Sample Of Adolescent Athletes Research Articles

THE INFLUENCE OF COACHES’ LEADERSHIP STYLE ON SELF-ESTEEM AND SPORT MOTIVATION IN ADOLESCENT ATHLETES

The study investigates the relationship between coaches’ leadership styles and the level of self-esteem and sport motivation in adolescent athletes in a sample of adolescent athletes (n=85 considering different sports) and their coaches (n=10). Previous literature about the youth population suggests that contextual factors can have an important influence on the effects of the sport, e.g. the relations with adults and peers (Brustad, Babkes & Smith, 2001) or the sports program one takes part to (Whitehead & Corbin, 1997). In this research, the coaches’ leadership style was taken into consideration because it has an important influence on athletes’ self-perceptions (Coatsworth & Conroy, 2009). Scientific studies demonstrate that a more supportive, nurturing and encouraging leadership behaviour produce greater changes in youth’s self-esteem (Coatsworth & Conroy, 2006; Smith & Smoll, 1996). Additional evidence showed how the coach’s behaviour influence athletes’ motivation (Amorose & Anderson-Butcher, 2007; Gagne, Ryan & Bargmann, 2003). The results of the data analysis show a strong positive correlation between athletes' self-esteem and coach’s Training & Instruction behaviour and a negative relationship between self-esteem and lack of motivation in athletes. Besides, from a larger sample of coaches (n = 49) the relationship between the coach’s leadership behaviour and his own level of self-esteem was investigated (Rosenberg SES, Prezza et al., 1997). The results highlighted higher levels of Training & Instruction, Autocratic, Social Support and Positive Feedback behaviours in coaches with an average level of self-esteem compared to those with low levels.

The role of perfectionism in predicting athlete burnout, training distress, and sports performance: A short-term and long-term longitudinal perspective

ABSTRACT This study examined the influence of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns on athlete burnout and two key indicators of overtraining syndrome (training distress and subjectively perceived sports performance) using cross-sectional (N = 228), short-term (a 3-month interval, N = 93) and long-term (a 1-year interval, N = 83) longitudinal designs on a sample of adolescent athletes. In the cross-sectional analyses, sequential regressions revealed that perfectionism was a significant predictor of athlete burnout and both indicators of overtraining. In the three-month longitudinal perspective, both dimensions of perfectionism (strivings and concerns) contributed to the prediction of change in burnout and sports performance, but not training distress. When the one-year longitudinal relationships were regarded, only perfectionistic strivings significantly predicted decrease in burnout, and, for sports performance, the predictive power of both dimensions of perfectionism was even more pronounced when compared to the three-month longitudinal data.

Exploring the Psychometric Properties of the Disablement in the Physically Active Scale Short Form-8 in Adolescents.

Patient-reported outcomes are widely used in health care. The Disablement in the Physically Active (DPA) Scale Short Form-8 (SF-8) was recently proposed as a valid scale for the physically active population. However, further psychometric testing of the DPA SF-8 has not been completed, and scale structure has not been assessed using a sample of adolescent athletes. To assess scale structure of the DPA SF-8 in a sample of adolescent high-school athletes. Adolescent athletes (n = 289) completed the DPA SF-8. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the scale. The CFA of the DPA SF-8 indicated that the model exceeded recommended fit indices (Comparative Fit Index = .976, Tucker-Lewis Index = .965, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .061, and Bollen's Incremental Fit Index = .976). All factor loadings were significant and ranged from .62 to .86. Modification indices did not suggest that meaningful cross-loadings were present or additional specifications that could further maximize fit or parsimony. The CFA of the DPA SF-8 met contemporary model fit recommendations in the adolescent athlete population. The results confirmed initial findings supporting the psychometric properties of the DPA SF-8 as well as the uniqueness of the quality-of-life and physical summary factors in an adolescent population. Further research (eg,reliability, invariance between groups, minimal clinically important differences, etc) is warranted to inform scale use in clinical practice and research.

Effect of Rational Digital Storytelling Intervention on Depression Among Adolescent-Athletes with Special Educational Needs

Depression is a major mental health issue among athletes. This study aimed to determine the effect of a rational digital storytelling intervention on depression among a sample of adolescent-athletes with special educational needs. Participants were sixty in-school adolescent-athletes with special educational needs (treatment group, n = 30, control group, n = 30) having moderate to severe depression. The treatment group participated in the rational digital storytelling intervention, over a twelve-week period whereas the control group was exposed to oral storytelling at precisely the same timeframe, with the meeting sessions holding 2 times weekly. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI II) and The Child and Adolescent Scale of Irrationality (CASI) were used for gathering data at 3-time points. Results suggest that exposure to a rational digital storytelling intervention brought about more considerable reduction in mean depression score among the adolescent-athletes in the experimental group when compared with the adolescent-athletes in the control group (t(59) = − 21.312, p = .001, effect size = 5.50). Follow-up results revealed more sustenance of the significant reduction in mean depression score of the adolescent-athletes in the experimental group when compared with the adolescent-athletes in the control group (t(59) = − 16.441, p = .001, effect size = 4.24).

Differences in Symptom Clusters at Baseline Testing among Student Athletes with ADHD or Migraines

Abstract Purpose This study was designed to determine whether the factor structure of the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) is consistent (i.e., invariant) in subgroups of youth with pre-existing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or migraines. A four-factor model of the PCSS has empirical support (i.e., cognitive-sensory, sleep-arousal, vestibular-somatic, and affective symptoms), and the current investigation examined (i) whether this model is invariant across athletes with and without ADHD or migraines and (ii) group differences across symptom clusters. Methods Participants included a large sample of adolescent athletes (N=39,242; 54.4% boys; 13–18 years-old, M=15.50±1.27 years), among which 2,543 reported ADHD and 2,638 reported having migraines. The 22-item PCSS was administered at pre-season baseline. Statistical analyses included invariance testing across ADHD and migraine groups. Good fit was defined as CFI≥0.95. Effect sizes for group differences in symptom clusters were calculated. Results Configural invariance was established across participants with and without ADHD (CFI=0.967) and with and without migraines (CFI=0.965); however, weak invariance was not established for either diagnostic group. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) of group differences varied by symptom cluster: cognitive-sensory (ADHD=0.44; migraine=0.38), sleep-arousal (0.33, 0.37), vestibular-somatic (0.17, 0.45), and affective (0.27, 0.28). Conclusion Although the four-factor model has been previously published and replicated among healthy student athletes, this model was only partially invariant for participants with ADHD or migraines. The cognitive-sensory factor showed the largest differences based on ADHD, whereas the vestibular-somatic factor showed the largest differences based on migraine history.

Development and initial validation of Sport Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ)

To understand sport participation, multiple scales exist to examine why people participate. However, no questionnaires have been devised to assess what sport experiences people declare most pleasurable. This study aimed to develop and provide initial validation of a scale measuring adolescent athletes’ retrospective reports of pleasure in three modern sports experiences: competition, progress, and risk taking. The first study examined the validity of a pool of 25 items. The second study examined the factor structure and reliability of a 14-item questionnaire among a sample of adolescent athletes, the measurement invariance across sexes and context of participation, and the differential item functioning and possible latent mean differences as a function of age. Results showed initial evidence regarding the reliability and validity of the scale. They showed invariance of the model across sexes and context of participation. This questionnaire could be used by sports federations and could help the development of sport promotion programs.

The Mediating Role of Coping between Competitive Anxiety and Sport Commitment in Adolescent Athletes.

Framed in cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions (Lazarus, 1999), this study aimed to test how coping mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment in a sample of adolescent athletes. Five-hundred adolescents (M = 16.42; SD = 1.54) participated in our study. Participants completed competitive anxiety, coping, and sport commitment measures. We defined the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling; and compared two different models of mediation (i.e., total and partial mediation) using structural equation modeling. Results favored partial mediation model where cognitive anxiety factors predicted sport commitment. Results from this model suggest direct and mediated structural relations between concepts. Somatic anxiety had a weak influence on sport commitment (total effects = 0.090 [-.131, .311]). Worry showed a positive influence on sport commitment (total effects = .375 [.262, .486]) through direct and mediated effects. Concentration disruption showed a negative impact on sport commitment (total effects = -.544 [-.724, -.363]) trough mediated effects only, showing a negative path on task-oriented coping and a positive path on disengagement-oriented coping. As a whole, our findings identify task coping efforts undertaken by adolescent athletes as a key element in the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the design of coping interventions in adolescents.

Preliminary results of residual deficits observed in athletes with concussion history: combined EEG and cognitive study.

Assessment, treatment, and management of sport-related concussions are a widely recognized public health issue. Although several neuropsychological and motor assessment tools have been developed and implemented for sports teams at various levels and ages, the sensitivity of these tests has yet to be validated with more objective measures to make return-to-play (RTP) decisions more confidently. The present study sought to analyze the residual effect of concussions on a sample of adolescent athletes who sustained one or more previous concussions compared to those who had no concussion history. For this purpose, a wide variety of assessment tools containing both neurocognitive and electroencephalogram (EEG) elements were used. All clinical testing and EEG were repeated at 8 months, 10 months, and 12 months post-injury for both healthy and concussed athletes. The concussed athletes performed poorer than healthy athletes on processing speed and impulse control subtest of neurocognitive test on month 8, but no alterations were marked in terms of visual and postural stability. EEG analysis revealed significant differences in brain activities of concussed athletes through all three intervals. These long-term neurocognitive and EEG deficits found from this ongoing sport-related concussion study suggest that the post-concussion physiological deficits may last longer than the observed clinical recovery.

Ventricular Mass in Relation to Body Size, Composition, and Skeletal Age in Adolescent Athletes

To examine the contribution of chronological age (CA), skeletal age (SA), stature, sitting stature, fat-free mass (FFM), and fat mass (FM) to interindividual variability in left ventricular mass (LVM) in male adolescent roller hockey players using allometric models. Cross sectional. Training and competitive sport during adolescence. Seventy-three Portuguese male roller hockey players aged 14.5 to 16.5 years. Stature, sitting stature, body mass, estimated FM and FFM, and SA assessed by the Fels method. Allometric modeling of LVM assessed in accordance with recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography. Hockey players (CA: 15.4 ± 0.6 years; SA: 16.4 ± 1.5 years) showed an eccentric remodeling of LV structure within the reference range (ie, 0.24-0.42), a dilated LV chamber, but no LVM increase. Exponents for body size descriptors were 2.69 for stature (R(2) = 27%; P < 0.001), 2.49 for sitting stature (R(2) = 37%; P < 0.001), 0.76 for FFM (R(2) = 31%; P < 0.001), and 0.22 for FM (R(2) = 26%; P < 0.001). The combination of size descriptors with CA and SA increased the explained variance in LVM slightly (26%-45%). When stature and FM are used for indexing LVM in a sample of adolescent athletes, biological maturity status should also be considered.

Rehabilitation for Clinical Lumbar Instability in a Female Adolescent Competitive Diver with Spondylolisthesis

Few studies have investigated conservative lumbar stabilization approaches with adolescent athletes, specifically those with radiographic evidence of a unilateral pars interarticularis fracture. The purpose of this case study was to describe a lumbar stabilization strengthening intervention for an adolescent competitive diver. A 12-year-old female was diagnosed with a grade-I, traumatic, unilateral, dysplastic spondylolisthesis, accompanied by ensuing symptoms of lumbar spine instability. Symptom provocation occurred during extension and torsion motions as well as long-term sitting and standing. A comprehensive lumbar stabilization program was associated with a reduction of symptoms, improvement in trunk stabilization, and a quick return to competitive diving. Because the case report involved one highly motivated subject, the results are not generalizable to all adolescent divers. Future studies should investigate the treatment of spine instability on a sample of adolescent athletes.