Fear of failure and student athletes' interpersonal antisocial behaviour in education and sport

Basic Psychological Needs in the Face of Achievement Vulnerability: A Study in Young Team Athletes

The susceptibility of athletes to experience of emotional and psychological difficulties arising from the pressure and expectations associated with achieving and maintaining high performance can become a vulnerability in the desire to achieve success in sport. This study aims to investigate the protective value in the perception of satisfaction in basic psychological needs against the vulnerability that perfectionism generates in the appearance of reactivity linked to fear of failure. A cross-sectional, relational, and semi-randomized research design was used, applying perfectionism, fear of failure, and basic psychological needs measures adapted to both the competitive sports context and the Spanish language in a sample of 372 young Spanish athletes, under descriptive analyses and predictive models. The results showed that as the age of the participants increased, the indicators of perfectionism and fear of failure decreased, with no gender differences. The results offer and confirm the positive relationships between the dimensions of perfectionism and fear of making mistakes (where processes such as self-devaluation and fear of failing the people that participants deemed as important to them are intertwined). The perception of satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, social relationships, and competence emerges as protective factors that mediate the perfectionism-fear of failure relationship. On the other hand, discrepancies are shown between the perfectionist dimensions concerning the relationships with the BPNs, describing certain sources of vulnerability, although there are adjustments of mental effort and discomfort in the young athletes. The conclusions offer the opportunity to investigate the aspects that facilitate the emergence of fear of failure in young athletes, mainly the performance of coaches connected to the emergence of patterns in pursuit of perfection.

Perceived Coach-Created Empowering and Disempowering Climate Effects on Athletes' Intentions to Use Doping: The Mediational Role of Self-Regulatory Efficacy and Attitudes towards Doping

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived coach-created empowering and disempowering motivational climate and doping likelihood among athletes and whether the attitudes towards doping and doping self-regulatory efficacy mediates these relationships.

METHODS

Athletes (N = 948; 50% male; mean age, 20.32, SD = 2.45) recruited from a variety of sports completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of coach-created motivational climate, attitudes towards doping, doping self-regulatory efficacy, and doping likelihood.

RESULTS

The study's results showed significant negative direct effects of a perceived empowering climate on doping likelihood (β = -0.50) and attitudes towards doping (β = -0.48), and a positive effect on self-regulatory efficacy (β = 0.48). On the contrary, a disempowering climate had positive direct effects on doping likelihood (β = 0.53) and attitudes towards doping (β = 0.45), and a negative effect on self-regulatory efficacy (β = -0.49). Significant indirect effects on doping likelihood via attitudes and self-regulatory efficacy were found.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that athletes who perceive a more empowering climate created by the coach are less likely to use banned substances due to their more negative attitudes towards doping and stronger belief in their ability to resist the temptation to use doping.

Narcissism and antisocial behaviour in sport: The moderating role of self-compassion

Narcissism, which features the chronic disposition to seek the opportunity to construct and maintain an inflated self, is a known risk for antisocial behaviour. However, knowledge of factors that mitigate the effects of narcissism on antisocial behaviour is lacking. In two studies we explored the hypothesis that self-compassion would protect against the link between narcissism and antisocial behaviour, such that narcissism would be less related to antisocial behaviour when self-compassion was high. Study 1 was a cross-sectional study with a sample of professional footballers (N = 208). Study 2 utilised a sample of competitive athletes from a variety of sports (N = 324) over an eight-month period. The data from both studies supported the hypothesis: Greater self-compassion was associated with a null (Study 1) or significantly attenuated (Study 2) relationship between narcissism and antisocial behaviour. We discuss the implications of the findings, including the benefits of incorporating self-compassion in sport settings.

Impact of a controlling coaching style on athletes' fear of failure: Chain mediating effects of basic psychological needs and sport commitment

Controlling coaching style is a key predictor of athletes' fear of failure, but the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship require further exploration. Based on the self-determination theory (SDT) and the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (HMIEM), this study investigated the effect of a controlling coaching style on athletes' fear of failure, as well as the chain mediating effects of basic psychological needs and sport commitment. A questionnaire survey of 252 active athletes was administrated using scales for fear of failure, controlling coaching style, sport commitment, and basic psychological needs. The results indicated that a controlling coaching style was negatively correlated with basic psychological needs and indirectly affected athletes' fear of failure via basic psychological needs and constrained commitment. The chain mediating effect of basic psychological needs on enthusiastic commitment was not significant, but it was for constrained commitment. In conclusion, the impact of a controlling coaching style on athletes' fear of failure via basic psychological needs is manifested through the strengthening of constrained commitment rather than the weakening of enthusiastic commitment. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of why and how a controlling coaching style influences athletes' fear of failure. Coaches should seek more scientific and effective ways to instruct their athletes.

Assessing Sexual Behavior Patterns among Student Athletes of Senior High Schools in the Upper East Region, Ghana

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sexual behavior patterns of student athletes of senior high schools in the Upper East Region of Ghana and to assess the differences in sexual behavior patterns between male and females. A sample of 400 student athletes using a convenience sampling technique from public senior high schools was drawn to complete a self-designed research study. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test tool were used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that student athletes practiced various forms of sexual behaviors such as celibacy, foreplay, vaginal-penile sex, sexual fantasy, masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex. The Chi-square analysis showed significant gender differences in prevalence of masturbation (χ2 (1, n = 400) = 4.6962, probability = 0.030) and sexual fantasy (χ2 (1, n = 400) = 6.8477, probability = 0.009), but not vaginal-penile intercourse (χ2 (1, n = 400) = 1.3197, probability = 0.251) and celibacy (χ2, (1, n = 400) = 0.0721, probability = 0.788). The study concludes that student athletes of senior high schools might be vulnerable to unplanned parenthood and are at risk of STIs, including HIV. Regular health promotion campaigns on sexual risk-taking behaviors are required to help reduce the prevalence of student athletes’ indulgence in risky sexual behavior patterns that can harm their health. It is essential to implement gender-specific interventions (e.g., decision-making skills) when addressing the problems of sexual behaviors among the student athletes in the region.

Even Warriors Can be Scared: A Survey Assessing Anxiety and Coping Skills in Competitive CrossFit Athletes

Competition anxiety has been demonstrated to decrease sports performance while increasing burnout risk. To date, its degree in CrossFit (CF) is unknown. The present study, therefore, examines competition fear and relevant coping skills as well as potential correlates of both in individuals participating in CF events. A total of n = 79 athletes answered a battery of three questionnaires (competition fear index, athletic coping skills inventory, mindfulness attention awareness scale). Substantial levels of anxiety, particularly regarding the somatic dimension of the competition fear index, were reported. The most pronounced coping skill was freedom of worry. While age or level of competition showed no/very small associations with survey data, sex was correlated to the psychological characteristics: women reported higher competition fears and lower coping skill levels (p > 0.05). Competition fears are highly prevalent in CF athletes and the preventive value of population-specific interventions, particularly in females, should be investigated in future trials.

Do male and female soccer players differ in helping? A study on prosocial behavior among young players

Acting prosocially can be quite challenging in one of the most salient intergroup contexts in contemporary society: Soccer. When winning is the ultimate goal, balancing self-interest with helping a fellow player in distress can be a tough decision; yet it happens. To date, we know little about what motivates soccer players to offer such help in the heat of the game. We propose that sex and what is at stake will matter in such prosocial dilemma situations. A pilot study (N = 107) indicated that female players may be more likely to help than male players, but this difference was only observed when the players are close to scoring position rather than far away from the goal (midfield). The main study (N = 366) finds that young soccer players show elevated inclinations to help in low-stakes situations, for example when their team is winning or when the outcome of the game seems pretty much decided. Contrariwise, helping intentions decline in high-stakes situations, for example when one's own team is losing, when one is close to a scoring position in the offense (rather than at the midfield), or when the outcome of the game is still uncertain. Furthermore, female players show somewhat greater inclinations to help than their male counterparts. The current data point at some differences for male and female soccer players, albeit small in effect size. In contrast, we conclude that especially quick cost-benefit judgments regarding the stakes can play a major role in decisions to help or not to help another player on the soccer field.

A Pathway to Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity and Its Symptomatic Reactions

In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are discussed. Future research and prevention need to pay more attention to effects of subjective personal experiences on psychological difficulty, focusing on the importance of exploring daily social experiences in improving cognitive construction processes and developing appropriate preventions.

Moral behavior in sport

In this review paper, we provide an overview of recent research on prosocial and antisocial behaviors, in the context of sport, focusing mainly on antecedents and consequences of these behaviors. Motivational variables such as task orientation, mastery climate, autonomous motivation, and autonomy supportive climate are likely to promote prosocial behavior, whereas ego orientation, performance climate, controlled motivation, and controlling climate may lead to antisocial behavior. The effects of some motivational variables (i.e., controlled motivation and controlling climate) on antisocial behavior may be mediated by moral disengagement, which has been consistently linked to antisocial behavior across a number of studies. Two moral variables, moral identity and empathy have been found to inhibit antisocial behavior, and their effects are due to anticipated guilt for acting antisocially. With respect to consequences of teammate behavior, some evidence suggests that prosocial behavior may enhance the recipient's enjoyment, effort, commitment, and performance, whereas antisocial behavior could lead to anger. Finally, the frequency of prosocial and antisocial behaviors varies as a function of context: Student athletes display more antisocial behavior towards their opponents compared to their fellow students but also more prosocial behavior towards their teammates than towards their fellow students. In sum, both motivational and moral variables predict prosocial and antisocial behaviors in sport, and these behaviors can have important consequences for the recipient.

Sport psychiatry and psychotherapeutic intervention, circa 2016

The focus of this paper is to provide an update on the use of psychotherapy as a treatment in sport psychiatry, and the use of this approach to address common psychiatric issues encountered with this population. Specifically, family therapy, individual therapy, and group psychotherapy prescribed alone, or in combination with medication, will be examined as methods to manage issues/disorders often associated with athletes. These include obsessive-compulsive rituals and perfectionism, and aggressive and risky behaviours, such as gambling, infidelity, substance use, and suicidal ideation, narcissism, and aggression in the context of individual and team competitive sports.