FEPSAC Position Statement: Athletes' dual careers in the European context.

The aim of this FEPSAC Position Statement is to summarize current knowledge about athletes' dual careers (DCs) in the European context and propose recommendations for future DC research, practice, and policy. Inspired by the European Union's Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012), researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborated over the last decade to create the European DC discourse as a context-informed and negotiated body of DC knowledge. In this paper, we proceed from analyzing this body of knowledge using recent review papers and European DC psychological research projects to formulating seven postulates summarizing DC research findings on factors influencing athletes in their striving for DC excellence.

Perfectionistic Environments and Irrational Beliefs on the Transition to Elite Athletic Performance: A Longitudinal Study.

This study aimed to longitudinally evaluate talented athletes' levels of perfectionism, irrational beliefs, and motivations with regard to their athletic careers. A total of 390 athletes from U14, U16, and junior categories ( = 15.42) answered shortened versions of the Sport-MPS2, iPBI, and BRSQ during two consecutive seasons, along with questions referring to their current and predicted prioritization of sports and education.

The Third Half: A Pilot Study Using Evidence-Based Psychological Strategies to Promote Well-Being among Doctoral Students.

Over the last few years, various studies have reported decreasing well-being levels among doctoral students, who show a higher risk of suffering from psychological distress than the general population. Accordingly, European policies in higher education encourage well-being promotion programs among doctoral studies to enhance young researchers' well-being. However, programs using evidence-based practices for well-being promotion are not yet generalised in public universities.

Positive and negative spontaneous self-talk and performance in gymnastics: The role of contextual, personal and situational factors.

The purpose of this study was to analyse whether contextual (perception of motivational climate and positive and negative spontaneous self-talk in sports), personal (positivity) and situational variables (positive and negative spontaneous self-talk employed in competition and precompetitive anxiety) predict performance in a competition of ensembles of rhythmic gymnastics. 258 female gymnasts between ages14 and 20 (M = 15.24, SD = 1.

Effects of the COVID-19 Health Crisis on Sports Practice, Life Quality, and Emotional Status in Spanish High-Performance Athletes.

Spain is one of the many countries highly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, establishing very restrictive measures with a complete lockdown for more than 3 months. This situation forced the complete closure of sport practice and national or international competitions, leading to a negative impact on physical and psychological health of high-performance athletes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (a) to determine the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis on Spanish high-performance athletes in terms of sports practice, life quality, and emotional state and (b) to identify the profile with the greatest difficulties during and after the lockdown.

Career Planning in Elite Soccer: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy, Career Goals, and Athletic Identity.

This study proposed a model to examine the role of self-efficacy, career goals, and athletic identity (AI) on the career planning of elite soccer players. Two hundred and eighty-one elite soccer players (males) participated in this study. Means, SD, and bivariate correlations were calculated for the variables under analysis.

Where Did All the Sport Go? Negative Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Life-Spheres and Mental Health of Spanish Young Athletes.

During the 2020, the pandemic caused by the massive spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) resulted in a global crisis. In Spain, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lockdown for almost 100 days and forced the sudden stop of sport practices and competitions. This interruption had a negative impact on high-level athletes' mental health.

The Influence of Basic Psychological Needs and Passion in Promoting Elite Young Football Players' Development.

Motivational variables and cognitive skills have been identified as important in an athlete's development. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of each basic psychological needs satisfaction on player's development regarding reflection and concentration disruption with the mediation of types of passion in Spanish young elite football players. A total of 487 elite U18 male football players ( = 17.

Fuelling the passion: Psychological needs and behavioural regulations as antecedents of passion for football.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the motivational antecedents of passion for sport by testing a model where players' satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs was expected to predict their harmonious and obsessive passions through the mediation of autonomous and controlled motivations. Four-hundred eighty-seven elite U18 male football players ( = 17.43,  = 0.

Can Multi-Item Measures and Single-Item Measures be Trusted to Assess Self-Determination Theory Constructs in the Elderly?

Background: Measuring complex constructs, such as those from self-determination theory models, is challenging in the elderly due to the response process, particularly in collective data gathering. In order to examine this construct in physical activity settings we aimed at determining whether single-item measures were as good as pre-existing multi-item measures. For that reason, we developed seven single-item measures targeting perceived interpersonal styles, basic needs satisfaction, and well-being.

Living Life Through Sport: The Transition of Elite Spanish Student-Athletes to a University Degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences.

Interest in studying the different transitions faced by elite athletes throughout their careers has grown significantly in recent years. While transition from secondary school to university is an important research area in Europe, there is a void of studies on how student-athletes experience the transition to specific degrees. One of the most sought-after university degrees among elite athletes in Spain is a degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (PASS).

Goal-directed self-talk used to self-regulate in male basketball competitions.

This study examined how goal-directed self-talk may help basketball players to self-regulate in stereotypical competitive situations: seconds before a challenging game, while clearly winning or clearly losing, and at the close of a tight game. Participants were recruited in groups of three to four, until preliminary inspection of the data indicated that data saturation was reached. In the end, 34 basketball players voluntarily took part in individual interviews, writing up to three self-instructions they had used in each of the four competitive situations to self-regulate.

Career Termination of Portuguese Elite Football Players: Comparison between the Last Three Decades.

The aim of this study was to explore the process of career termination of elite soccer players, comparing the quality and the resources to support career termination over the last three decades. To this end, was developed a questionnaire defined by four sections: (a) biographical data, (b) athletic career, (c) quality of career termination and (d) available resources at the moment of career termination. Ninety male former elite Portuguese soccer players participated in this study.