study aims to investigate the impact of AAS use on vascular plaque formation, preclinical coronary disease, cardiac function, circulating cardiovascular risk markers, quality of life (QoL) and mental health in a broad population of illicit AAS users. METHODS AND ANALYSES: A nationwide cross-sectional cohort study including a diverse population of men and women aged ≥18 years, with current or previous illicit AAS use for at least 3 months. Conducted at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, the study comprises two parts. In part A (the pilot study), 120 recreational athletes with an AAS history will be compared with a sex-matched and age-matched control population of 60 recreational athletes with no previous AAS use. Cardiovascular outcomes include examination of non-calcified coronary plaque volume and calcium score using coronary CT angiography, myocardial structure and function via echocardiography, and assessing carotid and femoral artery plaques using ultrasonography. Retinal microvascular status is evaluated through fundus photography. Cardiovascular risk markers are measured in blood. Mental health outcomes include health-related QoL, interpersonal difficulties, body image concerns, aggression dimensions, anxiety symptoms, depressive severity and cognitive function assessed through validated questionnaires. The findings of our comprehensive study will be used to compose a less intensive investigatory cohort study of cardiovascular and mental health (part B) involving a larger group of recreational athletes with a history of illicit AAS use. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study received approval from the Regional Committee on Health Research Ethics for Southern Denmark (S-20210078) and the Danish Data Protection Agency (21/28259). All participants will provide signed informed consent. Research outcomes will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05178537.

Exploring Secondary School Athletic Trainers' Perspectives in Managing Mental Health Situations.

BACKGROUND: Most people believe that student-athletes experience fewer difficulties related to mental health than non-sport participants. However, several studies have shown high depression levels or emotional difficulties in adolescent athletes. Most secondary school students have access to athletic trainers in their schools. Secondary school athletic trainers (SSATs) are medical professionals who can provide health care for student-athletes, and they could be appropriate supporters in providing mental health management in secondary schools. However, there are no studies that have addressed their preparedness and confidence level to manage potential risk factors and mental health disorders. This study aims to ascertain preparedness and confidence levels from SSATs' perspectives in handling mental health disorders using a survey based on the mental health management guidelines and consensus statement. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study design. The research team created an online survey questionnaire based on the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) Mental Health Guidelines for Secondary School and Interassociation Recommendation: A Consensus Statement. Utilizing the NATA Research Survey Service, the online survey was emailed to SSATs who self-categorized as secondary school athletic trainers in the NATA membership system. (n = 171, 65% completion rate). SPSS was used to analyze the survey data. RESULT: This study found that 29.2% of SSATs reported they have policies or guidelines regarding mental health disorders management for minors. The most frequent policy was mandatory reporting in cases in which an individual is being abused or neglected (80.5%). The highest confidence area was aligned with the most frequent policy. The least frequent policy was considering unique stressors and triggers with student-athletes to recognize the potential mechanisms that may cause a mental illness or exacerbate an existing mental illness (58.5%). Even though the least frequent policy was not aligned with the least confidence area, it was the second lowest confidence level. This study identified significant differences between two different employment structures: school-based employment and hospital-based employment structures. Policies were more common in school-based employment than in hospital-based employment structures. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the gap between organizational and individual preparation. The majority of SSATs respondents expressed moderate to high confidence in their ability to manage mental health disorders, despite the lack of mental health policies or procedures in their secondary schools. This study recommends that SSATs create guidelines or procedures in the areas where they are least confident and prepared to offer mental health management for minor student-athletes. They can use the interassociation recommendations and the NATA guidelines for mental health care to close the gap.

Developing and validating a Domain-specific Grit Scale for College Athletic Students.

The aim of this study was to create and validate a ten-item Domain-specific Grit Scale for College Athletic Students (DGSCAS) to assess the level of grit among college athletic students. College athletic students from a single independent college located in a northern city in China (526 participants at time 1 and 589 participants at time 2) were assessed according to the scale. Various analyses were conducted in this study, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and measurement invariance analysis across different sex and birthplaces. The results of the EFA revealed two factors: consistency of interests and perseverance of effort. The CFA results demonstrated acceptable fit indices (x2 = 160.048, df = 34, x2/df = 4.707, CFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.978, SRMR = 0.021, and RMSEA = 0.079). The scale exhibited satisfactory convergent validity and discriminant validity. The significant correlation of these factors with the Grit scale provided strong evidence of criterion-related validity. Measurement invariance analysis indicated that the scale performed consistently across different sex and birthplaces. Three limitations and corresponding recommendations were discussed, including sample heterogeneity, the lack of a unified test result as a criterion for predictive validity, and the cross-sectional design of the study. In conclusion, the DGSCAS is a practical and validated instrument that can be used to assess the level of grit among college athletic students in an educational context.

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.

Symptomatology and knowledge regarding pelvic floor dysfunctions and influence of gender stereotypes in female athletes.

Pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD) are highly prevalent among females who do athletics, a sport requiring jumping, strength, and running. Although educational approaches are useful options, the educational need for this particular population remains unknown. The objective of the present study was to describe the level of knowledge regarding PFD and its relationship with symptomatology and gender stereotypes in female athletes in Spain. A total of 255 female athletes completed an anonymous online survey to explore their knowledge regarding urinary incontinence (UI), pelvic organ prolapse (POP), anal incontinence (AI), and sexual dysfunction (SexD), as well as their PFD symptoms and gender stereotyped beliefs related to sport. Educational level and sports characteristics (training volume, experience, and athletic modality) were also explored. Participants demonstrated a low level of knowledge in terms of POP (52.5%), AI (64.0%), and SexD (40%), but not for UI (70.8%). The proportion of PFD complaints was 63.5% for dyspareunia, 51.8% for urine leakage, 42.4% for pelvic pain, 17.3% for AI, and 9.0% for POP, with no associations with knowledge (p > 0.05). Lower knowledge about UI and SexD was related to greater gender stereotypes (p < 0.05) and rejection of professional healthcare (p = 0.010). As a conclusion, the level of knowledge about PFD was low in female athletes who train and compete in athletics in Spain, mainly with regard to sexual dysfunction. Although 63.5% of athletes had dyspareunia and 51.8% urinary leakages, symptomatology was not associated with level of knowledge. However, a lower level of knowledge was associated with more stereotyped beliefs and rejection of professional healthcare for PFD. These findings confirm the need to design appropriate educational interventions to disseminate information on all the types of PFD, particularly sexual contents. The potential influence of gender stereotypes makes it appropriate to include the gender perspective in these interventions.

'It's just my knee': a qualitative study investigating the process of reframing and young athletes' perceived quality of life between anterior cruciate ligament injury and surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the factors influencing young athletes' perceptions of quality of life (QOL) following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, prior to reconstructive surgery. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of data. SETTING: Tertiary sports medicine clinic with patients recruited from the practices of three specialist orthopaedic surgeons. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty athletes aged 14-25 provided consent to participate in the study and completed interviews prior to their ACL reconstruction surgery. Participants were eligible to participate if they were scheduled to undergo ACL reconstruction, were 25 years of age or younger, identified as athletes (participated in any level of organised sport), could communicate in English and agreed to be audio recorded. Participants were not eligible if they had experienced a multiligament injury or fracture. RESULTS: Young athletes shared common factors that made up their QOL; social connections and support, sport, health, and independence. However, participants' perceptions of their current QOL were quite variable (13-95/100 on a Visual Analogue Scale). Participants who were able to reframe their injury experience by shifting focus to the positive or unaffected aspects of their lives tended to have more favourable perceptions of their QOL than participants who shifted focus to the losses associated with injury. CONCLUSIONS: Young athletes who have experienced an ACL injury define their QOL based on social support, sport, health and independence. Individual processes of adaptation and cognitive reframing in response to an ACL injury may exert a greater influence on postinjury QOL than the physical ramifications of the injury itself. Understanding individual perceptions may help target potential interventions or supports to enhance athletes' adaptation to injury.

Overuse injury and affects in competitive sport: A prospective longitudinal study.

Overuse injuries, which have a high prevalence in sport, are suggested to result in different affective responses in comparison to traumatic injuries. Affects may also reciprocally act as risk factors for overuse injury. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between overuse injury and affects within a longitudinal follow-up design. Competitive athletes (N = 149) of various sports and levels of competition completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Overuse injury questionnaire (OSTRC-O) once a week over 10 consecutive weeks. Bivariate unconditional latent curve model analyses with structured residuals were performed to evaluate the associations within and across weeks between OSTRC-O severity score and affects. Results indicated that OSTRC-O severity score and positive affects (PA) had a statistically significant negative within-week relation (r = -24.51, 95% CI = [-33.9, -15.1], p < 0.001). Higher scores of overuse injury were significantly related to lower levels of PA across weeks (ß = -0.02, 95% CI = [-0.04, -0.001], p = 0.044), while the reciprocal effect of PA on overuse injury was not significant (ß = -0.13, 95% CI = [-0.52, 0.26], p = 0.51). No statistically significant association was observed between OSTRC-O severity score and negative affects, neither within nor across weeks. Our findings suggest that overuse injury may have adverse psychological consequences on the long run through lessened PA and address the need for providing sustainable psychological support focusing upon such PA when working with athletes experiencing overuse injury.

Mediation effects of basic psychological needs and motivation among coach leadership style on the subjective well-being of adapted sports athletes' members of the special olympics.

INTRODUCTION: Subjective well-being has numerous indicators of global well-being, however, the most important are life satisfaction and attachments, which can be both positive and negative. The leadership of the coach is an integral part of the process that cares for the relationship of the athlete and coach, where the coach has a fundamental role on the athlete, and consequently on his subjective well-being. OBJECTIVE: The study has the purpose to analyse if and in what way the Basic Psychological Needs-relationship, autonomy and social relationship (mediator 1, M1) and the autonomous motivation (mediator 2, M2) mediate the relationship of the variables of democratic style (independent variable, X) with subjective well-being-life satisfaction and positive attachment (dependent variable, Y). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, participated 94 athletes with Intellectual and Developmental Difficulty (IDD), aged between 11 and 63 years (x = 32.6 ± SD = 13.8 years) of both genders. Statistical analysis was performed using multiple serial mediation models, using the macro PROCESS for SPSS, version 3 (model 6), using the bootstrap method with 10000 samples. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: There is a mediation effect between those of basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation, exercised between the democratic leadership profile of the coach and the subjective welfare of the athlete. On the other hand, autocratic style has a significant direct effect on the increase in basic psychological needs and controlled motivation. However, the democratic style is more consistent in this type of analysis. Our results reinforce the importance of promoting a democratic leadership style on the part of the coach in their athletes, enhancing a direct effect on life satisfaction and positive attachment in athletes adapted with IDD members of the Special Olympics.

Gender comparison of perceptual-cognitive learning in young athletes.

Elite athletes demonstrate higher perceptual cognitive abilities compared to non-athletes and those capacities can be trained. A recent study showed that differences were observed between male and female athletes in their cognitive abilities whereby male athletes showed superior perceptual abilities compared to female athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were gender differences in athletes' perceptual cognitive learning using a 3D-MOT tracking task. The study was performed on 72 young people from 16 to 22 years of age; athlete males and females and non-athlete males and females were distributed in four distinct groups. Five sessions comprised of three thresholds were performed with each participant. Results indicated that all participants benefited from training and significantly increased their speed thresholds. Initial scores showed that male athletes achieved higher speed thresholds than any other groups. Furthermore, after 5 weeks, female athletes obtained higher speed thresholds in comparison to their non-athlete counterparts. In conclusion, engaging in sporting activity is associated with improved perceptual-cognitive abilities and learning. The results support the notion that competitive sport-related activity is beneficial for perceptual-cognitive functions and emphasizes the benefits of participating in sport-related activities for improved brain function with an even greater impact for females.

An Examination of the Sport Commitment Model for Athletes With Physical Disabilities.

Sport commitment describes a psychological attachment to a sport that influences one's desire or resolve to continue involvement in it. Studying antecedents believed to influence long term commitment to sport among athletes with a disability will help ensure that participants gain those psychosocial and health outcomes from sport participation that benefit quality of life. Our purposes in this study were: (i) to examine the Sport Commitment Model (SCM) in terms of the magnitude of the contribution of antecedent factors (i.e., enjoyment, personal investment, involvement opportunities, social constraints, involvement alternatives) to sport commitment of athletes with disabilities; and (ii) to examine the model structure (i.e., original SCM, mediation, and direct/indirect model) that best reflects an understanding of the sport commitment antecedents for these athletes. A total of 157 adult athletes (M age = 34.87, SD = 11.78) with physical disabilities from both team and individual sports across the United States, Europe, and Asia completed the Sport Commitment Questionnaire. Data analyses indicated that sport involvement opportunities, followed by personal investment, were the strongest predictors of these athletes' sport commitments (R2 = .66). Based on the principle of parsimony, the original structural equation model (χ2 (215) = 384.95; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .95; SRMR = .06) was deemed better for understanding the mechanism of sport commitment than the mediation or direct/indirect models. We address implications of applying the SCM to athletes with disabilities, and we offer suggestions for future research.

Self-efficacy, Effort, and Performance Perceptions Enhance Psychological Responses to Strength Training in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Athletes.

ABSTRACT: Biscardi, LM, Miller, AD, Andre, MJ, and Stroiney, DA. Self-efficacy, effort, and performance perceptions enhance psychological responses to strength training in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): 898-905, 2024-This study examined the effect of self-efficacy, effort, and perceived performance on positive well-being (PWB) and psychological distress (PD) following high-intensity resistance training sessions in collegiate student-athletes. An observational field study design was used to collect data before and after resistance training sessions in a 4-week preseason strength training block. A multilevel model assessed day-level and person-level variance in acute PWB and PD. Interaction terms were also tested at the day level. Alpha was set at 0.05. Within a 4-week training block, training session intensity did not predict changes in acute psychological responses. After controlling for an athlete's preexercise psychological state, higher self-efficacy, daily effort, and perceived performance predicted higher PWB and lower PD following training (p < 0.05). Self-efficacy moderated the relationships of daily effort and performance with PD (p < 0.05). When athletes experienced lower self-efficacy, producing a higher effort and perceiving better performance reduced the negative psychological response. These findings highlight the important mediating role of cognitive variables in the acute psychological response to high-intensity resistance training. Coaches should identify and mitigate low cognitive states to facilitate a positive psychological response to resistance training. This strategy promotes a positive psychological response without altering training prescription.

Suicide in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes: a 20-year analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence rate of suicide from 2002 to 2022 among athletes from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and assess for potential differences by, sex, race, division and sport. METHODS: NCAA athlete deaths over a 20-year period from 2002 to 2022 were identified. Poisson regression models were built to assess changes in incidence rates over time. Linear and quadratic fits between year and suicide incidence for males and females were evaluated. RESULTS: Of 1102 total deaths, 128 (11.6%) deaths by suicide were reported (male n=98, female n=30). The overall incidence was 1:71 145 athlete-years (AYs). Over the last decade, suicide was the second most common cause of death after accidents. The proportion of deaths by suicide doubled from the first 10 years (7.6%) to the second 10 years (15.3%). The suicide incidence rate for males increased linearly (5-year incidence rate ratio 1.32 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.53)), whereas a quadratic association was identified among female athletes (p=0.002), with the incidence rate reaching its lowest point in females in 2010-2011 and increasing thereafter. Male cross-country athletes had the highest suicide incidence rate (1:29 815 AYs) and Division I and II athletes had a higher suicide incidence rate than Division III athletes. No significant differences in suicide incidence rates by sex, race or sport were identified. CONCLUSION: Deaths by suicide among NCAA athletes increased in both males and females throughout the 20-year study period, and suicide is now the second most common cause of death in this population. Greater suicide prevention efforts geared towards NCAA athletes are warranted.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) in a Population of Professional Basketball Players: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Objective: Musculoskeletal disorders affect a large portion of the population worldwide. The musculoskeletal health questionnaire is a helpful tool for assessing the health state of patients with these disorders. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the MSK_HQ-IT in a population of professional basketball players. The secondary aim is to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. Material and Methods: The study was performed from September to October 2022. The questionnaire was completed using an online or paper form, to which personal data were collected. Data were collected by submitting a translated version of the musculoskeletal health questionnaire directly to professional athletes. Results: A total of 63 basketball players were recruited. Regarding functional limitations, the body parts mentioned by the sample were the left ankle (23.8%) and the right ankle (17.5%), followed by the lumbar column and right hip (15.9%). Regarding pain, the data are more homogeneous, with a distribution in line with functional limitations. A peak of pain was perceived in the left foot, with a mean score of 4. Cronbach's alpha showed a value of 0.85. Conclusions: The musculoskeletal health questionnaire shows promising results in evaluating the health state of a population of professional athletes. Further studies are needed to enlarge the sample and possibly open it to more categories of professional sports.