ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH17
Introduction Sport injuries are common in most sports, at elite level as well as among youth athletes. To reduce the occurrence of sport injuries, understanding the risk factors associated with injuries is essential. During the last decade, there have been calls in the literature for more holistic approaches to understand how combinations of factors affect injury risk. The aim of the present study was to employ a person-centered approach to identify combinations of psychological and physical factors that influence the risk of injury among youth floorball players. Methods In the beginning of the floorball season 222 youth athletes (age:15-19, female: n=97) underwent physical field tests and completed a baseline survey, which included demographic information and assessments of psychological well-being (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms). At the end of the season, participants were asked to report any traumatic or overuse injuries experienced during the season. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify potential risk profiles among the athletes. We then conducted a covariate analysis with sex, age, height, weight, previous injury history and injury status at baseline as predictors of profile belonging. Finally, we compared injury risk between the identified profiles. Results The LPA resulted in a three-profile solution where profile 1 (n=101) reported above average psychological well-being and higher results on physical field test than the other profiles, whereas profile 2 (n=49) had lower psychological well-being than the other profiles, and profile 3 (n=72) performed the worst on physical field tests. Covariate analysis showed that athletes who were injured at baseline were more likely to belong to profile 2 when compared to profile 1, no other significant differences were observed. A total of 113 athletes (50.9%) reported an injury at the end of the season. The analysis of distal outcomes (traumatic or overuse injury) showed that profile 1 had a higher risk of any injury compared to profile 2 (risk difference RD=16.5%, 95% CI [-0.3-33.4]) and profile 3 (RD=15.0%, 95% CI [0.0-29.9]). Additionally, profile 1 exhibited a higher risk of acute injury compared to profile 3 (RD=16.6%, 95% CI [3.8-29.4]). Discussion Surprisingly, our findings revealed that the athletes with high physical ability and low levels of depression and anxiety had the highest risk of injury. One potential explanation could be that athletes in this profile engage in more practices and competitive games (compared to athletes in the other two profiles), which exposes them to more risk situations, higher physical load, and insufficient recovery. These findings have practical implications for seasonal planning and highlight the coaches role as key figures in assisting youth athletes to balance the demands of training intensity with adequate recovery.
Read CV Sofia LevinECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH17
Introduction Researchers have raised concerns about sport referee attrition and its potential negative impact on the games quality [1]. Previous studies have highlighted that passionmay prevent dropout from sport activities [2,3], still empirical evidence from the context of sport refereeing is requiring. Hence, the aim of the present study was to investigate the predictive value of passion on intentions to quit among Norwegian elite sport referees. Methods The participants were 224 Norwegian elite referees of handball (n = 111, m age = 35.3 years, 13.5% females) and football (113, m age = 30.8 years, 8% females) who had been referees for an average of 14.4 years (sd = 7.77 years; min: 4, max: 37) and a referee at the present level for 6.8 years (sd = 6.20 years, min: 1, max: 32). In a section of the web-based survey was a question constructed based on the work of Van Yperen [4] assessing participants’ intentions to quit as an elite referee (e.g., `Do you sometimes think about quitting as elite referee?’). The referees could choose between three alternative answers: 1. I never think about quitting, 2. I sometimes think about quitting, and 3. I often think about quitting. The 12-item Passion Scale [2,3] was used to assess the referees’ type of passion that characterized their officiating. Results The number of complete cases for the present study was N = 184. Overall, 50.5 % (n = 93) of the referees had an intention to quit refereeing. A logistic regression was performed to assess the predictive value of harmonious passion and obsessive passion on the likelihood of intention to quit officiating. The logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ2(1,181) = 33.319, p < .001. The model explained 22% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in intention to quit. The odds ratio for harmonious passion was 0.397, meaning that one unit increase on the harmonious passion scale (1-7) was associated with a decrease of 60 % in the odds of having an intention to quit officiating. Additionally, no statistically significant effect was found for obsessive passion on intention to quit officiating. Conclusion The present findings revealed that harmonious passion significantly decreased the likelihood of intending to quit officiating, emphasizing the importance of nurturing a positive and balanced passion in sports refereeing. The study offers insights that could help address concerns raised by researchers regarding elite sport referee attrition and its potential impact on game quality. References 1. Livingston et al. (2017). Curr Iss Sport Scien, 2, 011. 2. Vallerand et al. (2003). J Pers Soc Psychol, 85(4), 756-767. 3. Vallerand et al. (2006). J Sport Exer Psychol, 28(4), 454–478. 4. Van Yperen, N. (1998). Sport Psychol, 12, 427-439
Read CV Bjoern Tore JohansenECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH17
Introduction Resilience has historically been viewed as an outcome or trait, with individuals who achieve better-than-expected outcomes despite dealing with adversity being considered resilient. More contemporary research suggests resilience may be a process, with both proactive and reactive elements. However, there has been little investigation as to how this more contemporary concept of a resilient as a process can be incorporated into specific interventions to develop resilience. In an established community football programme, we set out to explore ways that resilience may be developed as part of engagement in the programme, and the feasibility of conducting a specific resilience intervention. Methods The Resilience Process Scale – RPS (a 13-item scale assessing 4 stages of resilience: anticipate, minimise, manage and mend), CD-RISC 10 (10 item version of the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale), wellbeing (SWEMWBS) and physical activity levels using questions from the IPAQ were administered to 16 individuals partaking in a school-holiday based community sport programme at pre and post intervals following 4 coach-led and co-developed resilience sessions. Post-intervention qualitative analysis was conducted with participants via focus groups and coaches via 1-1 interviews to understand what aspects of the intervention were successful and where it can be improved. Results Quantitative analysis revealed improvements in the Manage aspect of the RPS, SWEMWBS Score and levels of physical activity approaching significance. Further investigations through thematic analysis of the focus groups and interviews revealed several key themes: coach relationship, social interaction and football as the ‘hook’ were revealed to be positive influences on session enjoyment and engagement. Discussion The findings suggest that, while improvements in resilience were statistically non-significant, participants felt they had learned some useful skills and had engaged well with the programme. This was echoed by coaches who enjoyed the opportunity to intertwine resilience theory with their coaching and had freedom to structure the sessions as they wished. This has several implications for practitioners and coaches looking to develop resilience interventions. Firstly, using a ‘hook’ or basing the intervention around an activity that participants would actively engage in will improve interest. Second, ensuring coaches are familiar and have a good relationship with participants will further increase engagement. Finally, giving coaches more freedom on how to implement the intervention content into the sessions will improve eagerness and motivation to engage in the process.
Read CV Louis MolloyECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH17