Go soft or go home? A scoping review of empirical studies on the role of self-compassion in the competitive sport setting

Self-compassion describes a supportive attitude towards oneself. Research outside the sport context suggests that self-compassion might be beneficial in terms of psychological processes that are helpful for athletic performance. At the same time, there are reasons to assume that athletes may fear a negative influence of SC on their self-improvement motivation. Therefore, it seemed worthwhile to clarify the role of self-compassion in the competitive sport setting by reviewing the current research. The aim of this scoping review is to give an overview of the current literature on SC in competitive sports and to answer the question, whether SC is helpful for competitive athletes. A literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PSYNDEX, and SPORTDiscus. Eligibility criteria were peer-reviewed publication, publication in English, original research and research investigating self-compassion in competitive athletes. From 17 publications that met the inclusion criteria, we identified 19 studies, most of which were quantitative, employing a cross-sectional design. Additionally, we found only one intervention study, one experimental study and four qualitative studies using interviews. We provided an integrative narrative description of the study aims, hypotheses, methodological characteristics and study results. Based on the reviewed findings we concluded that in the future more intervention and longitudinal studies are needed. Furthermore, a comprehensive theoretical framework should be developed, which explains how SC is beneficial for athletes. Thus far, qualitative studies highlight the potential ambivalence of athletes towards SC (i.e., they expect benefits after failures but fear that too much SC leads to mediocrity). Quantitative research indicates that SC is beneficial for athletes’ well-being and their ability to deal with adversities in sports, whereas the role of self-compassion for self-improvement motivation remains unanswered

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

Mindfulness Promotes the Ability to Deliver Performance in Highly Demanding Situations

Trait mindfulness helps people handle distress and improves their satisfaction with life. The aim of the present paper is to examine whether trait mindfulness also promotes positive functioning (i.e., performance) in highly demanding situations, such as in elite sports. Mindfulness has been shown to improve athletes’ ability to perform well, i.e., to increase their performance-delivery. However, researchers are still speculating about the underlying mechanism. The present research examines whether trait mindfulness enhances the ability of elite athletes to trigger performance in demanding situations by generally reducing competition anxiety and diminishing its negative impact when it occurs. Participants were 133 elite athletes from 23 different sports. They completed measures of trait mindfulness, competition anxiety, and performance-delivery. Mediation, moderation, and moderated-mediation effects of mindfulness and competition anxiety on performance-delivery were tested. Our findings indicate that trait mindfulness is related to fewer performance worries and prevents the remaining worries from influencing athletes’ behavior, thereby helping them to perform better. Implications and directions for further research are discussed. Apart from benefits for psychological health, instructing people to become more mindful might be a promising approach to help them optimize their performance in demanding situations

Sleep Difficulties in Swiss Elite Athletes.

For athletes, sleep is essential for recovery and performance. Yet, up to two-thirds of athletes report poor sleep quality. Comprehensive data across all sports disciplines on the underlying causes of sleep problems are missing. We reanalyzed a data set of N = 1004 Swiss top athletes across an extensive array of 88 sports to gain knowledge on the specific deficits in sleep health with respect to gender, sport classes, sport-related factors, and well-being. We found that 18% of athletes were affected by at least two out of five high-risk sleep factors: 9% of athletes slept less than 6 h per day, 30% were dissatisfied with their sleep, 17% showed problems falling asleep within 30 min, 18% of athletes reported difficulty maintaining sleep more than three times a week, and 6% of athletes used sleeping pills more than once a week. We found sleep health strongly linked to overall well-being and mental health (22% showed at least moderate symptoms of either depression or anxiety). Therefore, screening and treating sleep disorders might effectively improve mental health and general well-being as well as performance among athletes around the globe

Quality Management in der Schweizer Sportpsychologie

Ständig wachsende Bedürfnisse von Sportverbänden, Athleten und Trainern einerseits sowie die rapide Entwicklung des Wissens und der Methoden der Sportpsychologie der letzten 10 Jahre andererseits bedingen eine Professionalisierung sportpsychologischer Tätigkeiten. Qualitätsstandards unterstützen diese Professionalisierung und steigern die Glaubwürdigkeit der sportpsychologischen Arbeit. Die Grundpfeiler für diese Professionalisierung werden in enger Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Berufsorganisation und Institutionen des privaten und des öffentlich-rechtlichen Sports erarbeitet. Die hier vorgestellten Qualitätssteigerungsmassnahmen basieren auf einem Quality-Management-Modell und umfassen Struktur-, Prozess- und Ergebnisoptimierungen. Eine postgraduale Weiterbildung in Sportpsychologie wird zurzeit erarbeitet, ein Dokumentationssystem zur Diagnostik und Verlaufsbeschreibung von Beratungen wurde bereits implementiert, und Richtlinien zum Beratungsablauf und zur Beratungsdokumentation erarbeitet. Das Beratungsergebnis soll zukünftig systematisch erhoben werden. Die Sportpsychologie kann sich durch diese Professionalisierungsschritte von Angeboten unseriöser Berater abgrenzen und sich als seriöses Berufsfeld weiter etablieren

Effects of Mindfulness Practice on Performance-Relevant Parameters and Performance Outcomes in Sports: A Meta-Analytical Review

Mindfulness as a present-oriented form of mental training affects cognitive processes and is increasingly considered meaningful for sport psychological training approaches. However, few intervention studies have examined the effects of mindfulness practice on physiological and psychological performance surrogates or on performance outcomes in sports.; The aim of the present meta-analytical review was to examine the effects of mindfulness practice or mindfulness-based interventions on physiological and psychological performance surrogates and on performance outcomes in sports in athletes over 15 years of age.; A structured literature search was conducted in six electronic databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus). The following search terms were used with Boolean conjunction: (mindful* OR meditat* OR yoga) AND (sport* OR train* OR exercis* OR intervent* OR perform* OR capacity OR skill*) AND (health* OR adult* OR athlete*).; Randomized and non-randomized controlled studies that compared mindfulness practice techniques as an intervention with an inactive control or a control that followed another psychological training program in healthy sportive participants were screened for eligibility.; Eligibility and study quality [Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro)] scales were independently assessed by two researchers. A third independent researcher was consulted to achieve final consensus in case of disagreement between both researchers. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated as weighted Hedges' g and served as the main outcomes in comparing mindfulness practice versus control. Statistical analyses were conducted using a random-effects inverse-variance model.; Nine trials of fair study quality (mean PEDro score 5.4, standard deviation 1.1) with 290 healthy sportive participants (athletics, cyclists, dart throwers, hammer throwers, hockey players, hurdlers, judo fighters, rugby players, middle-distance runners, long-distance runners, shooters, sprinters, volleyball players) were included. Intervention time varied from 4 weeks to over 2 years. The practice frequency lasted from twice daily to just once a week, and the mean session time covered 50-60 min. In favor of mindfulness practice compared with the control condition, large effects with narrow confidence limits and low heterogeneity were found for mindfulness scores [SMD 1.03, 90% confidence interval (CI) 0.67-1.40, p < 0.001, I 2 = 17%]. Physiological performance indices depicted wide confidence limits accompanied with very large heterogeneity. However, the effect sizes remained very large, with confidence limits that did not overlap zero (SMD 3.62, 90% CI 0.03-7.21, p = 0.10, I 2 = 98%). Moderate to large effects were observed for both psychological performance surrogates (SMD 0.72, 90% CI 0.46-0.98, p < 0.001, I 2 = 14%) and performance outcomes in shooting and dart throwing (SMD 1.35, 90% CI 0.61-2.09, p = 0.003, I 2 = 82%).; Mindfulness practice consistently and beneficially modulates mindfulness scores. Furthermore, physiological and psychological surrogates improved to a meaningful extent following mindfulness practice, as well as performance outcomes in shooting and dart throwing. It seems reasonable to consider mindfulness practice strategies as a regular complementary mental skills training approach for athletes, at least in precision sports; however, more high-quality, randomized, controlled trials on mindfulness practice and performance improvements in diverse sport settings are needed

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

Informations-Handouts und Laienkonsultation in verschiedenen Rehabilitationsphasen als Hilfe für verletzte Spitzensportler

Schwere Verletzungen bedeuten für Spitzensportler, dass wichtige Ziele ausser Reichweite geraten. Das kann Gefühle von Ungeduld, Angst und Niedergeschlagenheit hinterlassen. Mit einfachen Informations-Handouts und durch den Austausch mit ehemaligen Patienten wurde versucht, die internale Kontrollmeinung zu erhöhen und gleichzeitig mögliche Ängste und Unsicherheiten von Spitzenathleten während der Rehabilitation abzuschwächen. Es werden drei Fallbeispiele beschrieben, die zeigen, dass die vorgeschlagenen Unterstützungsmassnahmen auch bei sehr unterschiedlichen Rehabilitationsvoraussetzungen und -verläufen hilfreich sein können. Im Vergleich der wiederholt erhobenen psychologischen Variablen der drei Spitzensportler mit den Daten von 15 Breitensportlern zeigt sich, dass die Spitzensportler zwar mit dem Verlauf der Rehabilitation unzufriedener sind, aber gleichzeitig auch eine geringere Adherence zeigen als die Breitensportler