Perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in junior athletes

Recent theory and research suggest that perfectionism is a personal factor contributing to athletes’ vulnerability to doping (using banned substances/drugs to enhance sporting performance). So far, however, no study has examined what aspects of perfectionism suggest a vulnerability in junior athletes. Employing a cross-sectional design, this study examined perfectionism and attitudes towards doping in 129 male junior athletes (mean age 17.3 years) differentiating four aspects of perfectionism: perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, parental pressure to be perfect, and coach pressure to be perfect. In the bivariate correlations, only parental pressure showed a positive relationship with positive doping attitudes. In a multiple regression analysis controlling for the overlap between the four aspects, perfectionistic strivings additionally showed a negative relationship. Moreover, a structural equation model examining the relationships between all variables suggested that coach pressure had a negative indirect effect on attitudes towards doping via perfectionistic strivings. The findings indicate that perceived parental pressure to be perfect may be a factor contributing to junior athletes’ vulnerability to doping, whereas perfectionistic strivings may be a protective factor.     

Predicting elite Scottish athletes’ attitudes towards doping: examining the contribution of achievement goals and motivational climate

Understanding athletes’ attitudes to doping continues to be of interest for its potential to contribute to an international anti-doping system. However, little is known about the relationship between elite athletes’ attitudes to drug use and potential explanatory factors, including achievement goals and the motivational climate. In addition, despite specific World Anti-Doping Agency Code relating to team sport athletes, little is known about whether sport type (team or individual) is a risk or protective factor in relation to doping. Elite athletes from Scotland (N = 177) completed a survey examining attitudes to performance-enhancing drug (PED) use, achievement goal orientations and perceived motivational climate. Athletes were generally against doping for performance enhancement. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that task and ego goals and mastery motivational climate were predictors of attitudes to PED use (F (4, 171) = 15.81, P < .01). Compared with individual athletes, team athletes were significantly lower in attitude to PED use and ego orientation scores and significantly higher in perceptions of a mastery motivational climate (Wilks’ lambda = .76, F = 10.89 (5, 170), P < .01). The study provides insight into how individual and situational factors may act as protective and risk factors in doping in sport.     

Changing attitudes and intentions related to doping: An analysis of individual differences in need for cognition

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that athletes’ attitudes towards the use of banned performance-enhancing substances are reliable predictors of their intentions to use these substances, which in turn can be relevant predictors of their actual doping behaviours. Despite the important role played by attitudes and intentions in doping, research analysing how to change those attitudes and intentions is relatively scarce. The present study examined how individual differences in Need for Cognition (NC, Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) influenced doping-related attitude change and subsequent behavioural intentions. Participants were randomly assigned to read a persuasive message either against or in favour of legalising the use of several banned substances, including anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) and Erythropoietin (EPO). In addition, participants completed the NC scale, and finally reported their attitudes and behavioural intentions regarding the legalisation proposal. As hypothesised, results showed that participants who received an anti-legalisation message had significantly more unfavourable attitudes towards the proposal than participants who received a pro-legalisation message, regardless of NC. However, as predicted, NC moderated the relationship between individuals’ attitudes and their intentions. That is, high-NC participants showed greater attitude-intention correspondence than low-NC participants.     

应用层次分析法确定优秀羽毛球运动员培养过程影响因素的权值

优秀羽毛球运动员的培养过程是由诸多复杂因素构成的,有人为因素,也有客观因素,如何在众多因素中准确找到主要影响因素是实施有效对策的有力措施。采用层次分析法确立优秀羽毛球运动员培养过程影响因素的指标体系,对影响因素进行定性和定量分析,确定制约优秀运动员培养过程的系统因素,找出竞技羽毛球项目在培养过程中的主要素。经分析发现:教练员的训练能力、管理能力、创新意识、品德修养以及运动员的伤病、意志品质、训练动机等在长期的训练培养过程中不同程度地影响运动员的发展。     

Sleep of professional athletes: Underexploited potential to improve health and performance

Sleep disorders have become increasingly prevalent affecting health and working ability. Restorative sleep may be considered important for athletes’ successful recovery and performance. However, some athletes seem to experience major problems in sleeping. Thus far, there is limited scientific information about their sleep. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of sleep and the prevalence of sleep disorders as well as the impact of a structured sleep counselling protocol in professional athletes. A total of 107 professional ice hockey players participated in the study. The exploratory observational 1-year follow-up study consisted of questionnaire-based sleep assessment followed by general sleep counselling and, when needed, polysomnography and an individual treatment plan. One in every four players was found to have a significant problem in sleeping. All athletes considered sleep essential for their health and three in every four players considered that counselling would improve their performance. Counselling and individual treatment were found to improve significantly the quality of sleep with the mean alteration of 0.6 (95% CI 0.2–1.0, P = 0.004) in a scale from 0 to 10. Our results support that sleep problems are common in professional athletes. However, systematic examination, counselling and individual treatment planning can improve the quality of their sleep.     

中国沙滩排球运动员意志品质的现状分析

采用殷小川编制的优秀运动员意志品质评价量表,对我国106名沙滩排球运动员进行了问卷调查,并用文献资料法、访问调查法等方法对我国高水平沙滩排球运动员的意志品质进行分析研究。结果如下：不同年龄、性别、训练年限、运动等级的沙滩排球运动员在意志品质的不同维度存在不同程度的差异,通过本文研究希望能为教练员以后有针对性的提高运动员的意志品质提供一定的理论依据和实践指导。     

体育运动学校青少年运动员文化课学习态度影响因素及对策

文章通过分析影响青少年运动员的文化课学习态度的有关因素,力求改善条件,使他们的学习态度朝最佳化的方向发展,同时也为进一步搞好青少年运动员的文化课教育工作提供依据。     

高水平女子散打运动员不同赛前时期膝关节屈伸肌等动力量变化研究

为了解我国高水平女子散打运动员不同赛前时期膝关节屈伸肌等动力量的水平与特征,选择上海体育学院女子散打运动员19名作为研究对象,选取整个赛前集训中一个周期的训练作为训练周期,按经典分期理论进行训练分期。等速肌力的测试采用CONTREX等动测试系统,以向心和离心60°/s的恒定角速度下进行右膝关节测试,同时测试0.2s快速屈伸时的最大伸肌力矩。研究结果:优秀女子散打运动员屈肌相对峰力矩值是(1.13±0.15)Nm/kg,伸肌相对峰力矩值为(2.11±0.33)Nm/kg,屈伸肌力矩比值是(53.0±4.0)%,比赛期达到最高值。健将级女子散打运动员的0.2s最大相对屈肌力矩为(1.053±0.207)Nm/kg,伸肌相对最大力矩健将级为(1.795±0.295)Nm/kg。结论:运动员水平越高,膝关节屈肌力量越高,屈伸肌力矩比值越大,不同赛期屈肌力量不同,比赛期达到最高。     

足球运动员运动表现提升的营养支持策略研究进展

体能是影响足球比赛成绩的重要因素之一,科学合理的营养补充策略能够增强运动员体能,从而提高运动表现,取得最佳成绩。通过分析足球运动的专项特点和能量代谢特征,根据足球运动员的营养需求,综述了该领域国内外研究进展,认为足球运动员应坚持以高糖膳食为主,多种营养成份合理搭配的原则,还可针对性选用运动营养补剂,满足足球运动日益激烈的训练和比赛需要,以期为相关从业者提供参考。     

Positive environments in youth football

Derived from Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) is the notion that the social environment may promote athletes’ basic psychological needs, which are considered important for positive development and optimal motivational functioning. The present study investigated the predictive value of perceived justice and coach feedback on basic needs satisfaction in the context of youth football. Participants were Norwegian youth football players (N?=?532) participating in a national tournament. During the initial stage of the tournament, players completed the Coaching Feedback Questionnaire, Perceived Justice in Sport Questionnaire and Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale under supervision. Regression analysis showed that perceived justice and positive/instructive coaching feedback positively predicted players’ needs satisfaction, while negative feedback and non-reinforcement/ignoring mistakes were not significant predictors of needs satisfaction. Together, perceptions of justice and coach feedback explained 24% of the variance in athletes’ needs satisfaction. The findings thereby indicate that athletes’ perceptions of fairness and coach feedback are important in understanding youth athletes’ needs satisfaction.     

Throwing performance in water polo is related to in-water shoulder proprioception

ABSTRACT

Water polo players require a high level of upper-extremity strength, flexibility and coordination to achieve a peak level of throwing performance. Increased levels of shoulder proprioceptive acuity, strength and range of motion (ROM) have been previously associated with higher sporting performance. A coach-rating scale, used to quantify an athlete’s kicking proficiency in soccer; was adapted in the current study to measure each coach’s subjective expert opinion regarding athletes’ throwing mechanics, velocity, and accuracy. To examine this hypothesis shoulder proprioception acuity of 18 water polo players was measured both in-water and on-land using an AMEDA apparatus and correlated with coach-rated throwing performance and clinical measures of shoulder strength and ROM. There was a moderate positive correlation between the in-water and the on-land proprioception acuity (r = 0.47, p < 0.05). The in-water score showing a strong positive correlation with coach rated throwing mechanics (r = 0.68, p < 0.05) and velocity (r = 0.75, p = 0.02), suggesting that superior proprioception acuity contributed to fast, mechanically-efficient throwing. These findings support the notion that in-water proprioceptive acuity is an important determinant of the throwing performance achieved by water polo athletes and its measurement may be a valuable adjunct to current athlete screening.     

Secular trend: morphology and performance

In a context of morphological expansion of the general population, how do athletes follow such a pattern of anthropometric growth? Is there any relation to performance? Biometric data including mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and age were collected for 50,376 American athletes representing 249,336 annual performers playing in professional baseball, football, ice hockey and basketball. Distributions by mass in National Football League (NFL) players are described by periods. Field goals have been studied in relation to players’ height in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between 1871 and 2011, athletes from the four sports have increased significantly in mass, height and BMI, following a multi-exponential function series. Consequently, biometric differences between athletes and the general population are increasing gradually. Changes in the mass distribution within the NFL show the emergence of a biometrical specificity in relation to the field position. At the professional level, performance remains structured around precise biometric values. In the NBA, a height-attractor at 201.3 ± 6.3 cm for the best scorers is invariant, regardless of the level of play. These results suggest that laws of growth and biometrics drive high-level sport and organise performance around the specific constraint of each field position. Discrepancies between some mass and height developments question the (disproportionate) large mass increase (relative to the height increase) during the 1980s and 1990s.     

冰雪项目运动员流畅状态的影响因素及其特点

对于运动员流畅状态的干预已成为理论研究的热点问题,而探寻流畅状态的影响因素进而调控运动员的流畅状态,也是训练与竞技实践工作者的迫切需要。从流畅状态干预角度出发,对124名冰雪项目运动员施测“运动员流畅状态影响因素问卷”,考察冰雪项目运动员流畅状态影响因子及其特点。研究发现：冰雪项目运动员流畅状态影响因素由“积极的心理准备”“、放松的情绪状态”和“专注于比赛的注意力”三个因子构成;不同训练年限运动员在“积极的心理准备”因子存在显著差异,不同项目、主力–非主力、训练年限分组、运动成绩分组的运动员之间,在“放松的情绪状态”和“专注于比赛的注意力”因子存在显著差异。对冰雪项目运动员赛前流畅状态的调控,要重视赛前心理准备、情绪放松以及比赛专注力的心理指导与教育,并要针对不同群体运动员的特点开展相应工作。     

Re-engaging ‘youth at risk’ of disengaging from schooling through rugby league club partnership: unpacking the pedagogic practices of the Titans Learning Centre

The youth learning re-engagement program known as the Titans Learning Centre (or TLC) is an approved alternative schooling program, developed in partnership with state education and a local National Rugby League (NRL) club, the ‘Titans’. Students typically in Grade Three or Four complete a 10 week program, interacting with professional A grade NRL players on a weekly basis during classroom learning time and lunch time ‘handball’ sessions. The project sought to understand the pedagogic practices of the TLC, using Bernstein’s social construction of pedagogic discourse, with its underlying instructional and regulative discourses, particularly the contribution by the players to what and how the students were learning. The ethical consent of recruiting children to the study was achieved via acceptance of a position in the program for classroom observations, with further consent sought for accessing students’ school performance data, student and parent surveys and interviews. Using case study methodology, Productive Pedagogies classroom audits (n?=?26) were adapted for classroom observation. Interviews with relevant program stakeholders were conducted, including players (n?=?12), NRL game development staff (n?=?1) and teachers and teacher aides (n?=?4). The findings revealed the pedagogic approaches of teachers and NRL players emphasised making regulative discourses visible to these young learners, developing supportive classroom environments and building students’ sense of connectedness to learning. The players articulated a genuine sense of contribution to the lives of the young learners and saw themselves as role models. The use of high profile athletes in youth re-engagement programs has been questioned in recent times, particularly their effectiveness in terms of student learning outcomes over time. However, we conclude that the depth of involvement in pedagogic action connected to student learning indeed enabled the NRL players to be considered role models for youth re-engagement in learning.     

Implicit and explicit attitudes towards sport among young elite athletes with high versus low burnout symptoms

The development of cynical attitudes towards elite sport is a core symptom of athlete burnout and has been associated with dropout from elite sport. To date, this phenomenon has mainly been studied by investigating explicit attitudes towards sport, whereas athletes’ automatic evaluations (i.e. implicit attitudes) that have been shown to influence behavior as well were not considered. This study aimed to compare explicit and implicit attitudes towards sport of young elite athletes with high (N = 24) versus low (N = 26) burnout symptoms. Using self-reported measures, general and athlete burnout symptoms were assessed. Additionally, a single-target implicit association test was administered to examine participants’ automatic evaluation of sport. Statistical analysis revealed greater emotional/physical exhaustion and sport devaluation in athletes reporting high compared to low burnout symptoms. Implicit attitudes towards sport did not significantly differ between the groups. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed between different athlete burnout symptoms and implicit attitudes. Athletes with high burnout symptoms show a tendency to explicitly detach themselves from sport, thus fostering sport devaluation as a core symptom of athlete burnout. However, this process does not seem to be reflected in their implicit attitudes towards sport.     

中国与世界优秀男子乒乓球运动员年龄特征比较研究

通过对中外优秀男子乒乓球运动员年龄分布特征比较分析,发现：中国优秀男子乒乓球运动员出运动成绩的年龄偏小,成长期短,运动员的最佳竞技年龄小且竞技保持阶段时间短,运动员退役年龄较早,并针对这种运动员＂早衰＂现象进行分析研究,分析其主要原因,提出合理化建议和对策。     

利益平衡视角下运动员数据使用的法律风险及对策

运动员数据的收集、分析和应用在大数据与人工智能向体育领域拓展的背景下越来越普遍,成为体育产业提升商业决策效率、加强风险预测能力和改善监督管理水平的重要工具。不同主体使用运动员数据的目的存在差异,职业体育俱乐部及国家队基于提升比赛成绩和降低签约风险的需求使用运动员数据,国际体育组织及国际赛事承办方基于兴奋剂检测与数据合规的要求使用运动员数据,商业机构基于市场竞争的考量使用运动员数据。这为提升体育竞技水平、加强商业决策效率与强化兴奋剂监管效果带产生积极影响,但同时存在侵害运动员隐私利益和正当缔约权利、数据泄露以及侵害运动员数据财产利益的法律风险。运动员数据应用场景涉及不同利益诉求,分别为俱乐部及商业机构的经济利益需求、监管机构与赛事承办方的政治利益需求、运动员及其经纪团队的隐私利益需求,这种多元利益格局之中潜藏着冲突的可能和协调的基础。基于利益平衡的考量,我国应构建以保护运动员隐私利益优先为首要原则、以健全运动员数据泄露补救措施为重要保障、以完善运动员数据合规审查与监管机制为主要内容、以推进运动员数据财产利益保护为外部依托的综合方案,应对运动员数据使用的法律风险。     

竞技体育运动员焦虑水平及影响因素分析——以乒、网球为例

本研究基于连续性理论及运动员职业过度模型,通过运动员个人基本情况表、焦虑自评量表,运用问卷调查法、访谈法及数理统计法,选取270名专业(乒乓球、网球)运动员为研究对象,对运动员的焦虑水平进行综合分析,在此基础上对焦虑水平影响因素进行推理分析。结果显示:运动等级、入队前受教育程度、年龄、家庭环境、职业生涯时期对运动员焦虑水平均有一定程度的影响。     

高水平乒乓球运动员心理素质的质性研究

采用质性的半结构化访谈,对国家队高水平乒乓球运动员进行关于影响运动表现因素的单独访谈,通过内容分析,结果发现高水平乒乓球运动员普遍认为心理素质是运动表现的主要影响因素,运动员自身感知的重要的心理素质主要包括表现性、工作专注、稳定性、乐观性、有恒性、探究性、变通性和自律性等8项。质性研究的结果基本验证了早期量化研究的结论。     

‘The Good,Pure Old Days’: Cyclist's Switching Appraisals of Doping before and after Retirement as Claims Making in the Construction of Doping as a Social Problem

According to our interpretation of the model of technological continuity and change proposed by the media scholar Brian Winston, prominent former athletes influential with the public opinion could be seen as embodying ‘the law of suppression of the radical potential’ of innovation with performance-enhancement techniques and substances (PETS), as opposed to the entrepreneurial role in this field they adopted when they were still active, embodying the ‘supervening social necessity’ which push forward these innovation processes. This paper documents this dialectic by comparing the lenient and understanding attitudes and stances on PETS of prominent cyclists when still active with their radical rejection of doping and dopers once retired. Their claims, and those of the dominant paradigm in scholarly accounts of the history of PETS, about an alleged qualitative and quantitative ‘worsening’ of ‘the doping problem’ in the last 40–50 years, are thoroughly examined and criticised. It is concluded that a number of prominent retired athletes have become claims-makers successfully involved in the construction of ‘the social problem of doping’ through their nostalgic appraisals of the evolution of PETS usage, despite these appraisals being mostly baseless on rational grounds.