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Age of first exposure to tackle football and head impact kinematics have been used to examine the effect of head impacts on mental health outcomes. These measures coupled with retrospective and cross-sectional designs have contributed to conflicting results. The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of one season of head impact exposure, age of first exposure to football, and psychological need satisfaction on acute mental health outcomes in adolescent football players.This prospective single-season cohort study used sensor-installed mouthguards to collect head impact exposure along with surveys to assess age of first exposure to football, psychological satisfaction, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and thriving from football players at four high schools (n = 91). Linear regression was used to test the association of head impact exposure, age of first exposure, and psychological satisfaction with acute mental health outcomes.A total of 9,428 impacts were recorded with a mean of 102 ± 113 impacts/player. Cumulative head impact exposure and age of first exposure were not associated with acute mental health outcomes at postseason or change scores from preseason to postseason. Greater psychological satisfaction was associated with fewer depressive symptoms (β = -0.035, SE = 0.008, p =.001), fewer anxiety symptoms (β = -0.021, SE = 0.008, p = .010), and greater thriving scores (β = 0.278, SE = 0.040, p =.001) at postseason.This study does not support the premise that greater single-season head impact exposure or earlier age of first exposure to tackle football is associated with worse acute mental health indicators over the course of a single season in adolescent football players.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to examine head-impact exposure by intensity level and position group, and to test the hypothesis that there would be an increase in cumulative head-impact exposure between drill intensities after controlling for duration in each level with air recording the lowest frequency and magnitude and live recording the highest: air < bags < control < thud < live. METHODS We conducted a prospective, multisite study in 1 season with players from 3 high school football teams (n = 74). Each player wore a sensor-installed mouthguard, which monitored head-impact frequency, peak linear acceleration (PLA), and peak rotational acceleration (PRA). Practice drills and games were categorized by level of contact. RESULTS A total of 7312 impacts were recorded with a median of 67 (interquartile range:128) impacts per player. After controlling for duration, increases in head-impact outcomes by level of contact were observed (air < bags = control < thud = live). Live drills had higher cumulative head-impact frequency (45.4 ± 53.0 hits) and magnitude (PLA: 766.3 ± 932.9 g; PRA: 48.9 ± 61.3 kilorad/s2) per player than other levels (P < .0001). In comparison, air drills had the lowest cumulative frequency (4.2 ± 6.9 hits) and magnitude (PLA: 68.0 ± 121.6 g; PRA: 6.4 ± 13.2 kilorad/s2). CONCLUSIONS These data support the levels-of-contact system as a practical approach to limiting head-impact exposure in tackle football. Our findings are clinically important, because data have begun to suggest the relationship between chronic head-impact exposure and decline in brain health. Since head-impact exposure was influenced by levels of contact, regulation of the duration of certain drill intensities (eg, thud, live) may associate with reduced head-impact exposure in high school football.

Physical activity during adolescence is associated with positive health outcomes, yet only 26% of US middle and high school students report daily physical activity. Moreover, the number of high school students playing a sport is declining, with the largest decline in football. One reason for this decline in playing football may be increased attention to the risk of head injury. For public health, the decline is alarming because football offers a physical activity opportunity for millions of young people every year. In response, efforts have been made to institute measures to enhance the safety of football. The objective of this topical review was to review these measures and the data supporting their effectiveness. We conducted a search of scientific literature supplemented by a web search to identify safety measures. We used the Indiana University library electronic database, PubMed, and web browser searches with specific search terms. In addition to peer-reviewed studies, we searched news stories and reports from sport-related organizations. We summarized the measures and evaluations of effectiveness and categorized the measures by type (game rules, practice guidelines, equipment innovations, strategic initiatives) and target age group (elementary/middle school, high school, college, professional). We found that attempts are being made to improve the safety of football at all levels. However, many measures lack scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. Therefore, researchers need to systematically evaluate safety measures. By implementing evidence-based interventions, we can balance the public health risk of playing football versus the public health risk of continued declines in participation.

Little is known about the individual factors, such as knowledge and attitudes (i.e., football safety knowledge, football attitudes), related to adults’ willingness to allow adolescents to participate in tackle football. To address this gap, this study examined the extent to which football safety knowledge and attitudes toward head injury risk are associated with adults’ willingness to allow teenage boys to play high school tackle football. Data were obtained from an internet-based survey of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18 to 93 years (n = 1,018). We conducted multilevel linear regression modelling to examine independent effects of the football safety knowledge- and attitude-based predictors. Our analyses revealed that knowledge of football safety measures, along with four of the five attitude-based variables were significantly associated with adults’ willingness to allow teenagers to participate in tackle football, over and above demographic factors. This study provides the first nationally representative examination of willingness to allow tackle football participation while extending our understanding of the gap between policy, public perception, and behavior present in U.S. high school football. These results point to promising directions for stakeholders aiming to increase tackle football participation as an increased understanding of the factors associated with participation may help inform effective policymaking, intervention design, and parental decision making.

Social media has provided athletes with a novel public forum that includes access to fans, family members, opponents, and others. These interactions unfold in real time via established social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as well as on less widely used, newly emerging apps. This chapter considers the increasing prevalence of social media use among athletes and examines the available research concerning the effects of social media on athletes’ psychological well-being. Developmental considerations for young athletes are discussed along with both the positive and negative dimensions of social media participation. The implications for clinical sport psychologists include the need to recognize added pressures that public scrutiny of an athlete’s performance on social media can entail as well as the potentially enduring consequences of an athlete’s social media postings.

USA Football established five levels-of-contact to guide the intensity of high school football practices. The objective of this study was to examine head impact frequency and magnitude by levels-of-contact to determine which drills had the greatest head impact exposure. Our primary hypothesis was that there would be an incremental increase in season-long head impact exposure between levels-of-contact: air100g) head impacts were more frequently observed during live and thud drills. Level-of-contact influences cumulative head impact frequency and magnitude in high-school football, with players incurring frequent, high magnitude head impacts during live, thud, and control. It is important to consider level-of-contact to refine clinical exposure guidelines to minimize head impact burden in high-school football.

PurposeUSA Football established five levels of contact (LOC) to guide the intensity of high school football practices. However, it remains unclear whether head impact exposure differs by LOC. The purpose of this study was to examine head impact frequency and magnitude by LOC in the overall sample and three position groups.MethodsThis longitudinal observational study included 24 high school football players during all practices and games in the 2019 season. Players wore a sensor-installed mouthguard that monitored head impact frequency, peak linear acceleration (PLA), and rotational head acceleration (PRA). Practice/game drills were filmed and categorized into 5 LOCs (air, bags, control, thud, live), and head impact data were assigned into 5 LOCs. Player position was categorized into linemen, hybrid, and skill.ResultsA total of 6016 head impacts were recorded during 5 LOCs throughout the season. In the overall sample, total number of impacts, sum of PLA, and PRA per player increased in an incremental manner (air

The objective of the study was to examine the association between diffusion MRI techniques [diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation/dispersion density imaging (NODDI)] and brain-injury blood biomarker levels [Tau, neurofilament-light (NfL), glial-fibrillary-acidic-protein (GFAP)] in high-school football and cross-country runners at their baseline, aiming to detect cumulative neuronal damage from prior seasons. Twenty-five football players and 8 cross-country runners underwent MRI and blood biomarker measures during preseason data collection. The whole-brain, tract-based spatial statistics was conducted for six diffusion metrics: fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial/radial diffusivity (AD, RD), neurite density index (NDI), and orientation dispersion index (ODI). Diffusion metrics and blood biomarker levels were compared between groups and associated within each group. The football group showed lower AD and MD than the cross-country group in various axonal tracts of the right hemisphere. Elevated ODI was observed in the football group in the right hemisphere of the corticospinal tract. Blood biomarker levels were consistent between groups except for elevated Tau levels in the cross-country group. Tau level was positively associated with MD and negatively associated with NDI in the corpus callosum of football players, but not in cross-country runners. Our data suggest that football players may develop axonal microstructural abnormality. Levels of MD and NDI in the corpus callosum were associated with serum Tau levels, highlighting the vulnerability of the corpus callosum against cumulative head impacts. Despite observing multimodal associations in some brain areas, neuroimaging and blood biomarkers may not strongly correlate to reflect the severity of brain damage.

Despite the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in decision making, there is a dearth of empirical literature concerned with working memory and how it relates to tactical decision making in sport. The temporal occlusion paradigm has often been used by sport researchers to improve tactical decision making and, thus, provides a well-established foundation for creating decision-making trainings. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore the implementation of computer-based learning modules to improve the tactical decision making of four high school quarterbacks with varying levels of WMC, utilizing a single-subject, multiple baseline design. The learning modules utilized a temporal occlusion paradigm and present a novel intervention aimed at improving decision making in quarterbacks. Data were analyzed using visual analysis and improvement rate difference (IRD). Overall, results did not demonstrate a causal relationship between changes in accuracy of decision making after implementation of the learning modules but did provide moderate evidence for improvement in reaction time for decision making due to the learning modules. The learning modules were met with positive perceptions from the four participants, and the participant with the lowest WMC showed evidence of improvement in both accuracy and speed of decision making. Limitations as well as implications will be discussed.

This study explored the implementation of a 90-min Attitude of Gratitude workshop among 51 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I student-athletes. Levels of state gratitude, psycholog...

Twitter, the popular social-media platform, is a staple in intercollegiate athletics. Although it is often regarded merely as a pastime, Twitter boasts advantages and disadvantages to college student athletes and their programs. This is primarily due to the nature of interactions and exchanges that take place between student athletes and the general public, be they fans, critics, or somewhere in between. Using a semistructured protocol, the researchers conducted a 75-min focus-group interview with 7 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I student athletes to examine the psychological impacts of Twitter use. A modified version of consensual qualitative research was used for data analysis. Results indicated that student athletes were heavily influenced and affected by Twitter use across various domains in their lives. Participants reflected on both advantages (e.g., avenue for advocacy and moral support and promoting team cohesion) and disadvantages (e.g., receipt of critical tweets and detrimental performance implications) of using the microblogging platform, thereby corroborating extant literature and providing a more balanced perspective of Twitter’s resulting impact. The researchers explicated practical implications including improved social-media training and the development of best practices to support student athletes in their responsible use of Twitter. Further research is necessary to better understand the differences in experiences of student athletes competing in revenue-generating sports compared with those competing in non-revenue-generating sports.

The present study explored the relationships among gratitude, sport satisfaction, athlete burnout, and perceived social support among college student-athletes in the United States. Participants (N = 293) from 16 different types of sports at 8 NCAA Division I and III institutions were surveyed. Results indicated gratitude was negatively correlated with burnout and positively correlated with sport satisfaction, suggesting that athletes who reported more general gratitude also experienced lower levels of burnout and greater levels of satisfaction with their college sport experience. Perceived social support was found to be a mediator in both relationships. Limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

We examined the supervision experience of graduate trainees in applied sport psychology. Semistructured interviews conducted with sport psychology trainees were analyzed through the use of consensual qualitative research methodology. Three domains emerged from the analysis: programmatic factors, supervision process, and supervision content. The results provide insights (e.g., desired supervisor qualities) into the aspects of supervision that trainees feel address their needs, as well as instances in which the supervision experience could be improved. The findings may have implications (e.g., areas of potential growth for sport psychology supervision) for future research directions on supervision in applied sport psychology and could offer potential areas of consideration for current supervisors.

Helicopter parenting, an observed phenomenon on college campuses, may adversely affect college students. The authors examined how helicopter parenting is related to self-efficacy and peer relationships among 190 undergraduate students ages 16 to 28 years. Helicopter parenting was associated with low self-efficacy, alienation from peers, and a lack of trust among peers. Implications are provided for counselors and psychologists in college- and university-based counseling centers to help them to understand and provide assessment and treatment for adult children of helicopter parents.

Music use in golf receives minimal attention from both applied and empirical perspectives. Golfers, coaches, and sport psychology practitioners alike may benefit from understanding and utilizing music within their work. Since music use in golf has become an increasingly common practice, the purpose of the current study was to investigate current music use among golfers using a qualitative approach. Researchers aimed to identify potential psychological and physiological effects derived from music use during golf practice and pre-performance, given the limited empirical research in this area to date. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten amateur and semi-professional golfers (five male, five female, Mage = 22.9 years, SD = 5.04 years). Consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology was used to analyze the interview data. Six domains emerged from the CQR analysis regarding participants&rsquo, self-reported music use in golf: tempo, attention, physiological regulation, psychological regulation, effects of music on performance perceptions, and context (to use or not to use). Given the capacity of carefully selected music to elicit profound affective, neurophysiological, and behavioral responses, there is clear potential for mental performance consultants to utilize music in working with golfers in training contexts. Implications, caveats, and future research recommendations are provided.

As a mechanism for collaborative group learning, we have designed a psychoeducational group curriculum that utilizes social justice principles within a liberation framework to address societal marginalization of American Indian communities. The curriculum within this proposed psychoeducational group format helps educators facilitate student exploration of societal portrayals of American Indians with the intent of developing action plans to address social injustice. Students exposed to the curriculum within this psychoeducational group will be equipped with critical thinking skills to transform their emerging social justice awareness and knowledge into social justice skills. Additionally, educators who lead this group can become social justice role models for others by using this experience to address issues of oppression and marginalization that are manifest in other forms in society.

Although there appears to be greater acceptance and use of sport psychology (SP), fully integrating SP consultants and services into college athletic programs has yet to occur in most institutions. Decisions to initiate, continue, or terminate SP services are often made by coaches. Therefore, college coaches with access to services were interviewed to explore their beliefs and expectations about SP service use and how an SP consultant could work effectively with them and their athletes. Using consensual qualitative research methods, three domains in coaches’ perceptions of SP consultants were revealed: who they are, what they do, and how they do it. Findings illustrate the importance of being “on the same page” with coaches, developing self-reliant athletes, and making an impact while remaining in a supporting role.

Research has shown that disruptive circumstances in an athlete's career (temporary injury, permanent injury, retirement) can pose significant difficulties, especially if the athlete has developed a salient athletic identity at the expense of a multidimensional self-concept. The authors present an interpersonal psychotherapy approach to case conceptualization with student athletes that can be effective because of its brief nature and focus on grief, role transitions, interpersonal deficits, and interpersonal disputes. Keywords: student athletes, retirement, injury, sport, interpersonal psychotherapy ********** Approximately 460,000 college students participate in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned athletics every year (NCAA, 2012), and these student athletes face the demands of dual roles: that of university student and of elite amateur athlete (Fletcher, Benshoff, & Richburg, 2003; Ford, 2007; Watson, 2002). Parham (1993) identified six demands or challenges confronting student athletes: (a) balancing athletic and academic endeavors; (b) balancing social activities with the isolation from athletic pursuits; (c) balancing athletic success or lack of success; (d) balancing one's physical health and injuries; (e) balancing several relationships, including with coaches, parents, family, and friends; and (f) dealing with the termination of one's athletic career. Because of the sheer number of student athletes and the multitude of issues they face, it is imperative for counseling professionals to be aware of how one's identity as an athlete influences how a student athlete addresses these challenges. Specifically, mental health professionals need to be equipped with a theoretical framework that can be effective in counseling student athletes through these challenges. Based on its time-limited structure and focus on important interpersonal areas of life (e.g., grief, role transitions, interpersonal disputes, and interpersonal deficits), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT; Klerman & Weissman, 1993) is an example of a potentially effective theoretical orientation to use with student athletes. In this article, we provide practitioners with background on how the role of client identity--particularly a salient athletic identity--affects student athletes' psychosocial functioning. Clinical vignettes are included to illustrate how a counselor can conceptualize student athletes' issues that are relevant to this population (i.e., temporary injury, permanent injury, and retirement) through the lens of an IPT framework. Identity Theory A person's self-concept is widely viewed as a multidimensional structure that is composed of his or her feelings and thoughts about the self within various aspects of life (Higgins, 1987; Linville, 1985, 1987). This multifaceted nature of the self-concept provides multiple lenses through which to view the world and allows people to activate different lenses at different times to facilitate the processing of information and experiences (Ryska, 2002). The more often the identity becomes activated and reinforced through interactions with others, the more salient it becomes to a person. According to Stryker (1968), identity salience can be conceptualized as the probability that a given identity will be activated in a given situation. The importance of a given role begins to define people's core identity through which they interpret most, if not all, situations. People will choose to participate in activities that are consistent with more highly developed and central aspects of their self-concept, and they will be more satisfied with relationships that tend to validate highly salient dimensions of their self-concept (Cornelius, 1995). If one identity (e.g., athletic identity) receives greater recognition and acknowledgment than another (e.g., academic identity), then more time will be spent focusing on and developing the athletic identity at the expense of the other aspects of one's life (Hoberman, 2000). …

Identifying practices of masculinity socialization that contribute to the establishment of gender privilege can help address violence and bullying in schools (Connell, 1996). Because the sport of football is considered an important contributor to masculinity construction, establishing peer networks, and creating hierarchies of student status, this study examined the influence of social norms (i.e., moral atmosphere, meanings of adolescent masculinity) on bullying beliefs and behaviors of 206 high school football players. Results demonstrated that moral atmosphere (Peer Influence, Influential Male Figure) and adherence to male role norms significantly predicted bullying, but the strongest predictor was the perception of whether the most influential male in a player’s life would approve of the bullying behavior. In addition to prevention interventions highlighting the role of influential men and masculinity norms in this process, implications for practice suggest that football players can use their peer influence and status as center sport participants to create a school culture that does not tolerate bullying.

Female student athletes often desire a muscular body to be successful in sport, but this body type does not conform to traditional cultural norms of femininity. In this study, the authors qualitatively examined the experiences of female intercollegiate volleyball players to better understand their beliefs about their bodies—both as athletes and as women outside of sport—in addition to whether perceptions about their revealing sports uniforms were related to body image. Results indicated that body image among female student athletes is a multidimensional construct. Participants reported conflicting messages about their bodies in regard to how they look on the court and how they are supposed to look off the court. In addition, results suggested that revealing uniforms contributed to decreased body esteem, and these uniforms also distracted players and impacted on-court performance. Results are interpreted within the framework of objectification theory, and implications for psychologists working with female student athletes are provided.

This study examined on-field antisocial sports behaviors among 274 American football players in the United States. Results indicated that moral atmosphere (i.e., teammate, coach influence) and conformity to masculine norms were significantly related to participants’ moral behavior on the field (i.e., intimidate, risk injury, cheat, intentionally injure opponents). In other words, the perception that coaches and teammates condone on-field antisocial behaviors—in addition to conforming to societal expectations of traditional masculinity—is related to higher levels of antisocial behaviors on the football field. In addition, conformity to traditional masculine norms mediated the relationship between moral atmosphere and on-field aggressive sports behaviors, suggesting a relationship between social norms and moral atmosphere. Results of this interdisciplinary endeavor are interpreted and situated within the extant literature of both the fields of sport psychology and the psychological study of men and masculinity. Sport psychologists can use results to design interventions that incorporate moral atmosphere and conformity to masculine norms in an effort to decrease aggressive sports behaviors in the violent sport of football.

Sport represent an influential institution of masculinity socialization that impacts the psychosocial development of many men in American society. In order to examine this dynamic, we investigated conformity to masculine norms among 523 college football players. Results indicated that participants’ conformity to traditional masculine norms was influenced by year in school, on-field position played, and athletic identity. Results of this interdisciplinary endeavor between the fields of sport psychology and the psychological study of men and masculinity can assist sport psychologists in designing interventions to help football players better understand messages of masculinity conveyed within the unique socialization context of football.

This article describes a multicultural training intervention that addresses American Indian stereotypes perpetuated through the use of American Indians and corresponding imagery as mascots by schools and athletic teams. With the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development's tripartite model of multicultural competence (awareness, knowledge, skills) as a framework, this intervention's description is organized into three components: perspective-taking to facilitate awareness of attitudes about Native-themed mascots, specific knowledge about race-based mascots, and social justice skills that can empower counselors to become advocates for change. This training intervention can help counseling programs provide enhanced multicultural competency training on issues salient to American Indian communities.

This study represents an interdisciplinary endeavor between the fields of sport psychology and the psychological study of men and masculinity. The purpose of this study was to provide a greater understanding of the relationship between traditional masculine norms and help-seeking attitudes within th

Fort Lewis CollegeSport exposes athletes to attributes that are typically associated with traditional mas-culine traits (e.g., individualism, competitiveness, aggressiveness, power). Femaleathletes often participate in sport using standards of traditional male athleticism, yet atthe same time attempt to manage societal expectations of conforming to traditionalfemininity. By exploring conformity to gender norms in sport, we examined therelationship between gender norms, sport participation, and perceptions of body imageamong 143 female student-athletes and nonathletes. Results indicated that femalestudent-athletes and nonathlete female college students did not differ in level ofconformity to feminine norms; however, female student-athletes reported higher levelsof conformity to masculine norms, particularly traditional masculine norms associatedwith sport participation (i.e., winning, risk taking). Additionally, participation inathletics did not signiÞcantly predict body esteem for women. Instead, conformity tothree traditional gender normsÐalong with self-perceptions of being overweightÐaccounted for 53% of the variance in body esteem. Results are discussed in regard topast research and clinical applications.Keywords: Conformity to Masculine Norms (CMNI), Conformity to Feminine Norms(CFNI), body esteem, female college student-athletes, gender socialization in sport

Guided by social constructionist and social norms perspectives on masculinity, this study examined male college football players’ evaluations of crying behavior. Using an experimental design, 150 college football players were randomly assigned to four conditions in which they read different vignettes about Jack, a football player who cries after a football game. Participants who read vignettes of Jack tearing up (vs. sobbing) tended to report higher levels of perceived appropriateness, typicality, and conformity with regard to Jack’s crying behavior. Participants who read vignettes of Jack sobbing after losing (vs. winning) a football game perceived his behavior to be more typical of football players. In addition, the findings are consistent with a model in which perceived appropriateness and typicality of Jack’s crying behavior mediated the association between intensity of tears (tearing up vs. sobbing) and perceived conformity to Jack’s crying behavior. Adherence to the masculine norm of emotional control, perceived appropriateness of Jack’s crying behavior, and perceived conformity to Jack’s crying behavior were significantly associated with participants’ self-esteem. Further, a combination of low perceived appropriateness and high conformity to Jack’s crying behavior was related to lower levels of self-esteem.

With sociocultural norms in American culture suggesting that muscularity is associated with masculinity, men often strive for a muscular physique. Because the psychological research on this drive for muscularity has focused primarily on negative outcomes, our mixed-method study intended to assess the contextual nature of this dynamic by examining muscularity within a functional context (e.g., sport). We assessed the experiences of 197 college football players who operate in this “masculinized” context (e.g., Richman & Shaffer, 2000) where muscularity is viewed functionally (i.e., maximizing athletic performance, minimizing injuries). Quantitative results indicated that athletic identity and certain traditional masculine norms (i.e., risk taking, emotional control, primacy of work) were significantly related to the drive for muscularity among college football players. Qualitative results indicated that football players primarily cited reasons for their desire to be muscular that were related to athletic functioning, while also acknowledging social benefits of external gratification (e.g., physical appearance, conformity, sex appeal) that are more prominent in the drive for muscularity literature. Results of this contextual examination were interpreted within existing theoretical frameworks of social comparison theory, masculinity socialization, and drive for muscularity.

This mixed methods study examined the contextual nature of gender role conflict (GRC). Using a quasi-experimental design, 153 male college football players were randomly assigned to two groups wherein they were instructed to report levels of GRC based on the assigned life domain (within the football environment vs. life outside of football). Results indicated that participants did not differ significantly in levels of GRC across life domains but did reveal that life domain (within the football environment) moderated the significant relationship between Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men (RABBM) and life satisfaction. Qualitative findings provided support for quantitative results and described ways that football players express emotions and affection toward other men within this unique context. Results can help psychologists design interventions that normalize and encourage affective and emotional expression within the domain of football, with the intent of teaching players to transfer these behaviors to life domains outside of football.

This study investigated perspectives of social justice activists who directly advocate for eliminating Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos. Using consensual qualitative research methodology, the research team analyzed transcripts of interviews conducted with 11 social justice activists to generate themes, categories, and domains within the data. The five domains included (a) deleterious impact of Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos; (b) reasons why members of mainstream society might support Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos; (c) reasons why some American Indians might support Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos; (d) frontline advocacy efforts; and (e) coping strategies for advocates. Results provided insights into the sociopsychological processes that allow the misappropriation of American Indian culture, symbols, and imagery in sport to continue to exist in society. Findings can help counseling psychologists understand the experiences of social justice activists while also highlighting ways that the field can support efforts to eliminate race-based mascots, nicknames, and logos.

Female athletes in the United States face the paradoxical challenge of acquiring a degree of muscularity to be successful in their sport, yet they also endure pressure from societal expectations of femininity that often don’t conform with the notion of muscularity. To address research questions about how female student-athletes balance muscularity and femininity, we conducted a mixed-methods study to examine muscularity beliefs among female student-athletes, female college students, and male college student-athletes. We quantitatively examined Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) scores from 221 participants attending college in the Midwestern US. Results indicated that female student-athletes reported significantly higher DMS scores than female students, but male student-athletes reported the highest DMS scores in the sample. Qualitative results indicated that female student-athletes wanted to be muscular for these reasons: functionality (45%), health (42%), external gratification (21%), and internal gratification (18%). Only 16% of female student-athletes did not want to be muscular, whereas every male student-athlete reported a desire to be muscular. The results of this study can be used to better understand the unique drive for muscularity among athletes, particularly female college student-athletes who live the paradox of negotiating societal standards of femininity with this desire to be muscular. This enhanced understanding can help create more nuanced interventions for coaches, administrators, and mental health professionals to use to help female student-athletes create space to resist constraining societal gender ideologies. Doing so can help these student-athletes actualize their athletic potential on the field as well as their interpersonal and intrapersonal potential off the field.

This qualitative study investigated three novice counselors’ experiences and characterizations of therapeutic relationships. Thematic analyses of interviews and diaries revealed six common themes: (a) the centrality of supervision and training experiences to navigating interpersonal experiences with clients; (b) anxiety about counselors’ roles in therapeutic relationships; (c) the perception of the therapeutic relationship as less directive than outside (lay) helping relationships; (d) experimentation with different interpersonal styles; (e) awareness of countertransference; and, (f) impact of therapeutic relationships on outside relationships. Findings expand upon the therapeutic relationship as a focal point for the training and supervision of novice counselors.

Gender role conflict (GRC) theory emphasizes social influences on masculine gender role expectations that produce negative outcomes among men. Because sport represents an influential domain in which boys learn expectations associated with manhood, this study explored masculinity socialization among high school football players through the lens of GRC. At the p < .05 significance criterion level, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and multiple regression results suggest that year-in-school and athletic identity predicted differential levels of GRC, whereas year-in-school and restrictive emotionality predicted help-seeking attitudes. Findings can help sport psychologists assist adolescent males in making lessons learned on the gridiron applicable to relationships, to the classroom, and other domains of life outside of football.

This study examined racial and athletic identity among African American football players at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Negotiating the dualism of racial and athletic identities can be problematic because both roles are subject to prejudice and discrimination, particularly for student-athletes in revenue-producing sports like football. Results indicated that seniors at both institution types reported significantly lower levels of Public Regard and that lower levels of Public Regard predicted higher levels of college adjustment. Senior football players reported a greater acknowledgment that society does not value African Americans, and this acknowledgment predicted greater college adjustment. No differences between institution types in racial Centrality emerged, but football players at PWIs reported higher levels of Athletic Identity. By garnering a better understanding of the psychosocial needs of African American football players, these results can inform college student personnel who can prioritize facilitating student-athlete academic and life skills with the same attention given to ensuring their athletic success.

This study examines the prevalence of endorsing the twelve step approach and the use of prayer, meditation, and holistic techniques in a national sample of 139 substance abuse treatment centers. Ninety one percent of the programs endorsed a twelve step orientation. Twenty six percent of the programs actively used prayer and 58% used meditation as a component of treatment. Thirty three percent of the programs used some form of a self-designated holistic technique. There was a divergent range of techniques that were used by programs, falling into four broad categories: (1) nutrition, exercise, relaxation and physical health; (2) recreation and adventure-based activities; (3) religious and spiritual practices; and (4) the use of specific therapy modalities.

The goal of this study was to identify diverse profiles of Asian American women’s and men’s adherence to values that are salient in Asian cultures (i.e., conformity to norms, family recognition through achievement, emotional self-control, collectivism, and humility). To this end, the authors conducted a latent profile analysis using the 5 subscales of the Asian American Values Scale-Multidimensional in a sample of 214 Asian Americans. The analysis uncovered a four-cluster solution. In general, Clusters 1 and 2 were characterized by relatively low and moderate levels of adherence to the 5 dimensions of cultural values, respectively. Cluster 3 was characterized by the highest level of adherence to the cultural value of family recognition through achievement, whereas Cluster 4 was typified by the highest levels of adherence to collectivism, emotional self-control, and humility. Clusters 3 and 4 were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms than Cluster 1. Furthermore, Asian American women and Asian American men had lower odds of being in Cluster 4 and Cluster 3, respectively. These findings attest to the importance of identifying specific patterns of adherence to cultural values when examining the relationship between Asian Americans’ cultural orientation and mental health status.

The purpose of this study was to investigate alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and the frequency of past month alcohol use in a national sample of adolescents. Data were drawn from 18,314 adolescents who participated in the 2006 and 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Variables included religiosity, alcohol use attitudes, and past month frequency of alcohol use. Structural equation modeling was used to test alcohol use attitudes as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use and to test model invariance across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Results suggest that alcohol use attitudes partially mediate the relationship between religiosity and frequency of alcohol use. Furthermore, while the pattern of these relationships is similar across racial/ethnic groups, the magnitude of alcohol use attitudes on frequency of alcohol use differed. Implications for prevention programs include targeting alcohol use attitudes in a variety of settings.

This study investigated racial attitudes about American Indians that are electronically expressed in newspaper online forums by examining the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and logo used for their athletic teams. Using a modified Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology to analyze over 1,000 online forum comments, the research team generated themes, domains, and core ideas from the data. The core ideas included (a) surprise, (b) power and privilege, (c) trivialization, and (d) denigration. The findings indicated that a critical mass of online forum comments represented ignorance about American Indian culture and even disdain toward American Indians by providing misinformation, perpetuating stereotypes, and expressing overtly racist attitudes toward American Indians. Results of this study were explained through the lens of White power and privilege, as well as through the framework of two-faced racism (Picca & Feagin, 2007). Results provide support to previous findings that indicate the presence of Native-themed mascots, nicknames, or logos can negatively impact the psychological well-being of American Indians.

This study investigated attitudes toward Native-themed mascots in the context of color-blind racial attitudes. Results indicate that higher color-blind racial attitudes are related to lower awareness of the offensiveness of Native-themed mascots. The researchers tested the effectiveness of a training intervention designed to produce attitudinal change among master’s level counseling students. Results demonstrate that the training intervention produced significantly greater attitudinal change than did a general training session on culturally sensitive counseling practices with American Indian clients, particularly among students with high color-blind racial attitudes. Results also indicate that this training intervention on Native-themed mascots contributed to lower color-blind racial attitudes, thus increasing the students’ awareness of societal racism. Psychological training programs may benefit from augmenting their multicultural counseling curriculum by specifically addressing the offensive nature of Native-themed mascots. An awareness of the marginalization of American Indians, particularly as it involves racialized mascots, can reduce color-blind racial attitudes, and may provide psychologists with a more comprehensive understanding of aspects of the reality of American Indian clients that contribute to their worldview.