Sport Psychology Research Research Articles

The Current Status, Problems, and Recommendations on Clinical Sport Psychology Research

By analyzing 99 articles published in the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (JCSP) since its first issue,this paper is intended to explore the current research situations and problems regarding clinical sport psychology. Research results indicate that the field of study on clinical sport psychology is mainly concerned with performance dysfunction,performance impairment,mental health,and performance development,including such issues as sport performance,eating disorders,mood disorders,addiction,and pressure coping. Most of these studies are carried out from the perspective of cognitive behavior theory,among which 42.4% of the hypotheses need further verification and there still exist some methodological problems. As a result,the following suggestions are made for Chinese researchers expecting to pursue sport psychological studies:expanding the fields of study,paying more attention to localization researches,enriching theoretical foundations and strengthening trainings of research methodology.

Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail: Professional Boxers’ Experiences of Training

Given the relatively little attention devoted to the study of combat sports in the sport psychology literature, the aim of this investigation was to obtain additional insight into the life and world of professional boxers, particularly with respect to their experiences of training for fights. Existential phenomenological interviews were conducted with nine professional British boxers ranging in age from 22 to 42 years. Qualitative analysis of the transcripts revealed a total of 341 meaning units, which were further grouped into higher order themes. A final thematic structure revealed six major dimensions that characterized participants’ training experience: Achieving Potential, Preparing, Sacrificing, Finding Support, Fearing, and Loving/Hating. The results offer a number of insights for sport psychology researchers and practical implications for boxers, trainers, and sport psychology consultants.

Defining and characterizing team resilience in elite sport

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to develop a definition of team resilience and to identify the resilient characteristics of elite sport teams. Design and methodFocus groups consisting of a total of 31 participants were conducted with five elite teams from a range of sports. An interpretive thematic analysis using inductive and deductive reasoning was employed to analyze the data. Results and conclusionsTeam resilience was defined as a dynamic, psychosocial process which protects a group of individuals from the potential negative effect of the stressors they collectively encounter. It comprises of processes whereby team members use their individual and combined resources to positively adapt when experiencing adversity. Findings revealed four main resilient characteristics of elite sport teams: group structure, mastery approaches, social capital, and collective efficacy. This study extends resilience research in sport psychology by providing greater conceptual clarity of resilience at a team level. The implications of the findings for those conducting research in this area and for those consulting with elite sport teams are discussed.

Taming the ‘Dragon’: using voice recognition software for transcription in disability research within sport and exercise psychology

Transcription is central to qualitative research in sport and exercise psychology; voice recognition software offers one way to enhance the process. The objective of this paper is to critically discuss its use within narrative analysis and disability studies research in sport and exercise psychology. The way in which one transcribes with the software enables a deeper understanding of the data and allows the user to more readily make memos during transcription. Furthermore, the software can speed transcription and make the process less physically taxing. Additional technical advantages and disadvantages are also presented.

A Review of Single-Case Research in Sport Psychology 1997–2012: Research Trends and Future Directions

Single-case research methods are an important facet of applied sport psychology because they provide a framework for researchers and practitioners to outline intervention effects across time with individuals or groups. This paper reviews the research published since Hrycaiko and Martin's (1996) milestone overview of single-case research in sport psychology. Specifically, we examined the literature between 1997 and 2012 and located 66 studies that met our inclusion criteria of assessing interventions in sport psychology. The review summarizes the body of research, outlines trends, considers the limitations of the extant literature, and identifies areas that require further investigation for future single-case research.

Special Issue on Single-Case Research in Sport Psychology

The seminal work of Kazdin (1982) and Barlow and Hersen (1984) into single-case research has prompted many repeated calls for sport psychologists to adopt these methods into their research and prac...

Benefits of Combined Mental and Physical Training in Learning a Complex Motor Skill in Basketball

Previous research in sport psychology and rehabilitation suggests that training with motor imagery (mental practice) is a potentially effective strategy to improve motor performance. The goal of the present study was to investigate the benefits of combining mental and physical training in learning a complex motor skill in basketball (the lay-up shot). To this end, sixty female university students were randomly assigned to either mental practice with physical training, or physical training alone. Motor performance was assessed before and after a four-week training period. To assess motor learning performance, a video analysis was carried out by three independent raters on the motor task before and after the training in both conditions. Results showed that mental practice condition improved coordination and movement accuracy, suggesting the potential effectiveness of this approach in training complex motor skills; furthermore, findings indicate the feasibility and accuracy of using video-based analysis of movement in the assessment of motor performance improvements.

Examining the Efficacy of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) on Irrational Beliefs and Anxiety in Elite Youth Cricketers

The use of rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) in sport psychology has received scant research attention. Therefore, this study examines the efficacy of REBT (comprising three counselling sessions and two homework assignments) in decreasing irrational beliefs and cognitive-anxiety in four elite youth cricketers using a single-case multiple-baseline across-participants design. Visual and statistical analyses indicated that REBT reduced irrational beliefs and cognitive-anxiety in all participants. The applied issues surrounding the use of REBT in a youth sport context are discussed, along with guidance for its future use in sport psychology research.

Applying Single-Case Design Innovations to Research in Sport and Exercise Psychology

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how two innovations in single-case research design, the range-bound changing criterion and the distributed criterion designs, have recently emerged and how these designs might apply to sport and exercise psychology and sport performance. Both design innovations appear most suited to interventions that use, or include, common psychological skills training techniques, such as self-talk and goal-setting, together with more general behavioral self-management approaches. Investigators are encouraged to consider applying these two design innovations to contexts where researchers are interested in shaping or developing behaviors within sport and exercise participants.

ISSP Position Stand: Culturally competent research and practice in sport and exercise psychology

The multicultural landscape of contemporary sport sets a challenge to rethink sport and exercise psychology research and practice through a culturally reflexive lens. This ISSP Position Stand provides a rigorous synthesis and engagement with existing scholarship to outline a roadmap for future work in the field. The shift to culturally competent sport and exercise psychology implies: (a) recognizing hidden ethnocentric philosophical assumptions permeating much of the current theory, research, and practice; (b) transitioning to professional ethics in which difference is seen as not inherent and fixed but as relational and fluid; and (c) focusing on meaning (instead of cause) in cross-cultural and cultural research projects, and cultural praxis work. In the paper, we first provide an overview of the concepts of cultural competence and ethics of difference. Second, we present a step-by-step approach for developing a culturally competent project rooted either within cross-cultural or cultural research. Third, we focus on cultural praxis as a project that blends theory, research, and lived culture of practice. Finally, we summarize main points in nine postulates and provide recommendations for enhancing cultural competence in the field of sport and exercise psychology.

The Value of Social Validation in Single-Case Methods in Sport and Exercise Psychology

Social validation is used to determine satisfaction with an intervention and has been utilized in many single-case studies within sport and exercise psychology research and consultancy. This article reviews current social validation procedures and makes recommendations of how a more thorough consideration of the technique could add greater value to the understanding of single-case protocols within research and applied practice. Recommendations include using semi-structured interviews for data collection, using content analysis to analyze these data, reporting social validation results in a thorough manner, collecting social validation information from significant others, and collecting social validation data as frequently as possible.

Reasons for Career Termination in Danish Elite Athletes: Investigating Gender Differences and the Time-point as Potential Correlates

Abstract Introduction: Career termination, an inevitable step in every athlete’s career, has received increased attention within sport psychological research. A career termination that results in psychological problems is of special concern for sport federations, organizations and clubs. Research has shown that it is crucial to consider an athlete’s the reason for career termination. There is evidence that the causes of an involuntary and unplanned career termination are disadvantageous for athletes’ well-being. There are many important aspects of career termination, such as cultural and social aspects, gender, and the time-point of the occurrence. The present study therefore aims at investigating the causes of career termination and possible correlates with gender and the time-point thereof among Danish elite athletes. Method: Data was gathered from 68 retired Danish elite athletes about their reasons for career termination and about its time-point. A qualitative analysis with the reasons mentioned by the athletes was performed. Moreover, t-tests and chi-square tests were conducted to analyze differences between males and females, and among athletes ending their career at different time-points in their career. Results: The results revealed 10 different reasons given for career termination with lack of motivation, injury or health problems and family related reasons being the top three. Female athletes mentioned that they ended their career due to family-related reasons more often than their male peers. More than a third of all athletes ended their career before their perceived achievement of peak performance. Financial reasons seemed to be of more importance for career termination for athletes ending their career before or at peaking, whereas family-related reasons were more often mentioned by athletes during or after their performance peak. Discussion and conclusion: The results of the study provide an overview of the career termination reasons of Danish elite athletes, which can provide practitioners and organizations with helpful insight when designing respective interventions. When planning such interventions it could be advantageous to deliver specific support for women to enable them to optimally combine family life with an elite sport career.

Acute aerobic exercise impacts selective attention: an exceptional boost in lower-income children

Educational research suggests that lower-income children exhibit poor general executive functioning relative to their higher-income peers. Meanwhile, sports psychology research suggests that an acute bout of aerobic exercise improves executive functioning in children. Yet, it has never been determined if such exercise (1) specifically improves the selective attention aspect of executive functioning in children or (2) impacts lower-income children any differently than higher-income children. The current study utilised a randomised experimental design and found that a 12 min session of aerobic exercise improved the selective attention of both lower- and higher-income children. Moreover, lower-income children exhibited even greater improvement than higher-income children. As the income-achievement gap persists, it is important to explore feasible interventions that strengthen the cognitive processes that underlie academic performance.

Culture Change in Elite Sport Performance Teams: Examining and Advancing Effectiveness in the New Era

Reflecting the importance of optimizing culture for elite teams, Fletcher and Arnold (2011) recently suggested the need for expertise in culture change. Acknowledging the dearth of literature on the specific process, however, the potential effectiveness of practitioners in this area is unknown. The present paper examines the activity's precise demands and the validity of understanding in sport psychology and organizational research to support its delivery. Recognizing that sport psychologists are being increasingly utilized by elite team management, initial evidence-based guidelines are presented. Finally, to stimulate the development of ecologically valid, practically meaningful knowledge, the paper identifies a number of future research directions.

Qualitative Research in Sport Psychology Journals: The Next Decade 2000-2009 and Beyond

A follow-up of the 1990s review of qualitative research articles published in three North American sport psychology journals (Culver, Gilbert, & Trudel, 2003) was conducted for the years 2000–2009. Of the 1,324 articles published, 631 were data-based and 183 of these used qualitative data collection techniques; an increase from 17.3% for the 1990s to 29.0% for this last decade. Of these, 31.1% employed mixed methods compared with 38.1% in the 1990s. Interviews were used in 143 of the 183 qualitative studies and reliability test reporting increased from 45.2% to 82.2%. Authors using exclusively quotations to present their results doubled from 17.9% to 39.9%. Only 13.7% of the authors took an epistemological stance, while 26.2% stated their methodological approach. We conclude that positivist/postpositivist approaches appear to maintain a predominant position in sport psychology research. Awareness of the importance of being clear about epistemology and methodology should be a goal for all researchers.

Expanding understandings of the body, food and exercise relationship in distance runners: A narrative approach

ObjectivesAdditional forms of theorizing and methodologies are warranted to expand understandings of the body, food and exercise relationship in physically active individuals. DesignA narrative approach grounded in social constructionism was used to explore the meaning-making process around this relationship in male and female distance runners. MethodNarratives around the body, food and exercise were elicited from nine recreational male and female distance runners (n = 5 males, 4 females). The sociocultural construction of meaning was explored through a thematic and dialogic/performance analysis of 17 in-depth interviews (2 interviews per person, with one exception) (see Riessman, 2008). ResultsFindings indicated that male and female runners drew upon one of two running narratives – ‘just do it’ and ‘just do it better’ – in constructing meanings around the body, food and exercise. Meanings shifted based upon the gendered narratives and cultural discourses. The specific narratives and meanings within them had implications for the runners' experiences and behaviors around their bodies, food and exercise in empowering/healthy and/or disempowering/unhealthy ways. ConclusionsThis study highlights the complexity of the body, food and exercise relationship in male and female distance runners, demonstrating that athletes' eating and exercising practices are socially and culturally formed in and through particular narratives and cultural discourse. These findings also add to the genre of cultural sport psychology research and a growing body of qualitative literature on disordered eating in the physical activity realm.

Social Support and Career Thoughts in College Athletes and Non-Athletes

Go To DigestSocial support and career thoughts were examined in 118 college student-athletes and 154 non-athletes from large public university in the southeastern United States. Social support was found to have significant relationship with career thoughts. In addition, several significant differences were found between the study's subpopulations.Career planning is process in college student's life that can cause considerable amount of stress, and support can have positive effect on this stress. In the sport psychology research, support has been found to be important factor in reducing the effects of stress in athletes' lives (Bianco & Eklund, 2001; Taylor & Ogilvie, 2001). Athletes not only experience stress related to academics and athletics, but also related to what they will do after college. Some are talented enough to play professionally, but many must face the reality of having career outside of the realm of sports. As result, career planning is important process for college athletes because it prepares them for life after sport. Social support can be important factor during his process by alleviating the stress associated with career planning.In research examining the general college student population, career thoughts have been found to have important effect on the career planning process (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996b; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2009). If career thoughts are negative, the individual is unable to clearly evaluate self and occupational knowledge that is necessary to make career decision. Decreasing negative thoughts is the first and most important step in the career decision-making process. In conclusion, it is important for those who are influential in college students' lives to know what types of support have the strongest relationship with the thoughts related to career after college.Social SupportSocial support refers to the social interaction aimed at inducing positive outcomes (Bianco & Eklund, 2001, p.85). The terms and are often used when discussing support. A provider is individual who gives the support, and recipient is individual who receives the support. A theory that targets support and recipient satisfaction is the person-environment fit theory (Brown, 2002). This theory posits that the interaction between the person and is both active and reactive. The person-environment fit model of satisfaction is part of person-environment theory. It defines satisfaction as a pleasant affective state that is produced by the degree of fit between person's needs, personality characteristics, abilities, and the commensurate supplies provided by, and abilities requirements of, the environment (Brown, Brady, Lent, Wolfert, & Hall, 1987, p. 338). Conversely, dissatisfaction is defined as an unpleasant affective state resulting from misfit between relevant person and characteristics (Brownetal., 1987, p. 338).In many cases, person-environment fit is considered subjective because it focuses on the perceptions of the person. Within the context of subjective person-environment fit, satisfaction with support is defined as, a positive affective state resulting from one's appraisal or his or her in terms of its success in meeting his or her interpersonal needs (Brown et al., 1987, p. 338). Conversely, dissatisfaction with support is defined as, an unpleasant affective state resulting from perception that the interpersonal is failing to satisfy important interpersonal needs (Brown et al., 1987, p. 338).Using person-environment fit as theoretical basis, Brown, Alpert, Lent, Hunt, and Brady (1988) defined five broad factors of support: (a) acceptance and belonging, (b) appraisal and coping assistance, (c) behavioral and cognitive guidance, (d) tangible assistance and material aid, and (e) modeling. …

Toward Cultural Praxis and Cultural Sensitivity: Strategies for Self-Reflexive Sport Psychology Practice

Sport psychology researchers have recently focused their attention onto the topic of culture. Their recent findings have begun to be utilized by sport psychology practitioners to increase cross-cultural understandings and deliver culturally sensitized sport services. However, such practices are on the fringes of applied sport psychology. Our intent is to show how reflective practices and self-reflexivity (i.e., forms of introspection) of sport psychology consultants can contribute toward understanding cultural diversity issues in sport. An example in the form of a confessional tale from one of the author's consulting experiences with an Indigenous athlete will then be presented to illustrate non-reflective vs. reflective practices, and how each constrains vs. augments cultural sensitivity. We conclude with future considerations for sport psychology consultants.

Reflections on using writing in sport and exercise psychology research and practice

In recent years, a number of researchers have highlighted the difficulties that may be associated with capturing the dynamic nature of the sports environment, particularly when using one-off, static interviews (e.g. Culver, Gilbert & Trudel, 2003; Krane & Baird, 2005). The use of writing in sport and exercise psychology is an emerging method that may provide a more flexible approach to data collection. While writing has become common practice for the researcher themselves (through the use of reflective journals or reflective writing), it is surprising that this method has been used far less frequently for participant data collection. Authors such as Smith, Allen Collinson, Phoenix, Brown, and Sparkes (2009) have demonstrated the valuable insights that have been gained from reflective journals written by the researcher, providing extracts which highlight not only their research dilemmas but which also show how the researcher begins to make sense of their experiences. Furthermore, others, such as Allen Collinson and Hockey (2001) have demonstrated the on-going experiences that can be captured through the use of research logs in ethnographic research. Nevertheless it may be proposed that while the benefits of writing from the perspective of a researcher have been strongly advocated and accepted, the use of similar participant-led strategies has been slow to follow.In this article we aim to highlight the potential value of using the written word. Initially we explore this as a tool for data collection, but we also further propose that the value in this method does not only lie in its ability to collect data but also in the therapeutic effects and benefits that may be accrued in the process of writing. We focus on two similar but distinct forms of writing, first, diary writing and second, expressive writing. These forms of writing were employed in two previous studies (Day & Thatcher, 2009; Hudson & Day, 2012) which used narrative analysis, the first paper focusing on form and the second on content. The data presented here were not published in the original papers but serve to underpin our arguments and suggestions made here.

Research vs. Me-search: Thinking More of Thee and Less of Me When Working Within the Context of Culture

The ascendance of cultural sport psychology as a concentrated focus of academic inquiry is timely, and emergent investigations therein represent welcome areas of scholarship. The invitation embedded in this forthcoming discussion to sport psychology researchers and practitioners to stretch beyond their comfort zones is being extended with a request to consider pursuing sport psychology research and practice with a “more of thee and less of me” mindset. The North Star goals articulated herein are to stimulate avant-garde and imaginative thinking by expanding the concepts of reflective practice and reflexivity, thereby creating a portal through which to see how perceived stumbling blocks to overcoming traditional approaches to the study of sport psychology can be transformed into stepping stones. Six premises provide the context within which this discussion is presented. Collectively, these premises support and raise caution about the scientific method and suggest that the time has come to rethink commonly held beliefs about color-blindness, melting pot formulations, and alleged-to-be-absent historical and contemporary cultural influences on in-the-moment interpersonal interactions. A context-sensitive across-cultures communication model is offered as a way of synthesizing the premises and creating a portal through which to enter into new domains of investigative inquiry. Implications for the future of sport psychology relative to research, practice, training, and consultation will be offered for consideration.