Young Student Athletes Research Articles

The Impact of Competitive Sports on the Mental Health of Young People

Introduction Mental health is a crucial component of overall well-being for everyone, and it becomes particularly important in the context of young student-athletes who must simultaneously meet educational and athletic challenges. Athletes, like their peers, struggle with various mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, sleep deficits, burnout, and overtraining. The additional activity of engaging in competitive sports, compared to those who do not, can exacerbate these symptoms. The aim of study Identify and analyze specific sources of stress and mental health issues among young student-athletes and young individuals. Compare different research groups. Conclusion Student-athletes face the unique challenge of balancing intense training and sports competitions with educational demands. The constant pursuit of peak performance and coping with high expectations can lead to significant psychological stress. Factors such as injuries, overtraining, social identity issues, and sleep problems further impact their mental health, often leading to the development or worsening of existing mental health issues. It is important to note that professional psychological care is essential in managing the training schedule of a young athlete. For their development to be balanced across various dimensions such as proper physical growth, well-being, and mental wellness, this support is crucial.

Positive Effect of Sand-Based Plyometric Jump Training on Increasing Muscle Strength and Power in Young Student-athletes

Muscle strength and power are considered fundamental components of successful athletic performance. However, what type of training method is effective and efficient in increasing muscle strength and power has not been well resolved. Therefore this study aimed at analyzing the effects of five weeks of sand-based plyometric jump training on improving muscle power and strength. The pretest-posttest randomized experimental design was conducted on student-athletes which then classified into three groups: the plyometric knee tuck jump (TJ, n=11), hurdle jump (HJ, n=11), and control (C, n=11). Subjects in TJ and HJ groups were assigned to five weeks of plyometric exercise, comprising 15 sessions in total, with intensities ranging from 80% to 100%. Data were obtained using NordBord and Force Decks prior to and after they completed the whole set of exercises. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23 and presented descriptively in mean and standard deviation. Paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were done to compare the differences between groups. Five weeks of TJ and HJ resulted in similar improvements in strength and power (p ≤ 0.05). However, statistically significant between groups differences at the post-test were noted for HJ (p=0.000) in favor of both measured variables. Based on these findings, it was concluded that plyometric training in general increased strength and power of muscle leg better than conventional training.

Is Stylistic Coach Leadership Style Suitable for Young Student Athletes? The Effect on Team Cohesion and Team Performance

This study examines the relationship between stylistic coach leadership style, team cohesion, and team performance for young student athletes who take part in a team sport. The stylistic coach leadership style is defined as a combination of both democratic and holistic coach leadership styles. In other words, the stylistic coach leadership style is when the coaches make the final decision based on what young student athletes think while ensuring that they are content and that the team is able to be successful overall. In order to determine the effect of stylistic coach leadership style on team cohesion and team performance, a study was conducted using an online questionnaire that was split into two parts. Young student athletes in grades 6 through 12 who were taking part in a team sport at the time were eligible to participate in this study. Demographic information was collected through the first part of the questionnaire while the second part measured each of the three constructs through questions that required the athletes to rank the statements based on the 5-point Likert scale. The results highlight that the stylistic coach leadership style directly affects both team cohesion and team performance, and team cohesion acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between stylistic coach leadership style and team performance. Finally, this study also provides some practical suggestions for coaches, with the aim of aiding them to be more efficient and effective in leading those young student athletes.

Exploring leadership behaviors of the coaches of champion teams.

Participation in sports at school is highly valued since it is believed that it develops students' social skills and adds to personal development. Owing to the fact that the behaviors of the coaches have an important effect on the development of the student athletes, this quantitative study was designed with the aim to evaluate the perceptions of young student athletes of the champion school teams of their coaches' leadership behaviors. The study also sought to determine the variables affecting these perceptions. A total of 236 young student athletes who were the members of the champion teams of basketball, handball, volleyball, futsal, badminton, wrestling and swimming in the period of 2021-2022 evaluated their coaches' leadership qualities. One of the major results was that the young student athletes had positive perceptions of their coaches. Adopting Chelladurai's model, training and instruction was found to be particularly important in achieving high performance. More specifically, the Mann Whitney U test results revealed that the athletes' perceptions differed by gender and by being involved in team or individual sports; however, Kruskal-Wallis test revealed perceptions did not differ by age. The significance of this study lies in its practical implications for sport coaches, coaching practice, physical education teachers and practitioners in sport psychology.

State of mood, motivation, and impulsivity of young athletes: a cross-sectional study

Purpose.The aim of the study was to compare the mood, motivation, and impulsivity of young athletes of different sexes and ages.Methods.The sample consisted of 147 young student-athletes of both sexes, aged 12–17 years, participating in the regional stage of the Brazilian Youth School Games 2018. The individuals were categorized into 4 groups for analysis considering sex (male vs. female) and age (≤ 14 years and ≥ 15 years).Results.(1) Female athletes aged ≤ 14 years demonstrated greater instability of mood compared with males of the same age (<i>p</i> = 0.009). (2) Female athletes aged ≥ 15 years presented less energy and disposition than female athletes aged ≤ 14 years (<i>p</i> = 0.007) and males aged ≥ 15 years (<i>p</i> = 0.001). (3) Both female groups (aged ≤ 14 years and ≥ 15 years) had a higher score than the male group aged ≤ 14 years for lack of perseverance (<i>p</i> = 0.003 and <i>p</i> = 0.034, respectively) and lack of premeditation (<i>p</i> = 0.012 and <i>p</i> = 0.013, respectively).Conclusions.The mood, motivation, and impulsivity of young athletes have varying characteristics in males and females and these variables are modulated by age.

472 Effects of Recurrent Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries on Incidence, Severity, and Recovery of Concussion in Young Student-Athletes

INTRODUCTION: Currently, it is known that athletes who sustain recurrent concussions are at an increased risk for long-term neurological consequences. Moreover, in the short term, athletes with a history of concussions are significantly more likely to sustain future concussions. Although the increased incidence of mTBI among athletes with a history of concussions has been well documented, there is less consensus about how recurrent concussions affect the severity and recovery of the next head trauma. METHODS: Data from 11 563 ImPACT baseline evaluations of US student-athletes aged 12 to 22 years were separated into 2 cohorts: subjects reporting 2 or more previous concussions (PC; n = 976 baseline evaluations) at baseline and a control group reporting zero previous concussions (CT; n = 7743 baseline evaluations). Subjects reporting 1 prior concussion were excluded. Differences in SND incidence, severity, and recovery between the 2 cohorts were assessed using chi-squared tests, t tests, survival analyses, and multivariate regressions. RESULTS: The PC cohort had a higher incidence of head injury leading to ImPACT (436.7 per 1000 person-years vs 194.4 per 1000 person-years, P < .0001) and a higher incidence of SND (140.4 vs 71.8, P < .0001) than controls. However, the Severity Index (SI) demonstrated that SND severity was lower in the PC group (7.55 vs 8.59, P = .04). Adjusted analyses similarly demonstrated that the PC cohort had increased SND incidence (odds ratio = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.31; P < .0001), decreased SI (β = −1.37; 95% CI, −2.40 to −0.34; P = .009), and equivalent recovery (hazard ratio = 0.98; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.72; P = .90). CONCLUSION: Participants with a history of concussion have a higher incidence of SND but present with lower severity SND, which may be a result of increased concussion education or symptom awareness. Recurrent concussion has no significant impact on acute neurocognitive recovery. Together, these results provide evidence against the supposition that a history of concussion increases the severity of future SND.

Student-athletes’ mood state profiles: the role of sports, sex, and performance level in sports and in school

Daily workloads of adolescent student-athletes can be extremely high because of their investment in both school and sport. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to mood disturbances and disorders and thus mental health problems, as they experience psychological, physiological, and social shifts at this key stage of human development. The present study aims to provide information on the mental health of Finnish high school athletes by investigating their mood state profiles and the potential associations of sex, type of sport, and level of performance in sports and school with those profiles. Data were gathered through an online survey of 444 male and female student-athletes (aged 16–17) during the spring term of their second grade of high school. The 37-item Profile of Mood States questionnaire was used to measure mood states, with four mood state profiles found: (1) the surface profile (39.8%), (2) the Everest profile (13.2%), (3) the inverse Everest profile (13.2%), and (4) the iceberg profile (33.8%). Of the background variables, only sex was found to be related with the mood state profiles, with the Everest profile much more common in males (74.2%) than in females (25.8%). In addition, the energy index and total mood disturbance of mood states were higher among males than among females. The findings indicate that it is important to pay special attention to the mood states of young student-athletes, particularly females, and to create support systems that foster their resilience in combining sport and studies. Lay summary: This study explores mood in adolescent student-athletes in terms of mood state profiles, total mood disturbance, and energy index. Profile of Mood State (POMS) metrics were used to determine mood state profiles; POMS has previously been found to be a valid indicator of the state of athletes’ mental health. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE There is a need to pay special attention to adolescent female student-athletes’ coping and resilience when combining school and sport. Fatigue may be a notable impairing factor concerning student-athletes’ academic performance at school. POMS is a valid and recommended tool to monitor and measure the mood state of athletes.

The Effects of a Baseball Season on Various Body Composition Measurements in NCAA Division I Baseball Players

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the body composition fluctuation pattern, in baseball players thus generating insights that may contribute to optimization of the diet/training regimes for maximal performance and optimal health.Methods: Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans performed at the start and end of five different seasons (2015-2019) were analyzed and compared. Groups were stratified to examine differences in players’ positions (Pitchers vs. Position Players) and first-year status effects (Freshman/Transfer vs. Sophomore/Junior/Seniors). Results: Body weight and lean body mass, significantly decreased from the beginning to end of season for the overall team (p ≤ 0.05). Position Players exhibited a statistically significant decline in body weight, body fat percentage, and fat mass (p ≤ 0.05) during the season while pitchers did not demonstrate significant changes in these measures. First-year players exhibited a statistically significant increase in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) mass over the season while Sophomore/Junior/Seniors demonstrated a significant decrease in body weight and fat mass (p ≤ 0.05).Conclusion: Baseball players’ body composition changes over the season, therefore, the study results may be helpful for collegiate baseball programs, and potentially athletes in similar sports, to improve the performance, development, and health of young student athletes.

THE DUAL COMMITMENT OF STUDENT ATHLETES IN LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN FINLAND

Student athletes are expected to succeed simultaneously in school and sports. Research findings mainly come from upper secondary and university students, while research on younger adolescent student athletes has been largely overlooked. Drawing upon rich qualitative data derived from individual interviews with student athletes from grade eight (n = 15), teachers (n = 4), principals (n = 2), and nonparticipant observations (n = 7) at five schools, this study examines how young student athletes succeed in school and sports and in combining these two. The data was analysed using collaborative qualitative data analysis to find themes describing these student athletes. The main findings indicated that most student athletes had high ambitions and showed strong orientations in their school approaches. For some student athletes, the student and athlete roles conflicted, and they prioritized sports over educational success. A similar variation in student athletes’ sport commitments was found: from having a goal to become a professional athlete to pursuing sport as a leisure activity. Student athletes in this study were in the beginning of a developmental dual career process, and they needed to be recognized as a heterogeneous group with individual pathways. Finally, the sport school provided more opportunities for practice and a flexibility in school-related issues. The findings indicated the demanding nature of the dual commitment of student athletes in lower secondary sport schools. Consequently, it is difficult to form a consistent picture that fit every context because the student athlete role is individual and to some extent conflicting.

Sex-Related Differences in the Incidence, Severity, and Recovery of Concussion in Adolescent Student-Athletes Between 2009 and 2019

Background: The sex of an athlete is thought to modulate concussion incidence; however, the effects of sex on concussion severity and recovery are less clear. Purpose: To evaluate sex differences in concussion severity and recovery using a large, heterogeneous sample of young student-athletes with the goal of understanding how sex affects concussion outcomes in young athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing results of 11,563 baseline and 5216 postinjury tests were used to calculate the incidence of concussion of adolescent male and female student-athletes ages 12 to 22 years (median, 15 years). The postinjury tests of 3465 male and 1751 female student-athletes evaluated for concussion or head trauma were used to assess differences in the Severity Index (SI) and recovery. Chi-square tests and t tests were used to compare differences in demographic characteristics, incidence, and SI between the 2 cohorts. Multivariable linear, logistic, and Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to control for differences between cohorts in analyses of incidence, SI, and recovery. Results: When we controlled for demographic differences, female participants had higher odds of concussion (odds ratio, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.40-1.86; P < .0001) and higher SI after concussion (β = 0.67; 95% CI, 0.02-1.32; P = .04). This discrepancy in SI was a result of differences in Symptom (2.40 vs 2.94; P < .0001) and Processing Speed (0.91 vs 1.06; P = .01) composite scores between male and female participants, respectively. We found no effect of sex on time to recovery when controlling for initial concussion SI (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.78-1.12; P = .48). Conclusion: Using large, multisport cohorts, this study provides evidence that female athletes are at higher risk for more concussions and these concussions are more severe, but male and female athletes have similar recovery times when the analysis controls for initial concussion SI.

Effects of Recurrent Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries on Incidence, Severity, and Recovery of Concussion in Young Student-Athletes.

To examine the effects of recurrent concussions on the incidence, severity, and recovery of significant neurocognitive dysfunction (SND) in young athletes. Various US youth sports organizations that utilize Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) for baseline and postinjury concussion testing. Data from 11 563 ImPACT baseline evaluations of US student-athletes aged 12 to 22 years were separated into 2 cohorts: subjects reporting 2 or more previous concussions (PC; n = 976 baseline evaluations) at baseline and a control group reporting zero previous concussions (CT; n = 7743 baseline evaluations). Subjects reporting 1 prior concussion were excluded. Retrospective cohort. Differences in SND incidence, severity, and recovery between the 2 cohorts were assessed using chi-squared tests, t tests, survival analyses, and multivariate regressions. The PC cohort had a higher incidence of head injury leading to ImPACT (436.7 per 1000 person-years vs 194.4 per 1000 person-years, P < .0001) and a higher incidence of SND (140.4 vs 71.8, P < .0001) than controls. However, the Severity Index (SI) demonstrated that SND severity was lower in the PC group (7.55 vs 8.59, P = .04). Adjusted analyses similarly demonstrated that the PC cohort had increased SND incidence (odds ratio = 1.93; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.31; P < .0001), decreased SI (β = -1.37; 95% CI, -2.40 to -0.34; P = .009), and equivalent recovery (hazard ratio = 0.98; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.72; P = .90). Participants with a history of concussion have a higher incidence of SND but present with lower severity SND, which may be a result of increased concussion education or symptom awareness. Recurrent concussion has no significant impact on acute neurocognitive recovery. Together, these results provide evidence against the supposition that a history of concussion increases the severity of future SND.

Academic Performance Following Sport-Related Concussions in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Sport-related concussions (SRC) are an increasingly common concern in young athletes, with long-term cognitive, physiological, behavioral, and psychological adverse outcomes. An estimated 1.1 million to 1.9 million SRCs occur per year in children <18 years old in the United States. The post-concussive state has demonstrated consequences in several domains, including athletics and academics, although much more research has been conducted on the former. The objective of this scoping review was to ascertain findings from published studies on the effects of SRCs on academic performance and quality of life of young student athletes. A total of 175 articles were screened within the PubMed and CINAHL databases, along with a Google search. Fourteen papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in the review. Quantitative and qualitative data were collated and demonstrated the heterogeneity with which, post-concussion academic performance outcomes were measured; only 4 of the 14 studies utilized formal academic metrics such as changes in grade point average (GPA) or examination scores. While the results overall did show statistically significant implications on academic performance decline after SRC, it is clear that there remains a paucity of research determining the consequences of SRCs on academic performance in the school environment. Further research is needed to better understand how to implement accommodations in the student’s learning environment and guide return-to-learn protocols for student athletes following SRC.

MOTIVATION OF LATVIAN YOUNG ATHLETES TO BUILD A DUAL CAREER

The study explores factors that motivate high-performance athletes to manage their dual career while studying in secondary school. The dual career experience of Latvian youth is obtained. The paper analyses the results from young high-performance athletes’ questionnaire, focusing on the support young athletes receive and would need to receive in their education and sports training process. A survey, based on an individual approach, was carried out in training camps and schools; 125 high-performance athletes of the secondary school age completed the questionnaire (19 questionnaires were filled in electronically). The gained data were processed with the statistics methods using SPSS Statistics and Excel programmes. The young people in the age range from 15-19 years study in secondary school, vocational school or in Year 1 of a higher education institution; this is a young athletes’ transitional period from youth leagues to junior or adult sports leagues. In the education process, 77 young athletes were supported by their parents (M-3)(according to the average value of the 4-point Likert Scale), and 70 respondents indicated teachers’ support (M-3); while in sports the support was received from trainers (M-3,70) and friends (M-3,42). The study analysed the contributing factors that motivated young athletes to gain education and achieve sports mastery. Young athletes up to 19 years sought more for their friends’ approval. Student-athletes chose to study in schools that offered opportunities to combine studies with high-performance sports. However, young student-athletes lacked motivation for studies.

The influence of gender and competition level on young student-athletes' use of observational learning

article: The influence of gender and competition level on young student-athletes’ use of observational learning - Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2019 July-August;178(7-8):508-14 - Minerva Medica - Journals

The Factors Affecting Faculty of Sport Sciences Students' Attitudes towards Sports

Many young student-athletes living in Turkey prefer Faculties of Sport Sciences in various universities for their academic, sports and vocational career developments. In this process, attitudes towards sports of student-athletes gain importance. In this context, the purpose of the present research is studying the factors affecting the Faculty of Sport Sciences students' attitudes towards sports. The population consists of all undergraduate students studying at Faculties of Sports Sciences of various universities. The sample group consists of 842 students (Avg.age= 21,49 ±3,18) from each department and each undergraduate level. Attitude towards Sport Scale (ATSS) developed by Senturk and University Life Scale (ULS) developed by Aladag et al. were used as the data collection tools and the scale was applied on electronic environment on participants. The data, which were found reliable (ATSS α=0,873; ULS α=0,831), were tested as normal with Kolmogorov – Smirnov test (p>,05), and so were suitable for parametric tests. Accordingly, independent samples t-test and one-way variance analysis were used for comparison analyses and Pearson correlation test was used for correlation analyses. It was found that, freshman students, especially the evening education students of Coaching Education department, had significantly more positive attitudes towards sports. The most prominent finding of the research was that the attitudes towards sports decreased as the grade levels and ages of the students increased. In addition, attitudes towards the sport decrease as the students' adaptation to the university environment, academic life and social life increased. Supporting these findings with a qualitative study by means of interviewing on the same subject will provide an exploratory study on the decrease in attitude towards the sport as the age increases.

Achievement goals in youth sport and the influence of coaches, peers, and parents: A longitudinal study

The first purpose of this study was to longitudinally examine achievement goals in youth sport. The second purpose was to examine the within-person effects of perceived motivational climates by coaches, peers, and parents on achievement goal orientation. Participants were 78 young student-athletes, representing a variety of sports. The student-athletes completed a multi-section questionnaire, six times over a three-year period, assessing the study variables. Multilevel modelling analysis revealed that both task orientation and ego orientation decreased for this age group over the three-year period. Furthermore, perceived task-involving peer climate was significantly and positively related to task orientation, and perceived ego-involving coach climate was significantly and positively related to ego orientation. The results from this study provides insights regarding developmental changes in achievement goals and the importance of certain social agents in that specific developmental stage.

Assessment of Evidence-Based Health and Safety Policies on Sudden Death and Concussion Management in Secondary School Athletics: A Benchmark Study.

Implementation of best-practice health and safety policies has been shown to be effective at reducing the risk of sudden death in sport; however, little is known about the extent to which these policies are required within secondary school athletics. To examine best-practice health and safety policies pertaining to the leading causes of sudden death and to concussion management in sport mandated at the state level for secondary school athletics. Descriptive observational study. State high school athletic associations (SHSAAs), state departments of education, and enacted legislation. United States (including the District of Columbia) SHSAAs. A review of SHSAA health and safety policies for the 2016-2017 academic year, state department of education policies, and enacted legislation was undertaken to assess the polices related to the leading causes of sudden death and concussion management in sport. Current best-practice recommendations used to assess health and safety policies were specific to emergency action plans, automated external defibrillators, heat acclimatization, environmental monitoring and modification, and concussion management. The total number of best-practice recommendations required for each SHSAA's member schools for the aforementioned areas was quantified and presented as total number and percentage of recommendations required. Four of 51 SHSAA member schools were required to follow best practices for emergency action plans, 7 of 51 for access to automated external defibrillators, 8 of 51 for heat acclimatization, and 3 of 51 for management of concussion. At the time of this study, SHSAA member schools were not required to follow all best-practice recommendations for preventing the leading causes of sudden death and for concussion management in sport. Continued advocacy for the development and implementation of best practices at the state level to be required of all secondary schools is needed to appropriately serve the health and well-being of our young student-athletes.

Developmental changes in burnout perceptions among student-athletes: An achievement goal perspective

This study examined (a) the developmental trajectories of student-athlete burnout perceptions and (b) the within-person relationship between achievement goals and burnout perceptions. A three-year and six-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 78 student-athletes (30 young women and 48 young men, Mage at T1 = 12.7 years, SD = 0.44), attending a sport compulsory school. The Athlete Burnout Questionnaire and the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire were used. The results from multilevel growth models revealed that burnout perceptions increased for this age group over the three-year period. Furthermore, task orientation was significantly and negatively related to a reduced sense of accomplishment and sport devaluation. The results from this study underline the advantage of considering developmental processes when studying burnout. Furthermore, by focusing on the within-person effect of achievement goals, this study provides findings that support a motivational approach to the longitudinally study of burnout propensity among young student-athletes. The current study suggests that sport school staff should be aware of their student-athletes’ burnout perceptions and that these could change over time. Results also highlights that task-oriented goals might help decrease burnout perceptions, specifically reduced sense of accomplishment and sport devaluation.

Walking the line: how young athletes balance academic studies and sport in international competition

Focused on the Norwegian squad for the 2015 European Youth Olympic Festival, the aims of this study are to identify (a) the perceived role of important stakeholders such as coaches, schools, parents, federations, and the national Olympic committee for the young athletes in the weeks leading up to the festival; and (b) the young athletes’ festival experiences with a focus on perceived stressors by using the transactional framework. The findings of the study revealed that pursuing a dual career is often a challenging balancing act for the young student-athletes. Additional results identified the importance of supportive parents, schools that adapt the workload for the student-athletes, and a federation that recognizes the important role of parents and schools. While the rhetoric for the festival was that it was a ‘learning experience’ for the young athletes, the young athletes perceived the event as a serious sporting competition and were aware of factors which might cause stress and thus interfere with optimal performance. This investigation offers implications for sport management and psychology researchers gaining insight into young athletes and youth sport festivals.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Young Student Athletes.

A recent meta-analysis documented a significant statistical association between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Adeyemo et al., 2014), but the direction of this effect was unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that ADHD would be an antecedent risk factor for mTBI. Participants were student athletes ages 12 to 25 who had sustained a mTBI and Controls of similar age and sex selected from studies of youth with and without ADHD. Subjects were assessed for symptoms of ADHD, concussion severity, and cognitive function. mTBI subjects had a significantly higher rate of ADHD than Controls, and in all cases the age of onset of ADHD was before mTBI onset. mTBI+ADHD subjects also had more severe concussion symptoms (fatigue and poor concentration) than mTBI-ADHD subjects. These results support ADHD as an antecedent risk factor for mTBI in student athletes and that its presence complicates the course of mTBI.