Group Cohesion and Self-Handicapping in Female and Male Athletes

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather A. Hausenblas ◽  
Albert V. Carron

There were two main purposes in the present study. The first was to identify the nature of the self-handicaps reported by elite female and male athletes (N = 245). School commitments and sport problems represented the most frequently cited impediments. Female athletes reported a significantly greater number of disruptions and had a greater tendency to report that sport problems, physical state/illness, and family/friend problems hindered their preparation. The second purpose was to determine whether cohesion would moderate the extent to which athletes would use self-handicapping strategies prior to competition. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that cohesion was a moderator in the relationship between the trait of self-handicapping (Excuse Making) and the use of self-handicapping for both female and male elite athletes. Results of post hoc analyses indicated that athletes who were highly predisposed to self-handicap and who perceived their group as more cohesive, had a greater tendency to proactively perceive impediments to subsequent performance.

2021 ◽  
pp. 194173812110438
Author(s):  
Rachel K. Straub ◽  
Francesco Della Villa ◽  
Bert Mandelbaum ◽  
Christopher M. Powers

Background: After anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), diminished quadriceps strength symmetry and reduced psychological readiness to return to play (RTP) increase the risk for subsequent injury. Although the relationship between quadriceps strength symmetry and psychological readiness to RTP has been reported to be influenced by injury mechanism in female athletes, it is unclear whether such a relationship exists in male athletes. Hypothesis: Quadriceps strength symmetry would be positively associated with greater psychological readiness to RTP after ACLR, regardless of injury mechanism. Study Design: Retrospective cohort. Level of Evidence: Level 3 (cohort study). Methods: Sixty male patients completed strength testing and the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport Scale (I-PRRS) at an outpatient clinical facility as part of return to sport testing after ACLR. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the I-PRRS and the independent variables of interest (quadriceps strength symmetry and injury mechanism). Results: For all patients combined, no symmetry × mechanism interaction was found ( P = 0.11). A significant positive relationship was found between quadriceps strength symmetry and the I-PRRS score ( P < 0.001, R2 = 0.31), after adjusting for time post-ACLR and injury mechanism. Conclusion: Greater quadriceps strength symmetry was associated with greater psychological readiness to RTP after ACLR in male athletes. In contrast to what has been reported in female athletes, this relationship was independent of injury mechanism. Clinical Relevance: Given the potential negative consequences of quadriceps strength deficits on one’s confidence to RTP, the need to restore quadriceps symmetry during the postoperative period is readily apparent. Low confidence or low psychological readiness to RTP may be indicative of quadriceps strength asymmetry or poor physical function in general.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Micai ◽  
Maria Kavussanu ◽  
Christopher Ring

Poor executive function has been linked to increased antisocial and aggressive behavior in clinical and nonclinical populations. The present study investigated the relationship between executive and nonexecutive cognitive function and antisocial behavior in sport as well as reactive and proactive aggression. Cognitive function was assessed in young adult male and female athletes using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Antisocial behavior in sport and aggression were assessed via self-report instruments and were found to be positively correlated. Executive function (but not nonexecutive function) scores were negatively correlated with both self-reported antisocial behavior and aggression in males but not females. Our findings suggest that prefrontal deficits among male athletes could contribute to poor impulse control and difficulty in anticipating the consequences of their antisocial and aggressive behavior.


1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Budwig

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the relationship between linguistic forms and the functions they serve in children's early talk about agentivity and control. The spontaneous linguistic productions of six children ranging between 1;8 and 2;8 served as the data base. Preliminary analyses of who the children referred to and what forms were used in subject position suggest that the children could be divided into two groups. Three children primarily referred to Self and relied on multiple Self reference forms in subject position, while the other children referred to both Self and Other and primarily used the Self reference form, I. A functional analysis was carried out to examine whether the seemingly interchangeable use of Self reference forms could be related to semantic and pragmatic patterns. The findings indicate that at a time before they regularly refer to others, the children systematically employed different Self reference forms to mark distinct perspectives on agency.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
R Radzhabkadiev ◽  
K Vybornaya ◽  
C Lavrinenko ◽  
A Vasilev

Aim. The article deals with the assessment of the thyroid status of athletes engaged in physical activity of varying intensity. Materials ant methods. 146 elite athletes involved in bobsleigh, biathlon, shooting and snowboarding participated in the study. We determined the serum concentration of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (f.T3), free thyroxin (f.T4) and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-ab) with the COBAS e411 immunochemistry analyzer (Roche, Germany). The integral thyroid index ((f.T3 + f.T4)/TSH) was used for the assessment of the level of function of the thyroid proper. The conversion index of thyroxin to triiodothyronine (f.T4/ f.T3) was also studied. Results. 40 % of the bobsleigh athletes examined and 29 % of the snowboarders had high serum f.T3. The concentration of f.T4 in all examined athletes both male and female was within normal limits. Approximately 25 % of the male athletes examined had low II values. Among female athletes, 25 % of shooters and 33 % of bobsleigh athletes had low II values. In male biathletes and bobsleigh athletes, TPO-ab was 56 % higher than in shooters and snowboarders. In 43 % of bobsleigh athletes, 19 % of shooters, 10 % of biathletes and snowboarders, the content of TSH in males exceeded the reference intervals. Among females, TSH was high in 25 % of shooters and bobsleigh athletes. Conclusion. There were no statistically significant differences in the content of thyroid hormones in the compared sports groups, which can probably be explained by the activity of deiodinases at the local, intracellular level. At the same time, in a large number of respondents surveyed, the indicators of II and TPO-ab were outside the physiological norm.


Retos ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Ponseti Verdaguer ◽  
Alexandre García Más ◽  
Jaume Cantallops Ramón ◽  
Josep Vidal Conti

El presente trabajo retoma y actualiza las relaciones entre sexo y ansiedad en los deportes de competición. Se analizan las relaciones existentes entre el sexo, la ansiedad competitiva y el tipo de deporte practicado. Se han estudiado 126 deportistas federados de ambos sexos (43 nadadores y 83 baloncestistas), con una edad media de 14.85 años (DE= 2.41), durante la temporada 2013-14, a los cuales se les administró la versión adaptada al español de la Escala de Ansiedad Competitiva (SAS-2). Los resultados muestran que existe un nivel mayor de ansiedad competitiva en las mujeres que en los varones, de forma similar a hallazgos anteriores, aunque los resultados también indican diferencias entre deportes individuales y colectivos, así como diferencias entre los valores de los tres componentes de la ansiedad competitiva: somática, promotora de desconcentración y de preocupación por el rendimiento. Así, las mujeres muestran una mayor preocupación por el rendimiento y ansiedad somática que los hombres. Finalmente, se discuten los resultados en función de otros hallazgos y del concepto multidimensional de la ansiedad competitiva.Abstract. The relationship between gender and anxiety in competitive sports has been taken up and updated by this research. In fact, we analyzed the relation between gender, anxiety, and sports modalities. The study sample was composed by 126 federated female and male athletes (43 swimmers and 83 basketball players), with a mean age of 14.85 years (SD=2.41), during the season 2013-14. Athletes were administered the Spanish adapted version of Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2). In line with previous findings, our results show that female athletes have higher competitive anxiety than their male colleagues. In addition, differences were found between individual and team sports, as well as comparing the values of the three components of competitive anxiety: somatic, lack of concentration, and concerns about performance. Women show greater concern about their performance, as well as higher somatic anxiety than men. Finally, the results are discussed and compared with other findings and with the multidimensional concept of competitive anxiety.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-40
Author(s):  
Roberto Roklicer ◽  
Dragan Atanasov ◽  
Filip Sadri ◽  
Dzenan Jahic ◽  
Danilo Bojanic ◽  
...  

SummaryStudy aim: The body structure can play a determining role in the achievement of top judo performance, and it seems to influence the type of techniques applied. The aim of this study is to determine the somatotypes in male and female national level judokas across weight categories in order to observe possible differences among athletes.Material and methods: A total of 61 male judokas (23.2 ± 2.7 years old) and 37 female judokas (22.3 ± 3.3 years old) participated in this study. Anthropometric variables were used to calculate somatotypes. Somatotypes were determined according to the Heath-Carter method. Analysis of variance and Tukey’s post hoc test were used to determine differences between weight categories and obtained effect sizes (η2) were presented as well.Results: Somatotype differences among weight categories in male and female judokas were observed. Generally, all categories could be classified in three somatotypes in male and female athletes.Conclusions: The lightest categories were recognized as mesomorphic ectomorphs in females with an exception in the –48 kg category, and ectomorphic mesomorphs in male athletes. The middle ones had the endomorphic mesomorph somatotype and the heaviest athletes presented somewhat more extreme cases of endomorphic mesomorphs, both in male and female judokas. According to the results obtained, judokas have a specific body composition in different weight categories. Therefore, coaches could create a specific training programme for athletes who belong to different somatotypes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trent A. Petrie ◽  
Christy Greenleaf ◽  
Jennifer E. Carter ◽  
Justine J. Reel

Few studies have been conducted examining male athletes and eating disorders, even though the sport environment may increase their risk. Thus, little information exists regarding the relationship of putative risk factors to eating disorders in this group. To address this issue, we examined the relationship of eating disorder classification to the risk factors of body image concerns (including drive for muscularity), negative affect, weight pressures, and disordered eating behaviors. Male college athletes (N= 199) from three different NCAA Division I universities participated. Only two athletes were classified with an eating disorder, though 33 (16.6%) and 164 (82.4%), respectively, were categorized as symptomatic and asymptomatic. Multivariate analyses revealed that eating disorder classification was unrelated to the majority of the risk factors, although the eating disorder group (i.e., clinical and symptomatic) did report greater fear of becoming fat, more weight pressures from TV and from magazines, and higher levels of stress than the asymptomatic athletes. In addition, the eating disorder group had higher scores on the Bulimia Test-Revised (Thelen, Mintz, & Vander Wal, 1996), which validated the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (Mintz, O’Halloran, Mulholland, & Schneider, 1997) as a measure of eating disorders with male athletes. These findings suggest that variables that have been supported as risk factors among women in general, and female athletes in particular, may not apply as strongly, or at all, to male athletes.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 677
Author(s):  
Robert Ellis ◽  
J. Stuart Weir

The relationships between sport and religion have been examined from a number of perspectives, and parallels between sporting activity and worship are often observed, positively or negatively. Elite sports participants often perform religious gestures and many speak of their sporting performance in terms of their religious faith, including the assertion that it constitutes an act of worship. The authors begin by considering the nature of Christian worship, examining worship as a phenomenon, key biblical and theological ideas, the relationship of worship to sacred places and times, and the relation of worship to everyday life. The self-understanding of elite athletes of faith is then considered, as articulated in interviews collected over several years with one of the authors and in other published statements. This data is then mapped back on to the previously considered ideas of worship. The article suggests that, while the correspondence may not be complete or exact, there is good reason to take seriously the claims of elite athletes of faith that their sporting performance should be regarded as an act of worship.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Theberge

This article examines elite athletes’ understandings of the relationship between sport participation and health. Data are taken from interviews with 20 male and female athletes. Athletes’ assessments of the impact of sport on health and wellbeing include attributions of negative, positive, and, most often, mixed outcomes. In these elite athletes’ conceptualizations of health, injury and illness are subordinated to a view of health as capacity, and the primary frame of reference in which they consider capacity is their immediate competitive careers. Respondents’ accounts of efforts to manage the threats to their health that are posed by their sporting activity frequently convey a disembodied notion of the athletic body as an object to be managed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (12a) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veli Volkan Gürses ◽  
Okan Kamiş

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between 60m sprint results and reaction times in athletes who took part in the World Indoor Athletics Championships. The reaction times and 60m sprint results were compiled for 483 sprinters (253 male, 230 female) who performed 60m sprint event. Corresponding data were obtained from archives of the official website of the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). The relationship between reaction time and 60m sprint results were calculated using Pearson correlation coefficient. Additionally, the Independent Samples T-Test was used to compare athletes’ reaction times and 60m sprint results. Positive moderate correlation was found between mean values of all 60m sprint results and reaction times, which were analyzed together in all categories (r=.436, p<0.01). Moreover, significant differences were also found between male and female finalists based on the 60m sprint times and reaction times respectively (t=-27.98, p<0.01; t=-3.26, p<0.01). As a result, it can be concluded that reaction time has great importance on 60 m performance. The best reaction time is related to the higher performance of 60m sprint in both male and female athletes. Moreover, this is also similar for round 1, semifinal and final categories. Coaches and athletes may consider improving reaction time to achieve better 60m performance.


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