ECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP18
INTRODUCTION: The psychological skills of athletes are widely studied, especially in high performance sports. It highlights significant psychometric issues in the athletes preparation and allows corrections to be made in the training process. Psychological skills are crucial to the success and achievement of athletes. The aim of this study was: to assess the applicability of PSIS-R5 in the Latvian team sports environment, examining the relationship between athletes achievement levels and psychological skills, and to provide recommendations to coaches for improving the training process. METHODS: A total of 254 Latvian team sports athletes aged between 18 to 35 completed the PSIS-R5 inventory to assess their psychological skills. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Prior to completing the questionnaire, participants provided written informed consent, ensuring they were aware of the study’s purpose and the intended use of their data. The PSIS-R5 includes 45 items distributed across six scales: Anxiety control, Concentration, Confidence, Mental preparation, Motivation, and Team emphasis The PSIS-R5 was re-translated into Latvian language (PSIS-R5-L) using forward-backward translation. The levels of athletes achievements were evaluated according to the national and international performance statistics of the specific team sport (hockey (n=73), basketball (n=52), floorball (n=36), volleyball (n=35), football (n=33), handball (n=25)). The data collected was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS v.28.0.0) and JASP 0.18.3.0. RESULTS: The obtained data reveal that there are significant differences in self-confidence between elite and pre-elite athletes, suggesting that elite athletes demonstrate a higher level of self-confidence. Additionally, statistically significant differences in self-confidence were found between pre-elite and amateur athletes, indicating that pre-elite athletes exhibit lower self-confidence than amateur athletes. The motivation scale, based on average scores, shows a descending order from the elite to the pre-elite , with amateurs group scoring the lowest. These results suggest that athletes with higher levels of achievement exhibit higher motivation in sports. On the team emphasis scale, no statistically significant differences were detected among athletes’ achievement groups, indicating comparable team orientation across all groups. For the visualization scale, statistically significant differences were found only between the elite and amateur groups, suggesting that elite athletes possess stronger visualization skills than amateurs. CONCLUSION: These findings align with previous studies, supporting the fact that the higher achievement levels are associated with stronger psychological skills. The results indicate that scores on various scales are not particularly high or close to maximum levels, highlighting the necessity of integrating targeted psychological skills training into athletes’ development programs.
Read CV Agita AbeleECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP18
INTRODUCTION: Integral to the role of a sport coach are facets of leadership that are instilled through developed behaviours that enhance approaches across practice alongside the athletes they support [1]. Transformational leadership (TFL) has been extensively studied in sport psychology as a leadership style that enhances athlete motivation, performance, and well-being [2]. TFL is characterised by behaviours that inspire, intellectually stimulate, and consider needs of followers [3]. However limited work has explored its relationship with athlete focus through mindfulness and basic psychological need satisfaction in sport coaching settings. Given the central role of sport coaches as leaders, the study focuses on addressing this gap through analysis of the interplay across these aspects. METHODS: Tennis athletes (n=422) completed validated scales to measure coach TFL behaviours (DTLI), athlete satisfaction (BNSSS), and mindfulness (MAAS). Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, including Welch t-tests, ANOVA, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson correlations, and mediation analysis using PROCESS macro, were conducted to explore the hypothesised relationships across: (1) positive correlations between athlete perception of coach TFL behaviours with satisfaction and mindfulness, (2) differential associations of TFL subscales with athlete satisfaction, (3) differential associations of TFL subscales with mindfulness, and (4) the mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between TFL and athlete satisfaction. RESULTS: Findings revealed significant positive correlations between athlete perception of coach TFL behaviours and both athlete satisfaction (medium correlation) and mindfulness (small correlation). Among TFL subscales, inspirational motivation had the strongest association with athlete satisfaction, while appropriate role modelling was most strongly linked to athlete mindfulness. Gender-based differences were observed, with male coaches receiving higher TFL ratings than female coaches. Contrary to expectations, mediation analysis indicated mindfulness did not significantly mediate the relationship between coach TFL behaviours and athlete satisfaction. However, significant direct effects were found between TFL and mindfulness, as well as between mindfulness and satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study reinforces the relevance of TFL in sport coaching, highlighting its positive association with athlete satisfaction and focus through mindfulness. Findings indicate inspirational motivation and role modelling are particularly influential behaviours in shaping athlete experiences. These insights contribute to the field of sport psychology through identifying key TFL behaviours of coaches that enhance athlete outcomes. Further studies should explore contextual factors influencing these relationships and the impact of performance level and gender disparities across coach-athlete dynamics. 1. Bass (1985), 2. Carvalho et al. (2020), 3. Arthur et al. (2020)
Read CV Claire Bruce-MartinECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP18
INTRODUCTION: Self-regulation is one of the key elements for excelling in individual sports [1]. However, when performing in teams, self-regulatory processes might include additional elements relating to collaboration with teammates (group-based self-regulation). Insight into an athlete’s success orientation, focusing predominantly on personal versus team success, might help understanding the self-regulatory processes contributing to team performance. The aims of this study are to 1) investigate group-based self-regulation in endurance athletes, as well as the impact of their success orientation, and 2) explore behavior, satisfaction, and performance of individual athletes in teams. METHODS: Twenty-nine competitive junior long-track speed skaters (14 males, 15 females), aged 16 (±1) years, skated an individual performance (1500m) and a team performance, consisting of skating three laps in a team of three skaters (team pursuit). Participants completed questionnaires on individual and group-based self-regulation, including the facets reflection, planning, evaluation, effort, self-efficacy, speaking up, and coaching, with additional questions about success orientation (categories: personal, combined, team), general team behavior and satisfaction. Differences between individual and group-based self-regulation were tested by Related Samples Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests. Behavior, satisfaction, and performance were explored by Spearman’s rho correlations. Statistical significance was set at α=0.05 and effect sizes (r) were calculated. RESULTS: The score on group-based coaching (median=3) was significantly higher than the score on individual coaching (median=2) (W=197, Z=3.54, p<0.001, r=0.66). Distribution of success orientation was as follows: personal (n=18), combined (n=11), team (n=0). Only in participants with a combined success orientation, the group-based planning score (median=4) was higher than the individual planning score (median=3) (W=61, Z=2.53, p<0.05, r=0.76). Variation in behavior, satisfaction, and performance within and between teams was considerable, evidencing the complexities of team performance. CONCLUSION: When performing in teams, individual athletes increased their amount of coaching. Athletes more focused on team success also increased their amount of planning. When individual athletes are assembled into a team, factors such as success orientation and the behavior and performance of teammates become important. Self-regulation (planning, coaching) may be used to navigate these complexities and improve team performance. 1. Jonker et al. (2010)
Read CV Daphne HarmsenECSS Paris 2023: OP-AP18