Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 2

Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 on Female Youth Competitive Cheerleaders

Authors: Reeti Douglas, Neha Tripathi, Ashley Allen, Cait Ennis, Jessica Judy, Emily Klink, and Jenelle Mrugalski⁷

Department of Occupational Therapy, Wingate University, Wingate, NC, USA

Corresponding Author:
Reeti Douglas, OTD, OTR/L
Department of Occupational Therapy
Wingate University
220 N Camden St
Wingate, NC 28174
r.douglas@wingate.edu
704-233-8973

Reeti Douglas OTD, OTR/L is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at Wingate in Wingate, NC. Her research interests focus on pediatric and youth sports rehabilitation, pediatric and youth athlete mental health, and pediatric and adolescent hand rehabilitation.

Ashley Allen, Cait Ennis, Jessica Judy, Emily Klink, and Jenelle Mrugalski are doctoral students in the Occupational Therapy program at Wingate University. Their research interests include pediatrics, mental health, and sports rehabilitation.

Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 on Female Youth Cheerleaders

ABSTRACT

Purpose: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, national restrictions were implemented limiting social gatherings and disrupting many facets of everyday life including sports. To gain a better understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the social and emotional wellbeing of children and adolescents in sports, the present study examined parental perspectives of female youth competitive cheerleaders during the national pandemic.

Methods: A sample of 97 parents of female youth competitive cheerleaders completed an online Qualtrics survey investigating their perspectives on the psychosocial wellbeing of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: Descriptive statistics were used for the quantitative analysis to determine general findings from the survey results. Results revealed that all age groups (5-18 years old) reported high levels of frustration (≥63.7%), all hours of training (1-14 hours a week) reported high levels of frustration (≥63.1%), and all levels of cheer (Level 1-6) reported high levels of frustration (≥62.9%). All age groups (≥67.1%), all hours of training (≥60.1), and levels 2-5 of cheer (≥ 57.1) reported high levels of feelings of loneliness during the pandemic. For all age groups, an increased interest in watching television or playing video games was reported as high (≥66.6%). Parents of level 2-6 cheerleaders (≥57.1) and cheerleaders who trained 5-14 hours a week (≥ 57.9) reported high levels of restlessness without participating in cheer activities.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, female youth competitive cheerleaders experienced high levels of frustration, loneliness, and restlessness and spent more time engaging in sedentary activities rather than participating in active sports-related functions and practices.

Applications in Sports: This study found that the impacts of COVID-19 on the psychosocial wellbeing of youth athletes include increased levels of frustration, loneliness, and restlessness, which can be attributed to decreased participation in sports. The findings of this study provide data to support the importance of addressing psychosocial needs with female youth athletes and addressing the benefits of sports for leisure occupation and social participation. Implications of this study can be applied to healthcare professions and athletic departments to guide future research and programs regarding sports and youth.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-05-24T11:12:25-05:00May 20th, 2022|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Examining Media Framing of Openly gay NFL Player Carl Nassib

Authors: Edward M. Kian, Ph.D.
School of Media & Strategic Communications, Oklahoma State University, OK, USA

Corresponding Author:
Edward M. Kian, Ph.D.
School of Media & Strategic Communications
Oklahoma State University
201 Paul Miller Building
Stillwater, OK 74078
edward.kian@okstate.edu
407-927-5403

Dr. Edward (Ted) M. Kian, Ph.D. is a full professor of Sports Media in the School of Media & Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Kian’s research focuses on sport media, specifically examining portrayals of gender and LGBT in content, new media, attitudes and experiences of sport media members, and sport marketing.

Examining Media Framing of Openly gay NFL Player Carl Nassib

ABSTRACT

This researched examined mainstream media framing of Carl Nassib becoming the first active, established NFL player to come out as gay. Purpose: Media have historically framed the NFL as a rugged, masculine sport, but media have also been supportive of the few former professional athletes who came out as gay or bisexual. This study examined how media framed an active gay athlete in what is construed as the United States’ most masculine sport. Methods: A textual analysis was conducted to examine media framing of Nassib and his coming out in articles published in the five most popular sport-focused U.S. websites over a two-week period following his announcement. Theories on masculinity were used to guide the study. Results: Four primary themes emerged from the data, most of which showed media were very supportive of Nassib publicly coming out and hailed it as a watershed moment in American sport. Conclusions: Media were supportive of an openly gay player and contended football was ready for this announcement. Applications in Sport: Media will be supportive of the vast majority of openly gay athletes who use sport as a platform to reveal their sexual orientation, and thus coaches and sport organizations should not fear players coming out.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-04-07T09:29:42-05:00April 8th, 2022|Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

The Influence of COVID-19 Upon Perceptions Of Parent Identity and Role Among Youth Sport Spectators

Authors: Jerry F. Reynolds II, Kristin E. Trainor, and Matt Moore

Department of Social Work, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA

Corresponding Author:
Jerry F. Reynolds II, PhD, LMSW
1613 W. Riverside Ave
Muncie, IN 47304
jfreynolds@bsu.edu
765-285-1015

Jerry F. Reynolds II, PhD, LMSW is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. His research interests focus on family dynamics and parenting experiences in youth sport settings.

Kristin E. Trainor, PhD, LCSW is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Ball State University. Her research areas of interest include exploration of family dynamics and barriers to service provision in therapeutic settings.

Matt E. Moore is Chair and Associate Professor of Social Work at Ball State University. His research focuses upon the integration of social work principles in sport-based settings.

The Influence of COVID-19 Upon Perceptions of Parent Identity and Role Among Youth Sport Spectators

ABSTRACT

Parent experiences in youth sport settings during the COVID-19 pandemic are a notable and understudied phenomenon. Parents had varied experiences as a result of safety mandates and protocols that limited physical presence and engagement in their child’s sports activities. These limitations proved to be an emotional challenge for parents – balancing the responsibilities of protecting the safety of their families and providing sports experiences to promote both normalcy and acquire the life skills gained from sports participation in a fluid environment. In some instances, parents engaged in virtual spectating experiences which sought to minimize physical risks associated with COVID-19, but also did not require their physical presence to participate. Research on the virtual experience of parents is novel and from a sample of 112 parents across youth sport sectors in 18 states how the spectating modality influenced parental roles and identities was examined. Virtual spectating experiences reflected many challenges for parents, but also prompted much gratitude for allowing continued engagement in their child’s sports activities. This exploratory research prompts larger questions urging sport-based professionals to examine the influences of spectating modalities on experiences of parents. The authors captured retrospective parent reactions to their personal spectating experience and generated a grounded theory diagram to demonstrate relationships between factors shaping the parent identity and role in this context. Implications for sport-based professionals are discussed.

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U.S. Sports Academy2022-04-01T08:27:43-05:00April 1st, 2022|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

COVID-19 and its impact on student-athlete depression and anxiety: the return to campus

Authors: Peter J Economou, Victoria Glascock, Mark Louie, Polina Poliakova, William Zuckerberg

Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, USA

Corresponding Author:

Peter Economou
1 Scarlet Knight Way
Piscataway, NJ 08854
peter.economou@rutgers.edu

Dr. Peter Economou, the Principal Investigator holds a Ph.D in counseling psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology. He conducts research on mindfulness and meditation in sports.

Dr. Mark Louie, a research assistant and Postdoc to the PI, holds an Ed.D in Applied Exercise Physiology, and a Masters in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a licensed counselor in both New Jersey and New York.

Victoria Glascock, Polina Poliakova, and William Zuckerberg are research assistants for the GSAPP Performance Psychology Center.

COVID-19 and its Impact on Student-Athlete Depression and Anxiety: The Return to Campus

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the NCAA to abruptly cancel all sporting events, to help slow the spread of the virus. As such, measures such as social-distancing and work from home orders, were implemented nationwide. While effective, both safety measures are socially disruptive with the potential to cause psychological disturbances such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other behavioral disorders. To date, there is no literature that examines the consequences of abrupt mid-season cancellation for student-athletes, and the subsequent return to campus in Fall of 2020 brought on by a global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. To explore the mental health consequences of such termination and subsequent return to campus, student-athletes were surveyed on their experience with returning to campus amidst a global pandemic. Our results indicate that there were increased feelings of depression and anxiety upon returning to campus in Fall 2020.

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U.S. Sports Academy2023-11-10T14:24:44-06:00October 22nd, 2021|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

A Review of the Physical, Societal and Economic Effects of Wearable Devices in Sports

Authors: Ashley N. Smith

¹Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic and State Institute, Blacksburg, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:
Ashley N. Smith
ashleys20@vt.edu
336-408-3745

Ashley N. Smith is a graduate student in The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, pursuing a master’s degree in computer engineering and specializing in computer vision. Her areas of research interest include: the effects of technology in sports and developing software to reduce costs or improve efficiency for sports organizations.

A Review of the Physical, Societal and Economic Effects of Wearable Devices in Sports

ABSTRACT

Wearable technology has permeated the sports world throughout the last couple of decades because of the numerous advantages from collecting ample device data. Benefits of wearable devices, or wearables, in sports are extensive data analysis on performance, injury mitigation, and encouragement to monitor one’s physical health. With the diffusion of wearables into sports, its resulting effects have influenced all levels of athletes as well as the cadre of athletic personnel. Physical effects include increased general fitness and injury prevention, whereas societal effects encompass ethical changes, unprecedented privacy concerns and added stress on mental well-being. Economic effects consist of additional career opportunities as well as lucrative avenues for professional organizations and sports companies alike. This review of these various consequences helps guide the decision-making process for those investing in existing wearables and those developing novel devices in this nascent industry.

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U.S. Sports Academy2021-08-20T11:43:20-05:00August 6th, 2021|Research, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off