Involvement In Competitive Sports Research Articles

Disentangling general and sport-specific risk factors for anxiety and depression in a mixed sample of athletes and non-athletes

The present study was designed to assess whether competitive athletes and non-athletes differ in terms of certain personality traits linked to atypicalities in emotion awareness and regulation, and whether being an athlete accounts for unique variance in symptoms of anxiety and depression when these traits and exposure to childhood emotional abuse are held constant. In order to address these questions, we had 483 undergraduates (Mage = 19.7 years; 75.8% female), including 228 athletes and 255 non-athletes, complete self-report measures of personality (alexithymia, sensory processing sensitivity or SPS, and anxiety sensitivity or AS), exposure to emotional abuse in childhood, pandemic-related stress, anxiety, and depression. Recreational and elite athletes scored lower on SPS and depression than non-athletes, and recreational athletes also scored lower than non-athletes on AS. However, involvement in competitive sport did not predict depression or anxiety when other variables were controlled for. Alexithymia, AS, and childhood emotional abuse predicted depression, and SPS, AS, and childhood emotional abuse predicted anxiety. The same pattern was seen in a subgroup of athletes (n = 91) who had recently been coached, except that in this subgroup exposure to emotionally abusive coaching was found to be an additional risk factor for anxiety. These findings help to disentangle general and sport-specific risk factors for anxiety and depression and may have important implications for preventing and treating these problems in athletes and non-athletes alike.

Association Between Involvement in Basketball and Cognitive Functioning of Elite Male and Female Basketball Leagues Players in Nigeria

Sports are physical activity that consists of rules, competition, challenge, entertainment and uncertainties. Competitive sports could be seen as those sports governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. This study ascertained the association between level of involvement in basketball and cognitive functioning of elite male and female basketball premier league players in Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised of male and female basketball players in Nigeria. A total of 240 (120 males from the Premier League and 120 females from the Zenith league) basketball players in Nigeria selected using simple random sampling technique. A self-constructed 15 item questionnaire titled Involvement in Competitive Sports and Cognitive Functioning (ICSCF) was used to elicit information on from the level of cognitive functioning of elite basketball players in Nigeria. The results showed that there are two groups of items. The first group is made of 15 items while the second group is made up of 15 items. The mean of first group was 3.1±1 while the mean of group two was 2.1±0.7. df =28 and P-value = -0.20. P 0.05 this indicated that there was a significant association between the level of involvement of respondents in basketball and their level of cognitive functioning. The study concluded that coaches and trainers should combine both the practical and mental mode of trainings when preparing their athletes for competition for optimal performance outcomes. Keywords: Elite; Competition; Basketball; Premier Leagues; Cognitive Functioning

The Effect of Promotional Bundles on Purchase Intent for High, Medium, and Low Vested Sports Tourists Segments within the Context of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets

Sports tourism is defined as “a specific travel outside of the usual environment for either passive or active involvement in competitive sport where sport is the prime motivational reason for travel and the touristic or leisure element may act to reinforce the overall experience”. Sports tourists are those that “are in attendance at or participate in a particular sports activity”. Using segmentation theory, this paper seeks to understand what type of sports tourism promotional bundles different segments of sports tourists (diehard, focused and social) are more likely to purchase. Sports tourists attending a Charlotte Hornets (NBA) home game that took place in Greenville, S.C. were surveyed. The event took place approximately two hours from the team’s normal home court arena. An analysis using MANOVA was employed. The results suggest that diehard and focused sports tourists are most attracted to ticket packages that include tour and attraction elements while social sports tourists show low levels of intent to purchase any of bundles. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.

“They don’t understand that we also exist”: South African participants in competitive disability sport and the politics of identity

Purpose: To describe how athletes with disabilities talk about their experiences of participating in competitive disability sport in South Africa.Method: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 athletes with disabilities. Data were analysed via thematic content analysis using an inductive data driven process.Results: Participants described their involvement in competitive sport as a positive experience; they described it as a catalyst for the recasting of identities and reframing an understanding of physical impairment, a context for empowerment and resistance of disablist attitudes, and an arena in which a sense of inclusion and belonging is experienced. However, their narratives also lay bare something of the struggle on the part of persons with disabilities to be seen as fully human and reveal how participants reproduce some unhelpful disablist discourses.Conclusions: There are complex contradictions and cross-currents in the way athletes with disabilities describe their participation in competitive disability sport. These narratives highlight political and ideological tensions about inclusion and representation and remind us of the need to document the experiences of persons with disabilities and the potential dangers inherent in idealizing disability sport.Implications for RehabilitationCompetitive sport is a useful context for rehabilitation and the empowerment of persons with disabilities.Athletes with disabilities say that they are able to resist dominant stereotypes about disability and recast their identities through participation in competitive sport.Disability sport seems to provide a setting in which persons with disabilities can reproduce unhelpful disablist discourses.There are dangers inherent in idealizing competitive disability sport.Even where athletes with disabilities are competing at the highest level and are successful, rehabilitation professionals must be aware of these issues, must be able to listen for experiences of exclusion and low self-esteem, and to engage with athletes on these issues.

“Older and Faster”: Exploring Elite Masters Cyclists’ Involvement in Competitive Sport

The purpose of this study was to investigate elite masters cyclists’ involvement in competitive sport. Using a descriptive, qualitative approach, the researchers interviewed ten elite-level masters cyclists. Data analysis revealed the following salient themes relevant to participants’ experiences: (a) athletic identity, (b) motivational factors, and (c) life balance. These findings suggest that participation as an elite-level masters athlete reflects a high degree of continuity for athletic identity that can be positive in relation to self-esteem and social validation and challenging in relation to transition and maintaining social relationships out of cycling settings.

Developmental transitions across the lifespan: selected works of Leo B. Hendry

Choice Recommended Read Leo B. Hendry is one of the foremost developmental psychologists of his generation. His diverse range of interests have included studies on young people’s involvement in competitive sports, investigations into teacher and pupil relations in school, adolescents’ leisure pursuits and their family relations, parenting styles, youth workers and mentoring, youth unemployment, adolescent health behaviours, and transition to early adulthood. His research interests now include work on ageing and retirement. Developmental Transitions across the Lifespan is the first collection of Hendry’s works, and essentially joins the dots to provide an overarching perspective on lifespan development through a dynamic systems theory approach. Underpinned by empirical research, this collection of journal articles and book chapters is linked by a contemporary commentary which not only contextualises each piece within today’s research climate, but builds to provides an unorthodox, comprehensive but above all compelling perspective on human development from childhood to old age. Leo B. Hendry’s research output has been significant and influential. This is an important book that will provide students and researchers in developmental psychology not only with an opportunity to view his contribution holistically, but in connecting his range of research interests, provides a new contribution to our understanding of lifespan development in its own right.

Adolescents' Participation in Sport Activities and Attachment to Parents and Peers

We examined the relationship between adolescents' participation in sport activities and their parent and peer attachment, using a quantitative cross-sectional design. Adolescents (1,348; 716 girls and 632 boys) aged 12 to 16 years completed a survey assessing parent and peer attachment in terms of trust, communication, and alienation. Results showed that adolescents not participating in sport scored significantly lower than adolescent athletes on parent attachment, and that involvement in sport activities was important as a factor determining the quality of parent–adolescent relationships. Conversely, adolescents' involvement in competitive sport had no effect on their peer attachment, which indicates that a close relationship with other sport participants does not predict greater peer attachment.

Adolescent Athletic Participation and Nonmedical Adderall Use: An Exploratory Analysis of a Performance-Enhancing Drug

A primary motive for adolescents and young adults to nonmedically use prescription stimulants is to help them study. Adolescents and young adults are using prescription stimulants, such as Adderall (amphetamine aspartate, amphetamine sulfate, dextroamphetamine saccharate, dextroamphetamine sulfate), as performance enhancers in certain social domains, including academics and sports. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the nonmedical use of Adderall (a commonly prescribed stimulant used nonmedically) among adolescents who participate in competitive sports. The Monitoring the Future survey for 2010 and 2011, a representative sample of 8th- and 10th-grade students, surveyed involvement in competitive sports and nonmedical Adderall use among 21,137 adolescents. Past-year nonmedical use of Adderall served as the main outcome measure. Logistic regression analyses were run to examine whether sports participation in general and involvement in different types of competitive sports participation were associated with past-year nonmedical use of Adderall among males and females. The odds of past-year nonmedical use of Adderall among males were higher for male respondents who participated in lacrosse (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.52, 95% CI [1.20, 5.29]) and wrestling (AOR = 1.74, 95% CI [1.01, 2.98]). However, no particular sport among females was found to be associated with past-year nonmedical use of Adderall. Certain extracurricular activities, such as high-contact sports, may influence male participants to misuse prescription stimulants as performance enhancers either on or off the playing field.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in skin and soft tissue infections presenting to the Emergency Department of a Canadian Academic Health Care Center

This study aimed to estimate the city-wide prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients (≥18 years old) presenting with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) to the emergency departments (EDs) of a Canadian Academic Health Care Center. Secondary objectives were to identify demographic and clinical variables associated with MRSA, and determine MRSA antimicrobial susceptibilities and genotypes. This prospective observational study was conducted over 2 months. Participants completed a Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire. Cultures of the infection site, nares, and throat were obtained and MRSA isolates were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Patient characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics and MRSA prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using standard equations. Backwards stepwise multivariate logistic regression models determined predictor variables independently associated with MRSA colonization or infection. Of 205 patients, 35 (17.1%) were infected or colonized with MRSA. Seventy-eight (38.0%) of the infection site cultures grew S. aureus of which 27 (34.6%) were MRSA. Incarceration, known exposure to MRSA and involvement in competitive sports were significant predictors of MRSA SSTIs. Antimicrobial susceptibility among MRSA isolates was trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, gentamicin, and linezolid 100%, clindamycin 75%, ciprofloxacin 59.3%, and erythromycin 7.4%. Sixty-nine percent of MRSA cases fit the clinical definition of community associated; subsequently 77% were confirmed as CMRSA 10, a recognized community-acquired MRSA. Community-acquired -MRSA is a significant pathogen of SSTIs in EDs of a Canadian teaching center. MRSA should be considered when initiating empiric antibiotic therapy, particularly in patients with risk factors.

The male body ideal: perspectives of readers and non-readers of fitness magazines

Background: The reading of fitness magazines has been found to be associated with body dissatisfaction and related behaviors among men. This study examined possible differences between readers and non-readers of fitness magazines regarding the male body ideal and its achievement. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 male college students at a large university in the southeast United States. Results: Both readers and non-readers of fitness magazines were found to prefer a lean and moderately muscular body and to be engaging in behaviors designed to attain it, such as limiting carbohydrates and/or fat in their diets, exercising, and using performance-enhancing supplements. However, most participants did not believe that attaining the ideal was a very important goal. Non-media influences, such as interpersonal relationships and previous involvement in competitive sports, were found to contribute to an interest in body image change that preceded the reading of fitness magazines. Conclusions: Interview findings suggest that college men may be internalizing the lean and muscular male body ideal featured in men's fitness magazines and other media. Regarding the relation between the reading of fitness magazines and body image concerns, findings suggest that pre-existing concerns may lead some men to select these types of titles. More research is needed to determine whether, and if so among which readers, exposure to fitness magazines may serve to reinforce existing concerns related to achieving a lean and muscular physique.

Student athletes claim to have more sexual partners than other students

Physical competition is widespread in human societies. Because performance in competitive sports can signal phenotypic quality and fighting ability, high level performance, especially on the part of men, is likely to be attractive to the opposite sex. We investigated the relationship between involvement in competitive sport and self-reported numbers of sexual partners. Both male and female students who compete in sports reported significantly higher numbers of partners than other students, and within the athletes, higher levels of performance predicted more partners. Among men, body mass index (BMI) and educational level also had significant effects. We discuss possible implications for the evolution of competitive sport, ritual fighting behavior, and the persistence of left-handedness.

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS AND INVOLVEMENT IN COMPETITIVE SPORTS IN ADOLESCENT FEMALES

It has been demonstrated that participation in community sports programs is associated with high levels of overall physical activity for children (Trost et al., 1997). However, it is not known whether involvement in sports programs is associated with higher overall levels of physical activity in adolescents. PURPOSE To determine whether involvement in competitive sports would also be associated with higher levels of overall physical activity in adolescent females. METHODS Participants for this study were 222 adolescent females (12–18 years of age) who attended schools in a mid-size Canadian city. During one class period, participants completed questionnaires that assessed their typical level of physical activity and their involvement in competitive sport programs. The Modified Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (MAQ-A; Aaron et al., 1995) was used to assess physical activity levels. To assess participation in competitive sports participants were asked, “During the past 12 months, how many team or individual sports did you participate in on a competitive level?” Responses could range from none to 4 or more activities. RESULTS Using ANOVA, results revealed level of physical activity differed significantly across the different levels of involvement in competitive sport, F (4,217)=7.30, P < .001. Post hoc tests revealed that those engaging in 4 or more competitive activities per year reported significantly higher levels of overall physical activity than those reporting no involvement in competitive activities over a similar period. It is worth noting that those engaging in 4 or more competitive activities (M=9.4 METS) were obtaining enough physical activity to receive health benefits; those not participating in any competitive activities (M=3.2 METS) were not active enough to obtain health benefits. CONCLUSION The results extend previous research in children showing that participation in sports programs is associated with higher overall levels of physical activity in adolescents. Supported by CIHR

Sleep-Quality among Girls with Different Involvement in Competitive Sports during Fall in the Arctic Circle

Eight high-school girls participating in competitive sports and six non-participating girls living north of the polar circle recorded their sleep once a week during the Fall, including the period when the sun does not rise above the horizon. Sleep-quality scores were computed as the sum of answers identical to a present "right" answer indicating good sleep-quality. Significant differences on sleep-quality between the two groups were found, but a significant influence of amount of daylight or exercise could not be confirmed. When sleep-quality was ranked during three periods through the Fall, the girls participating in competitive sports showed a trend of increasing sleep-quality and the nonparticipants a decreasing one. An explanation based on influence of exercise thresholds upon sleep-quality is presented.

Participation in Competitive Sport Among Anglophones and Francophones in Canada: Testing Competing Hypotheses

This paper provides tests of competing hypotheses on participation in competitive sport by anglophones and francophones in Canada. Two competing sets of theoretical arguments inform the analysis — one based on an ethnic value differences perspective and the other on an ethnic homogenization perspective. The first view argues that there are key differences in achievement orientation between the Canadian anglophone and francophone language groups. This being the case, anglophones should be more likely than francophones to be involved in competitive sport. Also, among those involved in sport, reported motives of "competition" and "personal challenge" should be more frequent for anglophones than francophones. The competing line of argument has it that, as a consequence of the economic and political modernization of French Canada, francophones have adopted values and behaviours that are highly similar to those of their anglophone counterparts. By this view, there should be minimal, if any, differences in participation in and orientation toward competitive sport between anglophones and francophones. The hypotheses are tested in multivariate analyses of national survey data on forms of sport involvement among male and female Canadian adults. The findings are much as predicted by the value differences thesis both for involvement in competitive sport and for reasons for involvement.

Professionalization of Attitudes: A Review and Critique

This paper contains an in-depth, three-part overview of the literature and ideas pertaining to professionalization of attitudes toward play. The first section focuses on the popular ideology which assumes that similar values are operative in both the sport world and the adult work world. The second part of the paper consists of a review and critique of the research and theory centering on value orientation and its relationship to age, athletic status, and gender. The last section contains an examination of the properties and assumptions of the Webb Scale and suggestions for scale improvement. The author attempts to show that thus far the existing research has failed to prove empirically (a) that significant differences in value orientation can be attributed to participation in athletics, and (b) that involvement in competitive sport socializes an athlete into the value system of the work world. The author also argues that the professionalization of attitudes is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, a concept which has not been reflected in the measurement of such attitudes.