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LifeMatters is a 10-session life skills program implemented with youth that uses mental skills training and games to meet the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Forty disengaged students (20 experimental, 20 control) 16–17 years of age from a YMCA vocational school completed self-report measures before and after the intervention period. The school focuses on services for adolescents who find it difficult to gain an education through mainstream education due to behavioral and developmental issues. Mixed between-within subjects analyses of variance showed that there was a significant decrease in social anxiety, Wilks's λ =.84, F(1, 26) = 5.07, p =.03, partial η2 =.16, and a significant increase in relatedness Wilks's λ =.87, F(1, 26) = 4.2, p =.05, partial η2 =.14, over time for the experimental group compared to the control group. Analyses of covariance showed no significant difference between the two groups in change on social anxiety levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p =.26, partial η2 =.05, when controlling for relatedness, and no significant difference between the two groups in change in relatedness levels, F(1, 25) = 1.34, p =.26, partial η2 =.05, when controlling for social anxiety. This study provides insight into the potential effectiveness of using games and mental skills training to increase relatedness and decrease levels of social anxiety in disengaged students. Lay Summary: LifeMatters is a life skills program combining mental skills training and physically active games. Disengaged students who took part in the program reported lower levels of social anxiety and higher levels of relatedness compared to students who did not take part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When sport psychology researchers from the mainstream work with people from marginalized cultures, they can be challenged by cultural differences as well as mistrust. For this article, researchers born in mainstream North America partnered with Canadian Aboriginal community members. The coauthors have worked together for 5 years. What follows is our story of how positive cross-cultural relations developed in stages and how we modified our focus from solely academic dissemination to a project that adheres more closely with the American Psychological Association's multicultural guidelines. Recommendations are offered for those interested in developing reflexive cultural sport psychology research while building positive cross-cultural relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to determine students’ perceptions of team-building activities within a university Latin dance course. Students (N = 30) completed an evaluation of the team-building activities and wrote reflective essays about their experiences in the course. The course consisted of twenty 90-minute classes. In the third class students were provided an information sheet describing the research. In the fourth class the students completed a demographics questionnaire. In classes 10–14 team-building activities took up roughly the first third of each class. In class 16 the students completed the evaluation. The reflective essays were submitted two weeks after the last class. Students agreed that the team-building activities helped to bond class members, and felt it was valuable for these activities to be included in the unit in the future. The reflective essays indicated the students felt the team-building activities improved interpersonal, dance, and personal mental skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport psychology is not a new field in Brazil. The work of Brazil's pioneers in this field brought psychology into sports in the country in the 1950s. Even with this early start, however, sport psychology organisations in Brazil still have important issues to address. We will discuss the past and current status of the field in Brazil and propose future directions using a strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. Brazil Sport and Exercise Psychology (SEP) field is in a stage of development both in applied practice and in research. A strength in the field in Brazil is that SEP is a recognised specialist field of psychology and there are clear pathways for the accreditation. Nevertheless, there are problems in the educational system (undergraduate and postgraduate levels) that hindered the accreditation process. There are a good number of sport psychologists working in applied work. However, due to the above mentioned issues with the accreditation process the standard of service delivery is not ensured. The weaknesses in the educational system not only has an effect on the applied practice, but it also influences the research in SEP in Brazil. The Brazilian research output in international journals is limited due to the existent language barrier and a system of evaluation of scientific journals that does not incentive this type publication. Brazil, with the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio, has a unique opportunity to conduct applied work, build research projects, and increase public awareness of the role of sport psychology in competitive sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to give an in-depth account of sport psychology in Botswana. The authors reviewed literature and also used their observations and experiences to describe the emergence of sport psychology in Botswana. A brief historical background of Botswana is presented first, followed by a description of the accessibility to knowledge and international alliances in physical education and sport psychology scholarship within Botswana. One of the crucial areas addressed in this section is the influence of cultural values and practices on the development of sport in Botswana. Young athletes in Botswana may perceive less parental support compared to their counterparts in industrialised nations due to the trivialisation of participation in sport by some parents in Botswana. The next section addresses the role of physical education and sport psychology in Botswana. Even though physical education and sport psychology are new disciplines at the University of Botswana, they play a fundamental role in Botswana's success in international sports. The two Ph.D. trained sport psychologists in the country work with national teams and also engage in collaborative research with acclaimed international scholars. The authors conclude by providing evidence that in Botswana there is clear demand and understanding of what sport psychology is, and its role transcends beyond sport, making major differences in individuals’ personal lives. There is no doubt that Botswana is on the right path and is placed to contribute knowledge to the entire sport psychology world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides practical tips for psychologists working with athletes with disabilities. Minor modifications are potentially needed when teaching psychological skills to athletes with physical disabilities. For example, the tension phase of progressive muscular relaxation may be problematic for individuals with cerebral palsy, progressive muscular relaxation scripts may need to be modified to account for missing or inactive limbs, and the presence or absence of prostheses should be taken into account when doing body awareness or imagery exercises. Fewer adaptations than may be expected are required in terms of content of psychological skills training for athletes with sensory impairments (e.g., individuals who are blind are able to use imagery). Generally, few changes are needed in the content of psychological skills training programmes when working with athletes with physical, intellectual, or sensory disabilities. The main adaptations typically required when working within disabled sport relate to communication issues. Patience and creativity aid work with individuals with physical disabilities that affect their speech (e.g., cerebral palsy) and athletes with intellectual disabilities. Excellence in visual communication (e.g., Power Point, text messaging, video, white boards) is required when working with people with hearing impairments, and expertise in auditory communication (e.g., vivid and accurate descriptions, audio recordings) is needed when working with individuals with visual impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four post-graduate sport psychology students created and conducted an anti-vilification program for adolescents in sport. The program specifically addressed homophobic bullying in a volleyball organization. In the current article we review homophobic bullying in sport and make recommendations for addressing bullying in sport. We provide an in-depth description of the anti-vilification in sport workshops that were developed for state-level volleyball players. A summary of the participant evaluations of the program is provided and modifications to the workshops are suggested. The context and compliance/recruitment of the participants and the reinforcing role of family and school are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal psychological state for peak performance in Australian elite athletes. World championship and Olympic athletes (n= 17) and coaches (n= 6) from rowing, swimming, and diving were interviewed about the psychological states that contribute to peak performance. Results indicated that peak performance is characterized by the automatic execution of performance. A proposed model for the optimal psychological state identifies self-regulation, control, and trust as processes that assist athletes to transition from experiencing a diversity of psychological factors during competition to the automatic psychological state of peak performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-focus and self-presentation traits have been found to predict performance under pressure. The interactionist principle of trait activation indicates that situational demands encourage different traits to be relevant to performance in high-pressure situations. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship of self-focus and self-presentation traits with performance in a private high-pressure setting. Because the private high-pressure situation offered motivational incentives but only minimal self-presentation cues, only a self-focus trait (private self-consciousness), but not self-presentation traits (public self-consciousness and narcissism), was hypothesized to predict performance under pressure in a private setting. After completing personality questionnaires, future physical education university students (N = 59) with experience in sport competitions performed eight throws at a target in low-pressure and high-pressure conditions. The conditions were identical with the exception that the high-pressure condition involved a monetary incentive and a cover story. Participants' state anxiety increased from low to high pressure. Neither self-focus nor self-presentation traits predicted performance under low pressure. Only the self-focus trait, but not self-presentation traits, negatively contributed to the prediction of high-pressure performance. Hence, findings support the applicability of the trait activation principle and underline that the situational demands of private high-pressure situations activate self-focus personality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the sport psychology community there is a growing interest regarding how to engage in culturally sensitive (and also relevant) research. A research collaboration among Laurentian University and Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve is reflected through indigenous strategies relevant in the intended community, including negotiation and consensus building, talking circles, culturally relevant analyses, active co-authoring, and overarching considerations that support de-colonization. Within this report we have shared our progressive integration of Wikwemikong's cultural practices in successive multicultural prolects. We have also proposed how, from our regional experiences in Near Northern Ontario (Canada), collaborators from other marginalized and mainstream communities might begin engaging in reflective bicultural sport psychology research while developing long-standing positive relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self- and peer-assessment are being used increasingly in higher education, to help assign grades to students' work and to help students to learn more effectively. However, in spite of this trend there is little in the published literature on how students view these methods. In this paper we present an analysis of the views of a large number of students (N = 233) who had just experienced self- and peer-feedback as part of one of their subjects. It is a rarely questioned commonplace in the literature that in order to gain benefit from peer and self-assessment schemes students first need training in the specific scheme being used; ideally they will play a role in devising the scheme. The intervention reported here, which involved a large (N = 233) group of students, included no such measures. The results show that students felt, nonetheless, that they benefited from the intervention. The results also present prima facie evidence that training or other measures to further involve the students in the peer and self-assessment scheme might be beneficial. Our analysis of students' views revealed eight general dimensions under which are grouped twenty higher order themes. The results both support and extend previous research and give a more detailed picture than previously available. The general dimensions found were: Difficult; Gained Better Understanding of Marking; Discomfort; Productive (including learning benefits and improved work); Problems with Implementation; Read Others' Work; Develop Empathy (with assessing staff); and, Motivation (especially motivation to impress peers). The practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a mental skills training program for athletes with physical disabilities. A group of six internationally competitive wheelchair and amputee athletes participated in a mental skills training program which was developed on the basis of their self-reported psychological skills. The program included goal setting, controlling arousal levels, developing concentration and attention skills, imagery, self-talk, self-confidence, competition preparation, and controlling problem situations. Taking into account changes in knowledge and use of the various skills, the mental skills sessions on imagery, positive self-talk, and controlling problem situations had the greatest impact on the subjects from a purely quantitative point of view. on a qualitative basis, it was found that abdominal breathing exercises provided concentration and relaxation benefits for athletes with no use of abdominal muscles, that personalised progressive muscular relaxation tapes may be beneficial for some, and that whether or not an amputee is wearing the prosthesis influences their imagery skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]