What can sports psychology learn from work and organizational psychology? Benefits and pitfalls of applying theoretical models from one context to another

In the last couple of decades, there has been an increasing trend of sports psychology research studies drawing on theoretical models from the realm of work and organizational psychology. These models have been either directly applied or adapted to fit the sports context. The purpose of this narrative review is to explore the advantages and potential drawbacks of using models rooted in work and organizational psychology in sports psychology. We will first examine the similarities between the two contexts, followed by an in-depth analysis of theoretical models that have been successfully or unsuccessfully transferred to sports psychology, such as the Goal Setting Theory, the Theory of Transformational Leadership, the Conservation of Resources Theory, and the Demand-Induced Strain Compensation-Recovery Model. Ultimately, this review will provide a comprehensive overview of the benefits and pitfalls associated with applying work and organizational psychology theoretical models to sports psychology

Être un·e athlète de haut-niveau et réussir ses études : Variables et processus affectant la santé mentale des étudiant·e-athlètes

Studying while being an elite athlete is a demanding challenge that student-athletes (SAs) try to meet. Each role, student and athlete, comes with demands that are likely to alter their mental health. In the sport-school dual career literature, the relationship between these roles has often been seen as conflicting, such that involvement in sport would be detrimental to school, and vice versa. However, other studies have shown that involvement in school can help to develop skills or knowledge that facilitate involvement or performance in sport, and vice versa. In other words, both roles are mutually enriched. In spite of these results, the majority of studies carried out among SAs have focused mainly on factors related to sport context, neglecting those specific to the dual career and their consequences on SAs’ mental health. Therefore, the stake of this doctoral dissertation was to better understand the interactions between the student and athlete roles and their relationships with the mental health of SAs, in order to answer the following question: How can we facilitate the management of sport-school dual careers to promote mental health among SAs? To this end, the aims were (1) to review studies on the relationships between role interactions and health in order to identify the knowledge and limitations of the literature, (2) to understand how SAs experience and reconcile their dual roles, (3) to identify and measure the interactions between these two roles, and (4) to examine the relationships between these role interactions and the mental health of SAs.First, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine how previous work has considered the interactions between the student and athlete roles, and the consequences on SAs’ health (Contribution 1). The first line of work was focused on the French the translation and validation of a tool that measures the salience of the academic and athletic identities of SAs, and on the examination of the additive and interactive relationships between these identities and athletic well-being (Contribution 2). Building on research on work-family interactions, we then considered the more proximal role of conflict and enrichment between the student and athlete roles in predicting well-being. Given the lack of tools to assess these constructs, we translated, adapted, and validated a scale from the work-family interactions literature, to measure negative and positive sport-school interactions (Contribution 3). Semi-structured interviews were conducted among SAs to test the relevance of this conceptualisation, by identifying the diversity of conflicts and enrichments that may exist in a dual career context (Contribution 4). Then, our work focused on the relationships between sport-school interactions and mental health. In a person-centred study, we identified latent profiles for sport-school interactions and examined their unique relationships with athletic well-being (Contribution 5). Finally, in a follow-up study carried out with SAs in training centres, we examined whether intra-individual weekly variations in sport-school conflicts and enrichments were related to weekly variations in athletic and academic well-being (Contribution 6).Overall, this doctoral work contributes to the understanding of factors related to SAs mental health of and offers promising perspectives for adaptations to facilitate the sport-school dual career and improve SAs’ mental health.Faire des études tout en étant athlète de haut niveau est un défi exigeant que tentent de relever les étudiant·es-athlètes (EA). Les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète sont chacun accompagnés d'exigences qui sont susceptibles d’altérer leur santé mentale. Dans la littérature sur le double projet sport-études, la relation entre les rôles a été souvent envisagée comme étant conflictuelle, de sorte que s'impliquer dans le rôle d’athlète serait préjudiciable aux études, et réciproquement. D'autres travaux ont néanmoins révélé que s'engager dans les études permettrait l’acquisition de compétences et connaissances qui faciliteraient l’engagement ou la performance dans le sport, et réciproquement. Autrement dit, ces deux rôles s'enrichiraient mutuellement. Malgré ce constat, la majorité des études conduites auprès des EA se sont surtout concentrées sur les facteurs liés au contexte sportif, en négligeant ceux spécifiques au double projet et leurs conséquences sur la santé mentale des EA. Ainsi, l'enjeu de ce travail doctoral était de mieux comprendre les interactions entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète, et leurs relations avec la santé mentale des EA, afin de répondre à la question suivante : comment peut-on faciliter la gestion du double projet sport-études pour promouvoir la santé mentale chez les EA ? Pour cela, les objectifs de cette thèse étaient (1) d’examiner les études portant sur les liens entre interactions de rôles et santé pour identifier les connaissances et limites de la littérature, (2) de comprendre comment les EA concilient leur double rôle, (3) d’identifier et de mesurer les interactions entre ces deux rôles et (4) d’examiner les relations entre ces interactions de rôle et la santé mentale des EA.Tout d’abord, une revue systématique de la littérature a permis d'identifier comment les travaux antérieurs envisageaient les interactions entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète, et quelles en étaient les conséquences sur la santé des EA (Contribution 1). Un premier axe de travail a consisté à traduire et valider en français un outil permettant de mesurer la saillance des identités académique et athlétique des EA, et à examiner les relations additives et interactives entre celles-ci et le bien-être sportif (Contribution 2). Sur la base des travaux relatifs aux interactions de rôle travail-famille nous avons ensuite appréhendé le rôle plus proximal des conflits et enrichissements entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète dans la prédiction du bien-être des personnes. Face au manque d’outils permettant d’évaluer ces construits, nous avons traduit, adapté et validé une échelle tirée de la littérature sur les interactions travail-famille pour mesurer les interactions négatives et positives sport-études (Contribution 3). Des entretiens semi-directifs ont été menés auprès d’EA pour tester la pertinence de cette conceptualisation, en identifiant la diversité des conflits et enrichissements pouvant exister dans un contexte de double projet (Contribution 4). Nos travaux se sont ensuite focalisés sur le lien entre les interactions sport-études et la santé mentale. Dans une étude centrée sur la personne, nous avons identifié différents profils latents d’interactions sport-études et examiné leurs relations singulières avec le bien être sportif (Contribution 5). Enfin, une étude de suivi menée auprès d’EA en centre de formation a examiné si les variations hebdomadaires intra-individuelles des conflits et enrichissements sport-études étaient liés aux variations hebdomadaires de bien-être sportif et académique (Contribution 6).Dans son ensemble, ce travail doctoral apporte une contribution à la compréhension des facteurs liés à la santé mentale des EA et offre des perspectives prometteuses pour des aménagements permettant de faciliter le double projet sport-études et d’améliorer la santé mentale des EA

Être un·e athlète de haut-niveau et réussir ses études : Variables et processus affectant la santé mentale des étudiant·es-athlètes

Studying while being an elite athlete is a demanding challenge that student-athletes (SAs) try to meet. Each role, student and athlete, comes with demands that are likely to alter their mental health. In the sport-school dual career literature, the relationship between these roles has often been seen as conflicting, such that involvement in sport would be detrimental to school, and vice versa. However, other studies have shown that involvement in school can help to develop skills or knowledge that facilitate involvement or performance in sport, and vice versa. In other words, both roles are mutually enriched. In spite of these results, the majority of studies carried out among SAs have focused mainly on factors related to sport context, neglecting those specific to the dual career and their consequences on SAs’ mental health. Therefore, the stake of this doctoral dissertation was to better understand the interactions between the student and athlete roles and their relationships with the mental health of SAs, in order to answer the following question: How can we facilitate the management of sport-school dual careers to promote mental health among SAs? To this end, the aims were (1) to review studies on the relationships between role interactions and health in order to identify the knowledge and limitations of the literature, (2) to understand how SAs experience and reconcile their dual roles, (3) to identify and measure the interactions between these two roles, and (4) to examine the relationships between these role interactions and the mental health of SAs.First, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine how previous work has considered the interactions between the student and athlete roles, and the consequences on SAs’ health (Contribution 1). The first line of work was focused on the French the translation and validation of a tool that measures the salience of the academic and athletic identities of SAs, and on the examination of the additive and interactive relationships between these identities and athletic well-being (Contribution 2). Building on research on work-family interactions, we then considered the more proximal role of conflict and enrichment between the student and athlete roles in predicting well-being. Given the lack of tools to assess these constructs, we translated, adapted, and validated a scale from the work-family interactions literature, to measure negative and positive sport-school interactions (Contribution 3). Semi-structured interviews were conducted among SAs to test the relevance of this conceptualisation, by identifying the diversity of conflicts and enrichments that may exist in a dual career context (Contribution 4). Then, our work focused on the relationships between sport-school interactions and mental health. In a person-centred study, we identified latent profiles for sport-school interactions and examined their unique relationships with athletic well-being (Contribution 5). Finally, in a follow-up study carried out with SAs in training centres, we examined whether intra-individual weekly variations in sport-school conflicts and enrichments were related to weekly variations in athletic and academic well-being (Contribution 6).Overall, this doctoral work contributes to the understanding of factors related to SAs mental health of and offers promising perspectives for adaptations to facilitate the sport-school dual career and improve SAs’ mental health.Faire des études tout en étant athlète de haut niveau est un défi exigeant que tentent de relever les étudiant·es-athlètes (EA). Les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète sont chacun accompagnés d'exigences qui sont susceptibles d’altérer leur santé mentale. Dans la littérature sur le double projet sport-études, la relation entre les rôles a été souvent envisagée comme étant conflictuelle, de sorte que s'impliquer dans le rôle d’athlète serait préjudiciable aux études, et réciproquement. D'autres travaux ont néanmoins révélé que s'engager dans les études permettrait l’acquisition de compétences et connaissances qui faciliteraient l’engagement ou la performance dans le sport, et réciproquement. Autrement dit, ces deux rôles s'enrichiraient mutuellement. Malgré ce constat, la majorité des études conduites auprès des EA se sont surtout concentrées sur les facteurs liés au contexte sportif, en négligeant ceux spécifiques au double projet et leurs conséquences sur la santé mentale des EA. Ainsi, l'enjeu de ce travail doctoral était de mieux comprendre les interactions entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète, et leurs relations avec la santé mentale des EA, afin de répondre à la question suivante : comment peut-on faciliter la gestion du double projet sport-études pour promouvoir la santé mentale chez les EA ? Pour cela, les objectifs de cette thèse étaient (1) d’examiner les études portant sur les liens entre interactions de rôles et santé pour identifier les connaissances et limites de la littérature, (2) de comprendre comment les EA concilient leur double rôle, (3) d’identifier et de mesurer les interactions entre ces deux rôles et (4) d’examiner les relations entre ces interactions de rôle et la santé mentale des EA.Tout d’abord, une revue systématique de la littérature a permis d'identifier comment les travaux antérieurs envisageaient les interactions entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète, et quelles en étaient les conséquences sur la santé des EA (Contribution n°1). Un premier axe de travail a consisté à traduire et valider en français un outil permettant de mesurer la saillance des identités académique et athlétique des EA, et à examiner les relations additives et interactives entre celles-ci et le bien-être sportif (Contribution n°2). Sur la base des travaux relatifs aux interactions de rôle travail-famille nous avons ensuite appréhendé le rôle plus proximal des conflits et enrichissements entre les rôles d’étudiant·e et d’athlète dans la prédiction du bien-être des personnes. Face au manque d’outils permettant d’évaluer ces construits, nous avons traduit, adapté et validé une échelle tirée de la littérature sur les interactions travail-famille pour mesurer les interactions négatives et positives sport-études (Contribution n°3). Des entretiens semi-directifs ont été menés auprès d’EA pour tester la pertinence de cette conceptualisation, en identifiant la diversité des conflits et enrichissements pouvant exister dans un contexte de double projet (Contribution n°4). Nos travaux se sont ensuite focalisés sur le lien entre les interactions sport-études et la santé mentale. Dans une étude centrée sur la personne, nous avons identifié différents profils latents d’interactions sport-études et examiné leurs relations singulières avec le bien être sportif (Contribution n°5). Enfin, une étude de suivi menée auprès d’EA en centre de formation a examiné si les variations hebdomadaires intra-individuelles des conflits et enrichissements sport-études étaient liés aux variations hebdomadaires de bien-être sportif et académique (Contribution n°6).Dans son ensemble, ce travail doctoral apporte une contribution à la compréhension des facteurs liés à la santé mentale des EA et offre des perspectives prometteuses pour des aménagements permettant de faciliter le double projet sport-études et d’améliorer la santé mentale des EA

Bidirectional ATP-driven transport of cobalamin by the mycobacterial ABC transporter BacA

BacA is a mycobacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter involved in the translocation of water-soluble compounds across the lipid bilayer. Whole-cell-based assays have shown that BacA imports cobalamin as well as unrelated hydrophilic compounds such as the antibiotic bleomycin and the antimicrobial peptide Bac7 into the cytoplasm. Surprisingly, there are indications that BacA also mediates the export of different antibacterial compounds, which is difficult to reconcile with the notion that ABC transporters generally operate in a strictly unidirectional manner. Here we resolve this conundrum by developing a fluorescence-based transport assay to monitor the transport of cobalamin across liposomal membranes. We find that BacA transports cobalamin in both the import and export direction. This highly unusual bidirectionality suggests that BacA is mechanistically distinct from other ABC transporters and facilitates ATP-driven diffusion, a function that may be important for the evolvability of specific transporters, and may bring competitive advantages to microbial communities.</p

Mutational analysis to explore long-range allosteric couplings involved in a pentameric channel receptor pre-activation and activation

International audiencePentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) mediate chemical signaling through a succession of allosteric transitions that are yet not completely understood as intermediate states remain poorly characterized by structural approaches. In a previous study on the prototypic bacterial proton-gated channel GLIC, we generated several fluorescent sensors of the protein conformation that report a fast transition to a pre-active state, which precedes the slower process of activation with pore opening. Here, we explored the phenotype of a series of allosteric mutations, using paralleled steady-state fluorescence and electrophysiological measurements over a broad pH range. Our data, fitted to a 3-states Monod-Wyman-Changeux (MWC) model, show that mutations at the subunit interface in the extracellular domain (ECD) principally alter pre-activation, while mutations in the lower ECD and in the transmembrane domain principally alter activation. We also show that propofol alters both transitions. Data are discussed in the framework of transition pathways generated by normal mode analysis (iModFit) that suggest collective protein motions concerted with pore opening. It further supports that pre-activation involves major quaternary compaction of the ECD, and suggests that activation involves principally a re-organization of a 'central gating region' involving a contraction of the ECD β-sandwich and the tilt of the channel lining M2 helix

Conflictuel ou enrichissement ? Suivi hebdomadaire des relations entre les interactions de rôle des étudiant·s-athlètes et leur bien-être

International audienceIntroductionDue to the multiple demands of each career, student-athletes are especially at risk of wellbeing impairment. By meeting the demands, resources consumed in one role (e.g., athlete) may not be available in the other role (e.g., student): this is role conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Alternatively, the experiences lived in one role could provide resources usable in the other role: this is role enrichment (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006). Role interactions (i.e. conflict and enrichment) are likely to influence student-athletes well-being. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the within-subject relationships between resources (i.e., mental rest), contextual demands, role interactions and contextual well-being indicators among student-athletes.MethodParticipants were thirty-three French student-athletes (women = 15) who responded to a weekly online questionnaire across five months, assessing their perceived mental rest, role interactions, demands, stress, and satisfaction in academic and athletic contexts.ResultsMultilevel analyses showed that after controlling for contextual demands, mental rest, age and gender, both school and sport stress were predicted (β = [.11 to .14], p <.05) by sport-to-school and school-to-sport conflicts. In addition, sport-to-school enrichment was also negatively related to sport stress (β = -.18, p <.001). School satisfaction was negatively predicted by sport-to-school conflict (β = -.13, p = .011) and positively by school-to-sport enrichment (β = .26, p <.001). Finally, sport satisfaction was negatively predicted by school-to-sport conflict (β = -.12, p <.05) and positively by sport-to-school enrichment (β = .23, p < .001). The four models predicted between 16% and 38% of the within-subject variance in contextual well-being.DiscussionThe results of this study contribute to research on student-athlete well-being by showing (1) that contextual stress and satisfaction vary significantly across weeks at the within-subject level, and (2) that sport-school role interactions predict contextual well-being, just as work-family role interactions predict organizational and family well-being. From a practical perspective, evidence of the relationships between demands, role interactions, and wellbeing could help student-athlete supervisors become aware of the need for specific dual-career management and help student-athletes manage their dual careers more effectively.ReferencesGreenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of Conflict between Work and Family Roles. The Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76. https://doi.org/10.2307/258214Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When Work And Family Are Allies: A Theory Of Work-Family Enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2006.1937962