Fabio Lucidi *, Arnaldo Zelli ** and Luca Mallia */**
(*) Department of Development and Socialization Processes Psychology, “Sapienza” - University of Rome, Rome, Italy
(**) Department of Education Sciences in Sport and Physical Activity, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Rome, Italy
The present research focused on the general hypothesis that moral disengagement, which involves individuals’ specific means to deactivate moral censures, may partly account for adolescents’ propensity to use doping substances. It also summarised novel analyses from a comprehensive dataset involving 1,975 Italian highschool students, which firstly showed that different mechanisms of moral disengagement loaded on a single dimension and, secondly, evidenced that moral disengagement had reciprocal longitudinal relations with a series of doping-related variables, namely, positive attitudes, self-regulatory efficacy to resist social pressure for doping, social norms concerning approval for doping use, and doping intentions. Furthermore, these patterns of social-cognitive relations partly accounted for adolescents’ use of doping. Thirdly, a series of analyses tested whether the relations among these variables vary with participants’ sport motivational orientations. The findings of the present study emphasise the importance of moral disengagement in the complex system of psychological variables that can influence the choice of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Keywords: Adolescents, Doping use, Moral disengagement, Social cognitive determinants, Task and Ego orientation
Anja Fink, Katharina Fischler, Christian Raschner, Carolin Hildebrandt, Larissa Ledochowski and Martin Kopp
Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
This study examined the relationship between parenting practices and competitive trait anxiety in artistic and rhythmic gymnasts. Questionnaires were administered to 170 Austrian female gymnasts (M age = 12 years) and assessed perceptions of parenting practices as well as levels of competitive trait anxiety. A significant influence of directive behaviour on dimensions of competitive trait anxiety was detected for the total sample. Although artistic and rhythmic gymnastics show many similarities, results reveal significant differences between these sports. Rhythmic gymnasts show considerable differences between perceived and desired parenting practices and experience more directive behaviour and pressure from their parents than artistic gymnasts. Perceived parenting practices influence the levels of competitive trait anxiety in female gymnasts and should therefore be taken into account when developing coping skills for competitive anxiety.
Keywords: Artistic gymnastics, Competitive trait anxiety, Parenting practices, Parental involvement in sport, Rhythmic gymnastics
Angela Nogueira Neves Betanho Campana *, Viren Swami **/***, Fabiane Frota Da Rocha Morgado ****, Mateus Betanho Campana ****, Jairo José Morgado *****, Lucilene Ferreira * and Maria Da Consolação Gomes Cunha Fernandes Tavares ****
(*) Sagrado Coração University, Bauru, Brazil
(**) Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
(***) Department of Psychology, HELP University College, Malaysia
(****) Department of Physical Education, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
(*****) Brazilian Army Research Institute of Physical Fitness, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The aim of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Brief Body Avoidance and Checking Scale (BBACS) for physically active men. The BBACS is designed to assess the frequency of body checking and avoidance behaviors common among users of gyms and health clubs. Following development of an initial pool of items and content judgment, data from 325 men were collected from gym users and participants in organized sporting events. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit for a model with two factors and 12 items. Satisfactory evidence of construct validity and internal consistency was also generated through analysis of factor loadings, t-values, correlations with drive for muscularity and body satisfaction measures, group differences, Cronbach’s alpha, and construct reliability tests. The BBACS appears to be a valid and reliable scale for assessing the frequency of body checking and body avoidance behaviors among physically active men.
Keywords: Avoidance behavior, Checking behavior, Psychometric properties
Gabriele Prati and Luca Pietrantoni
Department of Psychology, Alma mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between leadership behaviors and objective performance in relation to the assumptions of the Multidimensional Model of Leadership. Fifty-nine volley players and fifty-eight soccer players from the north of Italy completed the Leadership Scale for Sports. Athletesâ
Keywords: Group-level effects, Leadership, Leadership Scale for Sports, Objective performance, Soccer, Team sport, Volleyball
Divyata Sohal, Misha Gervis and Daniel Rhind
School of Sport and Education, Brunel University, India
Research on experiences of Indian athletes is limited. This is the first study that explored the organizational stressors experienced by Indian elite female athletes and the impact on their psychological well-being. Ten participants were interviewed on their experiences with sport organizations in preparation for international tournaments. Drawing on Arnold and Fletcherâ
Keywords: Elite athletes, Flourish, India, Psychological well-being, Stress