Sports Health & Fitness – The Sport Journal

Factors Associated with Anxiety Among Division III Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors: Philip J. Brenner¹, JoAnne Bullard^2, and Robert Weaver²

¹Graduate student from the Athletic Training Program, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
²Department of Health and Exercise Science, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA

Correspondence:

Philip J. Brenner, MS, LAT, ATC
201 Mullica Hill Road

Glassboro, NJ 08028
Philbrenner97@gmail.com

Philip J. Brenner, MS, LAT, ATC graduated from Rowan University with a Masters in Athletic Training. Philip’s areas of research interest include: Mindfulness interventions for student athletes’ and the impact of COVID-19 on student athletes.

JoAnne Bullard, PsyD., CMPC, CSCS is currently an assistant professor at Rowan University in the Health and Exercise Science department. JoAnne’s areas of research interests include well-being of student athletes, mindfulness for performance, motivation and anxiety in athletics and academics, and athletic transitioning.

Robert Weaver, Ph.D is a professor and community health program coordinator at Rowan University in the Health and Exercise Science department. Robert’s research interests include social determents of health, food security and insecurity, and research methods in health science.

Factors Associated with Anxiety Among Division III Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of collegiate student-athletes due to canceled sports seasons. This led to an increase in anxiety symptoms among Division III student-athletes. Collegiate female student-athletes have reported increased anxiety during the pandemic, but it is unknown if individualized or team sport athletes have similar anxiety symptoms. The purpose of this study is to determine the association between anxiety symptoms, gender, and sport-type of Division III student-athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Qualtrics survey assessed demographic information, concerns and worries surrounding the pandemic, and generalized anxiety symptoms using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7). Participants were male and female Division III collegiate student-athletes in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) during the 2020-2021 fall, winter, and spring sports-seasons. They were categorized as either an individual athlete or a team sport athlete. Chi-square analyses and prevalence ratios were conducted on SPSS version 27. There were significant differences between male and female GAD-7 responses X²= 30.119 (df=3, n=435), p=.000. There were no significant differences between non-gender specific sport-type athletes and anxiety. Female individual sport athletes were three times more likely to report mild-severe anxiety symptoms than female team sport athletes (PR=3.2, 95% CI, 1.66-6.16, p=0.000). In conclusion, female individual sport athletes were at greater risk for reporting anxiety symptoms compared to female team sport athletes, male individual sport athletes, and male team sport athletes. The application of sports is that associated colleges need to provide additional assistance in counseling, telehealth, and social support to collegiate student-athletes to help lessen the mental distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-02-16T17:23:11-06:00February 3rd, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Predictive Validity of the Physical Skills Test of the 40-yard Dash and Draft Placement in the NFL Draft

Authors: Raymond Tucker and Willie Black

Department of Kinesiology, University of Houston Victoria, Victoria, TX, USA.

Correspondence:

College of Education and Health Professions Kinesiology Department University of Houston Victoria, USA.
University of Houston at Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, Texas 77901
Phone: (361)-570-4381
Tuckerr1@uhv.edu

Raymond Tucker, D.S.M., CFSC, CSCS * D, EXOS – XPS, FMS, USATF, USAW, is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston Victoria in Victoria, TX. His research interest focused on coaches’ leadership skills, program design, and performance measures used in strength and conditioning.

Willie J. Black, Jr. Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Houston in Victoria, Texas. His research interests focus on leadership, physical education pedagogy, and
social justice in physical education.

Predictive Validity of the Physical Skills Test of the 40-yard Dash and Draft Placement in the NFL Draft.

Abstract

Tucker, R. Predictive Validity of the 40-yard dash Physical Skills Test and Draft Position in the NFL Draft. To determine whether faster times by offensive and defensive positions correlate to higher draft positions in the NFL draft, the authors of this study looked into the correlation between the National Football League (NFL) combine test results of the 40-yard dash. Data was collected and analyzed from 1,009 players invited to the NFL combine between 2018 and 2020. The results of the research discovered a statistically significant correlation between the 40-yard dash for the offensive positions of WR r_s = .436, n = 147, p = .001; TE r_s = .356, n = 58, p = .05; OL r_s = .373, n = 77, p =.05; and for the defensive positions of LB r_s = .573, n = 83, p =. 001; S r_s = .510, n = 82, p = .05. These results suggested that faster times in the 40-yard dash for various offensive and defensive positions correlated to better draft position in the NFL draft.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-01-18T13:42:07-06:00January 27th, 2023|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

A Phenomenological Exploration of Neck Brace Use in Motocross

Authors: Danielle N. Broman, Alana N. Seaman

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Corresponding Author:

Alana N. Seaman, Ph.D.

601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-5956
910-962-7568
SeamanA@uncw.edu

Danielle Broman graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a Master of Science in Athletic Training in May 2022. Licensed as both a Certified Athletic Trainer and a Certified Surgical Technologist, she now works at Emerge Ortho in Wilmington, NC.

Dr. Alana Seaman is an Associate Professor of Tourism, Recreation, & Sport at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her research centers on popular culture, cultural trends, and heritage particularly as related to sport, food, place, and/or tourism.

A Phenomenological Exploration of Neck Brace Use in Motocross

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Despite the evidence indicating a decreased risk of cervical injury with the use of neck bracing in motocross, the frequency of usage appears limited. Given that little academic attention has been focused on the perception and prevention of these injuries, it is unclear why athletes have not more widely adopted the practice of wearing this safety device. This study sought to understand why.
Methods: A phenomenological approach was employed, and semi-structured interviews conducted with riders during three random weekend motocross practices at one track in the southeastern U.S.
Results: Themes surrounding physical discomfort and mental distraction; personal experiences; skepticism about the efficacy of neck braces; and an exceedingly few external influences emerged from the data set.
Conclusions: Regardless of which camp riders subscribed to, most indicated a strong opinion on and adherence to their choice to use or not use a neck brace during motocross. Flow was central to this decision.
Applications in Sport: A clear understanding of why athletes decide to wear or not wear neck braces in motocross would help various stakeholders identify barriers to device use, develop better methods for encouraging its adoption, and improve the overall safety of athletes participating in the popular but understudied sport.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-11-30T10:30:48-06:00December 2nd, 2022|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Division-1 athletes’ perceptions of sport specialization as a predictor of perfectionism

Authors: Jason N. Hughes¹,Colby B. Jubenville²,Mitchell T. Woltring^3,and Helen J. Gray⁴

¹Department of Business, Accounting and Sport Management, Elizabeth City State University

²Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University

³Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Sport, University of South Alabama

⁴Department of Experience Industry Management, California Polytechnic State University

Correspondence:

Jason Hughes, Ph.D., M.S.
1704 Weeksville Rd.
Elizabeth City, NC 27909

Jason N. Hughes, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, NC. His research interests include sport specialization, perfectionism, and athletic burnout.
Colby B. Jubenville, PhD., is a Professor of Sport Management at Middle Tennessee State University. His research interest includes student success, leadership, and emotional intelligence in business.
Mitchell T. Woltring, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the University of South Alabama. His research interests include student-athlete success and service learning.
Helen J. Gray, Ph.D., is the Department Head and Professor of Experience Industry Management at California Polytechnic State University. Her research interests include sport management, youth sport, and pedagogy in sport, leisure, and tourism.

Division-1 athletes’ perceptions of sport specialization as a predictor of perfectionism

Abstract

Sport specialization is a trend amongst athletes today who are looking to gain an advantage over the competition. However, little research has examined the psychosocial consequences of this trend. One psychological construct that has not been sufficiently investigated regarding its relationship with sports specialization is perfectionism. Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait with two higher orders: perfectionistic strivings, and concerns; both of which are associated with adaptive and maladaptive outcomes in sport. Perfectionistic concerns have shown consistent negative associations with processes and outcomes. Perfectionistic strivings results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to examine the previously unexplored relationship between specializing in sport and perfectionism concerns and strivings. Two multiple-hierarchical analyses were performed on a sample of 393 Division-1 NCAA student-athletes (M age = 20.21, SD 1.36) to investigate the level of sport specialization as a predictor of perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic strivings. Findings indicated that student-athletes who are highly specialized were more likely to predict perfectionistic concerns, whereas moderate and low sport specializers did not have a relationship with perfectionistic concerns. Perfectionistic strivings had no significant relationship with sport specialization.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-10-14T13:11:47-05:00October 21st, 2022|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off

Female Competitive Powerlifters relationship with Body Image: Utilising the Multidimensional Body Image Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ)

Author: Andrew Richardson¹ (corresponding author) and Dr Mark Chen²

1 School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University, UK
2 School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, UK

Correspondence:

Andrew Richardson
Campus Heart, Southfield Road, Middlesbrough
TS1 3BX, Tees Valley
a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk

Andrew Richardson is a Chartered Heath and Activity Practitioner & PhD student at Teesside University with his doctorate researching sedentary lifestyles in the Tees Valley. Andrew’s other research interests include body image, performance enhancing drugs, transgender sport, esports and public health.

Dr Mark Chen is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Teesside University and is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Dr Chen’s research interests include psychological consequences of sports injury and attentional aspects of sports performance.

Female Competitive Powerlifters relationship with Body Image: Utilising the Multidimensional Body Image Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ)

Abstract

Purpose: There is growing evidence to suggest that competitive female athletes in certain sports that over scrutinize their body image may experience undesirable mental health outcomes. However, limited research addresses this issue in strength sports with weight class requirements. One such sport is powerlifting, which comprises the squat, bench – press and deadlift. Methods: This study used the Multidimensional Body Image Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), which recruited 174 female participants across the following subgroups. Powerlifters (P) (n = 66), Active Subjects (AF) (n = 50), Body Image sports (BI) n = 23) and Other Sports (OS) (n = 36). Results: One–way ANOVA showed significant (p < 0.05) results between all groups across seven of the nine MBSRQ subscales. Bonferroni comparisons revealed that there were ten other significant results between these groups. Conclusions: Overall, the results showed that female powerlifters expressed healthier and lower perceptions of negative body image concerns. Furthermore, female powerlifters did not present scores consistent with controlling bodyweight or fixating about being overweight. Instead, these results showed a focus on performance and health improvements. Active subjects presented the most fixation on their body weight and appearance. Applications in Sport: The study concludes that female powerlifters present healthy body image perceptions compared to the other female sporting/active groups. This may be due to the objective outcomes of the sport not relying on socially subjective assessment for validation.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-10-14T09:48:06-05:00October 14th, 2022|Research, Sports Health & Fitness|Comments Off