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ObjectiveTo analyze the anxiety levels and sleep quality of elite soccer athletes in training pre-pandemic and during the lockdown caused by COVID-19.MethodThis is an exploratory study with a longitudinal design carried out with elite soccer athletes from two Brazilian soccer clubs. Data collection took place in person pre-pandemic (training) and online (during lockdown) between February and May 2020. The instruments used to assess sleep, daytime sleepiness, and anxiety were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale-(ESS-BR), and Competitive Anxiety Scale (SCAT). For data analysis, descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, maximum and minimum) and non-parametric inferential statistics were used, establishing a significance of p

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of physical activity on the mood states of active and insufficiently active Italian adolescents and the relationships with sleep quality, sex, and academic performance, analyzing guidelines for the post-COVID-19 scenario.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional, quantitative, and descriptive study. Data collection was carried out through an electronic questionnaire via Google Forms. Adolescent students from schools in the Lazio region, Italy, were evaluated.ResultsIn total, 437 Italian adolescents were included, with a mean age of 15.9 ± 1.37 years. The average time of exercise reported by the students was 277 min per week. Physical activity appears to be positively correlated with improved mood states, particularly in adolescents who engage in 150 min or more of physical activity per week, who exhibited notably higher levels of vigor. It was found that female adolescents presented a worse mood state, greater tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and mental confusion, and worse vigor when compared to boys and that adolescents who had poor sleep quality presented significantly worse mood state. Adolescents with an insufficient perception of academic performance demonstrated a significantly worse mood state, tension, depression, anger, and mental confusion, with a submerged mood profile when compared to adolescents who perceived themselves as excellent, with an iceberg profile. In the regression analysis, it was found that for each minute of physical activity practiced, the score in the state of vigor of the adolescents increased by 0.02 and mental confusion decreased by 0.002.ConclusionFrom the present findings, we conclude that recommendations on PA practices for adolescents should be strengthened, as a way to mitigate possible damage to mood states, especially in the post-COVID-19 scenario. Future studies need to deepen the relationships between the mental health, sex, and academic performance of adolescents to strengthen positive mood states and elucidate information on the type, intensity, and dosage of physical activity to achieve mood benefits.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to reduced physical activity and increased sedentary behaviors, negatively impacting mental and physical health. Engaging in physical activity at home during quarantine became essential to counteracting these adverse effects. To develop appropriate physical activity programs, assessing individuals’ fitness levels and the impact of inactivity is crucial. This study aims to compare motor abilities—including flexibility, balance, reaction time, cardiovascular endurance, and lower and upper limb strength—assessed both in-person and remotely, to determine the accuracy and repeatability of self-administered tests. Methods: A total of 35 young subjects (age 24.2 ± 1.97 years, BMI 22.4 ± 2.61 kg/m2) participated in this study. Each participant underwent a battery of motor ability tests designed to assess various fitness components. The tests were administered twice for each subject: once in a laboratory setting and once remotely at home. The sequence of tests was randomly assigned to ensure unbiased results. Both the in-person and remote assessments were used to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of self-administered tests. Results: The comparison of test results between the laboratory and remote settings revealed percentage differences ranging from 5% to 10%. This variation is considered an acceptable margin of error, suggesting that the tests conducted remotely were relatively accurate when compared to those performed in a controlled laboratory environment. Conclusions: The findings indicate that remote fitness testing is a promising method for evaluating motor abilities. With an acceptable margin of error, remote assessments can be effectively used to personalize training programs based on individuals’ physiological characteristics. This approach may be particularly beneficial during times of limited access to fitness facilities, such as during quarantine, or for individuals seeking more flexible fitness evaluation methods.

Canyoning activities require physical effort, highlighting the importance of maintaining a proper physical fitness. Canyoning guides emerge as key figures, not only to ensure safety during the experience but also to handle unforeseen situations promptly. This study aims to assess the physiological profile of canyoning guides and the cardiorespiratory demands experienced during rope activities by means of oxygen uptake and heart rate measurements. Seventeen canyoning guides (42.6 y ± 10.78; BMI of 24.0 kg/m2 ± 2.95) carried out coordinative and conditional tests. The participants showed good values in strength tests (27.3 cm ± 5.97 and 23.3 rep ± 8.06 in SJ and PUp tests, respectively), while the flexibility of males and females was below and well above the average, respectively. A noteworthy result was observed in the reaction test, in which a better performance was recorded with the non-dominant hand (168.1 ms vs. 202.0 ms). All subjects exhibited a low aerobic capacity by means of an RD test (10.6 ua ± 6.62). During rope activities and emergency/support simulations, metabolic and cardiovascular data indicated that a moderate/high effort was exerted, confirmed by an oxidative stress analysis. In conclusion, this study demonstrated how canyoning guides face significant physical requirements, but their physiological profile regarding aerobic power was not appropriate. Therefore, these findings could offer valuable insights into the development of specific training to ensure an appropriate aerobic fitness to perform canyoning safely.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different narrative scenarios regarding students' intentions to undergo diagnostic screening for hepatitis C, and whether gender identification with the characters of the scenario could influence the students' intentions to undergo a medical test. A sample of 600 participants was administered three narrative scenarios with different frames (positive, negative, and ambivalent), including two gender options (male and female) for the main character of the story. A statistically significant three-way interaction between scenario, gender identification, and time resulted. There were significant simple main effects on the intention to have a diagnostic test for hepatitis C for the scenarios with the protagonist of the same gender as the participant and after the administration of the negative scenario. The use of a negative scenario with the same gender character was always more effective than the use of a positive framed scenario, even though there was a high level of knowledge regarding the disease. Personal diagnostic testing was not directly associated with knowledge regarding the infection. The findings of this study can ultimately help policymakers develop communication campaigns adapted to target populations such as college students, in order to raise awareness of the risk, promote prevention and behavioral change, and encourage medical screening.

The emergence of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) at the beginning of 2020, considered a public health emergency due to its high transmission rate and lack of specific treatment, led many countries to adhere to social isolation. Although necessary, social isolation causes important psychological changes, negatively affecting the health of the population, including the older population. The aim of this study is to propose a 4-week, home-based physical exercise protocol for older people in social isolation and evaluate whether will promote positive changes in psychological variables such as anxiety, mood, depression, and stress, and in the variables sleep, quality of life, and physical capacities in the older adults. The sample will be selected in a probabilistic way from individuals aged 60 years or more from the city of Itajaí (Santa Catarina, Brazil). Of these, half will perform a home-based resistance training protocol, with 3 weekly sessions, for 4 consecutive weeks. For group allocation, patients will be randomized with a computer-generated 1:1 allocation to the physical exercise (PE) group or control group. Outcomes will be depressive symptoms, sleep quality, quality of life, stress, mood states, anxiety, and functional capacity, evaluated at baseline, after 4 weeks, and after 15 days of follow-up. This study will offer a home-based exercise protocol for older adults, with load progression and remote monitoring, thus filling a gap in the provision of PE in this population. The results will be able to identify possible improvements not only in physical health, but also in quality of life and mental health.Clinical Trial Registration: The trial registration was carried out in the Brazil Clinical Trials Registry (RBR-5qh6f3v). (https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-5qh6f3v).

The aim of our study is to test the fit of an explanatory model of the frequency of the phenomenon of choking under pressure in archers, focusing on both the individual components (anxiety, coping styles, and decentralization) and environmental components (perception of coach assistance). 115 competitive athletes including 72 males (62.6%) and 43 females (37.4%) participated in the study, with average age of 39 years (±15.47). Participants reported personal data and completed measures of self-consciousness, anxiety, coping styles, and decentering. The ruminative component of concern was found to be the factor directly influencing the frequency of choking episodes in performance. Two significant mediations of personal coping style were also identified on the effects of anxiety on brooding thinking and on the athlete's ability to decentralize. The latter personal self-regulative component has been shown to be able to strongly limit the frequency of choking under pressure. Finally, among the environmental components, a further facilitating influence for the athlete resulted in the perception of being supported by the coach. The results therefore suggest that the athlete in choking should not face alone the hard upcoming period, but should preferably be supported with an articulated program focused on the cognitive remodeling of disturbing thoughts, on the strengthening of the capacity of decentralization, on the enhancement of the relationship of support and trust with the coach.

Endurance sports certainly require an important and delicate task of mental and physical reintegration from the impact of the fatigue induced by the exertion of the sport performance. The topic of the resilience of athletes has been the theme of numerous studies, however, there are few specific works on the psychological resilience of runners. Our study aimed to investigate Resilience in Endurance Runner related to the role of Self-Regulation Modes and Basic Psychological Needs. Especially, the aim of our work was presenting a model where the gratification of the Needs of Autonomy and Competence and the level of Locomotion were the predictors of the two main components of Richardson’s resilience: Homeostatic and Resilient Reintegration. The present study involved 750 endurance runners, members of the Fidal (Italian Athletics Federation). A SEM analysis was performed combining into one explanatory model the following variables: Autonomy and Competence Satisfaction, Self-Regulatory Locomotion Mode, Homeostatic and Resilient Reintegration. The model showed overall acceptable fit measurements: χ2 = 872.152; CFI = 0.966; TLI = 0.952; RMSEA = 0.058. Results indicated that BPNs and SRMs are predictors of the level of resilience in endurance running athletes. In particular, Resilient Reintegration was mainly affected by Locomotion Mode (β = 0.379 for p < 0.005), which in turn received a major influence from Autonomy Satisfaction (β = 0.574 for p < 0.001). Homeostatic Recovery was found to be affected by Competence Satisfaction (β = 0.489 for p < 0.001). The study pointed out the importance of supporting in endurance runners the gratification of the needs of Autonomy and Competence as key factors capable of enhancing perseverance, timely recovery and psychophysical balance.

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life and the psychosocial impact of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients in Italy using a questionnaire aiming to detect the psychosocial impact of the lockdown. Among their basic needs, psychological and medical support appeared to be prevalent followed by the need for safe transportation to reach the treatment facilities. Internet was their main source of information on the coronavirus. Although 72.7% of patients did not give up hospital therapies, 32.6% complained of variations in the continuity of the treatments. The majority of the sample (73.8%) was scared to be infected but 21.9% did not share their anxieties and worries with others. The multivariate regression analysis showed that a pessimistic perception of their quality of life was influenced by living in extra-urban areas and alone (OR 1.51), while the perception of reduced physical function resulted in a state of anxiety and stress (OR = 1.8) and difficulties in the continuity of medical assistance (OR = 1.3).

The study aimed to identify factors predicting self-efficacy in a sample of 248 Italian handball referees. The main hypothesis was that perception of teamwork efficacy would be a significant predictor of self-efficacy in handball referees. Participants completed an online questionnaire including Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (α = 0.85), Self-Determination Scale (α = 0.78), and an adaptation for Referees of the Sport Commitment Model (α = 0.80). Two hierarchical regression analyses have identified: (1) Enjoyment (β = 0.226), Couple Efficacy (β = 0.233), and Personal Awareness (β = 0.243), as predictors of Self-Efficacy; (2) Span of Co-Refereeing (β = 0.253), Perceived Quality of the Relationship (β = 0.239), and Mutual Agreement (β = 0.274), as predictors of Couple Self-Efficacy. A further SEM analysis confirmed the fit of a structural model of Self-efficacy considering the reciprocal influence of Couple Efficacy, Enjoyment and Awareness (χ2: 5.67; RMSEA: 0.000; SRMR: 0.019). The study underlines the importance of teamwork (or co-refereeing) as it relates to enjoyment and awareness in officiating and how it enhances the psychological well-being of handball referees. Future studies should investigate the relationship between factors influencing perceived teamwork efficacy and officiating performance outcome.