Purpose This study was conducted to investigate the appropriateness of the concept of condition for athletes and to conceptualize condition in a way suitable for field and then to produce a tool to test condition that reflects usability. Methods 30 college athletes and national athletes with more than 5 years of experience were selected. In the conceptual review stage, the appropriateness of the concept of condition was verified. In the conditional element collection stage, the condition concept reflecting usability was extracted. In the development stage of the conditional questionnaire, a condition questionnaire was developed in consultation with the data provider to reflect usability. Results Previous studies on the condition of athletes were complicated and the necessity for consideration of usability was raised. As a result of conceptualization with consideration of the application to the sport scene, condition in a scene is summarized into both physical and psychological states. As a result of the appropriateness evaluation of the tool that produced the condition inspection tool reflecting the condition element based on universality and peculiarity of conditionality, the athletes evaluated that the condition inspection tool properly reflects condition, is easy to apply and can be used for condition control. Conclusion The development and application of psychological testing instruments reflecting usability will accelerate the application of sports psychology in the appropriate direction. The reflection of usability will contribute not only to the reliability and validity of the psychological testing tools used in the field of sports psychology, but also to the improvement of the possibility of intervention by leaders and athletes, the convenience of development procedures, and the utility of response results.
PURPOSE This study aims to analyze elective courses in overseas physical education curricula and explore directions to improve the national physical education curriculum. METHODS Physical education curricula from the Ontario Ministry of Education and New South Wales Department of Education, and an administrative announcement book of the 2022 Revised Physical Education Curriculum were collected and analyzed. RESULTS The Ontario physical education curriculum offers a range of elective subjects that fit students’ need to enter universities and colleges. It also has a systematic curriculum flowchart within elective courses. The NSW physical education places importance on learning life skills and offers content-endorsed courses that comprises core studies and optional modules. CONCLUSIONS This study clarified the differences between the learning content of elective subjects and suggested the necessity of developing plans to provide students with effective course path.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the alienation and the overcoming process of the physical activity participation of people with Adventitious Visual Impairment(AVI) Methods 21 Adults with AVI were recruited and one on one semi-structured interview was conducted. Ground theory was used to analyze the data. Member check, peer debriefing was conducted to enhance the trustworthiness of this study. Results As a result, a total of 203 concepts were derived. This consisted of 21 subcategories and the common themes of the subcategories were categorized into nine categories. Specific results are as follows. First, the physical activity of people with AVI was directly affected by the sports facilities, physical activity programs, and professional instructor. This causal condition resulted in the loss of leisure experience in the context of the busy daily life and the depressed psychological state. Second, due to the perceived need of health care and the positive involvement of others, people with AVI came to expect the effect of exercise. Third, people with AVI participated in physical activity again as a tool to achieve the purpose of health improvement. This type of physical activity has a limitation that it can not guarantee the continuity of physical activity due to the limitation that it does not contain autonomy and interest of people with AVI. Conclusions Based on these results, the following suggestions were made. First, it is necessary to improve the environment for ensuring participation in physical activity of people with AVI. Moreover education and promotion of the effects and values of the exercise should be carried out for people with AVI and their guardians. Second, it is necessary to diversify physical activity types and reconstruct existing exercise programs.
PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on elite youth athletes by investigating their activities and eating habits before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This study included 917 elite adult athletes from 19 sports and were grouped into 6. The questionnaire included items regarding demographics, physical activity, sleep, and eating habits before and after COVID-19. A total of 44 questions requiring subjective short answers were included. Statistical significance was set at p< 0.05. RESULTS After COVID-19, vigorous and moderate activity decreased across all sports; however, light activity increased in almost sports. Time spent sitting increased across all sports. The difference in the number of meals consumed varied among sports, and the number of competitions decreased in all sports. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be finished but has not ended yet. Athletes must determine the best way to maintain their physical, physiological, and psychological states close to their original abilities. Determining this will provide the greatest impact on the return of athletes after COVID-19; this study will be helpful.
PURPOSE This study investigated the associations between mental health and physical activity with all-cause mortality in persons with disability. METHODS A total of 595 participants (39.3% women) aged 45≥ years, who participated in the Korean longitudinal study of aging (KLoSA) were included in this study. The Korean version of mini-mental state examination (K-MMSE) and the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D) were used to assess cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms, respectively. The participants were classified into active and inactive groups based on physical activity of 150 min/week. Cox’s proportional regression analyses were used to determine the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of mental health and physical activity relating to all-cause mortality. RESULTS During the follow-up period (11.8±4.1 years), a total of 218 (36.6%) deaths occurred from all-causes. Participants in the inactive group had significantly higher cognitive impairment (p =0.046), depressive symptoms (p =0.001), and all-cause mortality (p=0.037) than those in the active group. Compared to participants in the normal (HR=1), cognitive impairment (HR=2.229, 95% CI=1.645-3.020, p<0.001), and depressive symptoms groups (HR=1.542, 95% CI=1.136-2.091, p<0.001), those in the inactive group had significantly higher HR related to all-cause mortality. However, in the active group, cognitive function and depressive symptoms were not associated with all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS The current finding suggests that the promotion of physical activity may play an important role in preventing premature death from all-causes in persons with disability, especially among those with mental health problems.
PURPOSE This study aimed to develop and implement a customized mental plan program to facilitate an optimal psychological state and peak performance among para shooting athletes. It also sought to empirically verify this program’s psychological effects by focusing on improvements in concentration, confidence, and relaxation. METHODS A total of six para shooting athletes who had earned medals in the Paralympic Games underwent six program sessions that were designed and implemented based on attention-related psychological factors identified through open-ended surveys and in-depth interviews. RESULTS The athletes’ attention was facilitated by task-focused behavior, breathing control, performance routines, and physical condition management. Meanwhile, their concentration was hindered by task-irrelevant thoughts, negative physical states, and external distractions. These factors were further categorized according to competition phase: the day before, precompetition, and during competition. Based on the statistical analysis, significant improvements were observed in the athletes’ concentration, confidence, and relaxation. CONCLUSIONS The custom program was practically effective as an intervention for psychological skills tailored to experienced para shooting athletes’ individual needs. The findings offer valuable insights for developing strategies supporting the psychological states of athletes in disabled sports.
PURPOSE Players’ nonverbal behavior during a game may be expressed through selfregulatory and intentional processes, where nonverbal cues are strategically used to achieve specific outcomes. This study aimed to observe and explore the strategic and intentional nonverbal behaviors utilized by table tennis players. METHODS The study utilized a grounded theory methodology and involved purposeful sampling of ten adult table tennis players. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. The collected data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. RESULTS The findings revealed that players’ intentional nonverbal behaviors are influenced by their confidence levels, physical condition, and perceptions of others’ nonverbal cues. Throughout this process, players underwent various emotional experiences, worked to maintain a positive mental state, and experienced changes in both their behaviors and psychological states, which impacted the flow of the game. CONCLUSIONS This study’s results provide valuable insights into the role of intentional nonverbal behaviors utilized by athletes during competitions. This suggests that understanding and incorporating intentional nonverbal behavior should be a key consideration in sports psychology counseling and psychological skills training.
