Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Athletes

Recently, several top athletes, as well as coaches, have revealed that mindfulness can be regarded as a type of psychological training to optimize performance. Indeed, results of studies in clinical psychology, as well as neuroscience, suggest that mindfulness might be an effective strategy to promote concentration, emotion regulation and state of flow. However, the empirical evidence in the context of sport is rather sparse. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention in athletes. In a randomized controlled trial with 22 participants in the experimental and 24 participants in the control group, the effectiveness of the Berlin Mindfulness-based Training for Athletes (BATL) was tested and compared to a classical sport psychological intervention. The results of an analysis of covariance with repeated measures indicate that the intervention group significantly improved mindfulness as a trait compared to the control group. It can be concluded that BATL is an effective strategy to increase mindfulness in athletes. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in improving performance and to be able to examine its effect mechanisms.Peer Reviewe

Coach Competences to Induce Positive Affective Reactions in Sport and Exercise - A Qualitative Study

Positive affective reactions are a crucial aspect in physical activity maintenance. Affective reactions to sport and exercise were found to be important factors of physical activity. Coaches could be an important medium to induce positive affective reactions of participants in sport and exercise. Understanding how coaches trigger positive affective reactions (AR) during physical activity is a crucial aspect for increasing maintenance in sport and exercise. The aim of this study is to identify the competences of the coaches which are associated with perceived positive AR of participants during sport and exercise. To identify these factors, semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 participants, who take part in sport and exercise (nine female and nine male) of heterogeneous age (mean age 42.6; SD = 19.25; under 30 years, 30 to 60 years, 60 years and above) and who have different athletic backgrounds (individual sports, team sports, and gym classes). Four key coach competence factors were identified and used to design an integrated model. Three general competences: context sensitivity, social–emotional competences, professional competences, and the specific competences in the behaviour-related competences.Peer Reviewe

Toward a Theory of Emotions in Competitive Sports

In this article, we introduce a theory on the dynamic development of affective processes, affect regulation, and the relationship between emotions and sport performance. The theory focusses on how affective processes emerge and develop during competitive sport involvement. Based on Scherer’s component process model, we postulate six components of emotion that interact with each other in a circular fashion: (I) triggering processes, (II) physiological reactions, (III) action tendencies, (IV) expressive behaviors, (V) subjective experience, and (VI) higher cognitive processes. The theory stresses the dynamics of affective processes and describes the consequences for performance in competitive sports. It assumes that the peculiarities of different sports must be taken into account in order to understand the affective processes, and offers starting points on which strategies can be used to effectively regulate affective states. Consequences for research and practice are derived and discussed. To study the development of affective processes, future research should test the assumptions in ecologically valid contexts, such as real competitions or competition-like situations, using multi-component measures of emotions

Trait and Ability Emotional Intelligence and Its Impact on Sports Performance of Athletes

Emotional intelligence (EI) is considered a determinant of sports performance. Two opposing perspectives have been discussed in the theoretical discourse on EI: EI as an ability versus EI as a trait, both widely differing in content and method of assessment. Previous applied sport psychology research is characterized by a heterogeneous use of different conceptualizations and measurements of EI. However, evidence for the superiority of an EI concept does not exist. This study directly compares the ability and trait EI concepts in the relationship with athletic performance. An online survey was conducted (response rate = 19%). Participants completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form, a list of questions about biographical information as well as information related to sports performance and sport participation. We used regression analyses and controlled type of sports to investigate how sports performance is influenced by EI. Trait EI positively predicted self-assessment of athletes’ performance (B = 1.02; p < 0.01) whereby ability EI did not predict any outcome of sports performance. The effect of trait EI was independent of the ability EI. Overall, the result indicates some evidence for the superiority of the trait EI in applied sports psychology.Peer Reviewe

Psychosocial and Physiological Health Outcomes of Green Exercise in Children and Adolescents - A Systematic Review

Both physical activity (PA) and nature exposure are associated with several youth health benefits. However, the health outcomes when being physically active in nature, called Green Exercise (GE), are less clear. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the psychosocial and physiological outcomes of GE in children and adolescents and to outline future GE research directions. The PRISMA statement guided the review. Web of Science, PubMed, ERIC, and APA PsychNET were systematically searched in February 2019, including studies between 2000 and 2019. Fourteen of 1175 identified publications were included, which reported 15 different psychosocial and six different physiological outcomes, with some studies reporting more than one outcome. For 16 outcomes, studies reported either similar or no effects for both GE and comparison groups. For six outcomes, studies reported stronger effects for GE, for three outcomes, studies reported stronger effects in the comparison group. Evidence was rated as weak, using the EPHPP tool. Thus, GE does not have deleterious effects for children and adolescents compared to PA in other settings. GE might be beneficial; however, due to the study’s heterogeneity and quality, it is premature to make definite conclusions. Future research should build the quality of evidence for GE, use more rigorous research designs, and investigate the underlying effects and mechanisms of GE

EFFECTS OF AGE, GENDER AND ACTIVITY LEVEL ON COUNTER-MOVEMENT JUMP PERFORMANCE AND VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

The aim of this study was to investigate counter-movement jump performance and variability in a large population of children and adolescents with respect to age, gender, and activity level. 1835 subjects performed three counter-movement jumps with arms akimbo on a force platform. The subjects were divided into 6 age groups and three activity level groups. Jump height and maximum rate of force development were calculated for all jumps. The best trial out of three was considered for further calculations. Variability of both parameters was indicated by the coefficient of variation over three jumps. Both parameters increased with increasing age while their variability decreased. Boys jumped higher than girls. Regarding maximum rate of force development female subjects showed higher values. The active subjects jumped higher and with less variability than the sedentary group. Jump height and maximum rate of force development are good parameters to describe the development of jumping performance regarding age, gender and activity aspects. Due to the high variability of maximum force rate development, however, this parameter has to be interpreted with caution in subject-specific assessments

Relationships between emotions and disruptive behaviour in physical education - a systematic literature review

Classroom disruptions and disruptive behaviour occur frequently in physical education and can constitute important psychological stress factors. However, so far, the relationships between disruptive behaviour and emotions in physical education have not been studied in detail. Therefore, a systematic literature review was conducted, to explore these relationships. Studies were selected through a systematic literature search from the databases Pubmed, Web of Science, ERIC, BISp, and SCOPUS. Twelve articles met the specified inclusion criteria. Results show that anger is a well investigated emotion in this context, but psychological constructs such as boredom or low intrinsic motivation to participate in class also were described as leading to disruptions. In accordance with Lazarus\u27s theory on emotions extended by the model of emotional contagion, a first conceptual model of relationships between teachers’ and students’ emotions regarding the identified typical disruptive behaviour in physical education is derived

A Systematic Review Examining the Relationship Between Habit and Physical Activity Behavior in Longitudinal Studies

"Purpose: To explain physical activity behavior, social-cognitive theories were most commonly used in the past. Besides conscious processes, the approach of dual processes additionally incorporates non-conscious regulatory processes into physical activity behavior theories. Habits are one of various non-conscious variables that can influence behavior and thus play an important role in terms of behavior change. The aim of this review was to examine the relationship between habit strength and physical activity behavior in longitudinal studies. Methods: According to the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted in three databases. Only peer-reviewed articles using a longitudinal study design were included. Both, habit and physical activity were measured at least once, and habit was related to physical activity behavior. Study quality was evaluated by assessment tools of the NHLBI. Results: Of 3.382 identified publications between 2016 and 2019, fifteen studies with different study designs were included. Most studies supported that positive correlations between habit and physical activity exist. Some positive direct and indirect effects of habit on physical activity were detected and only a minority of studies showed the influence of physical activity on habit strength. Studies differentiating between instigation and execution habit found positive correlations and revealed instigation habit as a stronger predictor of physical activity. The quality of studies was rated as reasonable using assessment tools of the NHLBI. Conclusion: This review revealed a bidirectional relationship between habit and physical activity. Whether habit predicts physical activity or vice versa is still unclear. The observation of habit influencing physical activity may be most appropriate in studies fostering physical activity maintenance while the influence of physical activity on habit may be reasonable in experimental studies with physical activity as intervention content to form a habit. Future investigations should differentiate between habit formation and physical activity maintenance studies depending on the research objective. Long-term study designs addressing the complexity of habitual behavior would be beneficial for establishing cue-behavior associations for the formation of habits. Furthermore, studies should differentiate between instigation and execution habit in order to investigate the influence of both variables on physical activity behavior independently.

Interventions to Promote Positive Affect and Physical Activity in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults—A Systematic Review

Interventions to promote physical activity (PA) in children, adolescents and young adults based on social-cognitive theories often fail to increase PA. In recent years, affect-based approaches have gained interest, but the current state of research is not sufficiently reported. Therefore, a systematic review about the influence of interventions to promote positive affect and PA enjoyment and PA in children, adolescents and young adults was conducted. Literature searches were carried out including studies published between September 2009 and April 2019. Intervention studies targeting healthy children, adolescents or young adults and measuring enjoyment and PA were included. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria, including five group-based PA interventions, three multi-component school interventions, two internet-based interventions and three exergaming interventions. Most studies use multiple components in their intervention. Group-based PA programs incorporating task-oriented teaching styles and opportunities for voluntary PA are most consistently associated with positive findings. This review shows moderate evidence of interventions for children, adolescents and young adults being effective in increasing enjoyment and PA. Besides physical education and comprehensive school interventions, heterogenous intervention designs limit the comparability of studies. Future research should focus on theory-based, multi-component interventions with mediator analyses

Examination of construct validity and criterion-related validity of the german motor test in egyptian schoolchildren

Physical fitness is an indicator for children’s public health status. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the construct validity and the criterion-related validity of the German motor test (GMT) in Egyptian schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 931 children aged 6 to 11 years (age: 9.1 ± 1.7 years) with 484 (52%) males and 447 (48%) females in grades one to five in Assiut city. The children’s physical fitness data were collected using GMT. GMT is designed to measure five health-related physical fitness components including speed, strength, coordination, endurance, and flexibility of children aged 6 to 18 years. The anthropometric data were collected based on three indicators: body height, body weight, and BMI. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS AMOS 26.0 using full-information maximum likelihood. The results indicated an adequate fit (χ2 = 112.3, df = 20; p < 0.01; CFI = 0.956; RMSEA = 0.07). The χ2-statistic showed significant results, and the values for CFI and RMSEA showed a good fit. All loadings of the manifest variables on the first-order latent factors as well as loadings of the first-order latent factors on the second-order superordinate factor were significant. The results also showed strong construct validity in the components of conditioning abilities and moderate construct validity in the components of coordinative abilities. GMT proved to be a valid method and could be widely used on large-scale studies for health-related fitness monitoring in the Egyptian population