Mental preparation in runners: gender differences, competition levels, and psychological training effects on performance.

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the mental and sports psychological preparation, as well as tactical preparation, of distance runners for competition. We examined whether there are differences based on gender, competition level and various race disciplines, as well as how mental preparation influences sports skills applicable in different competitive situations.

Methods: The sample consisted of 201 distance runners who completed the Sports Mental Training Questionnaire (SMTQ) alongside assessments of their sports psychology and race tactics.

The effectiveness of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) and mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on psychological, physiological and executive functions as a proxy for sports performance.

Background: In the current study, we conducted a comparative analysis involving three distinct groups: one receiving group-based rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), another undergoing a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), and a third group serving as the control. The aim of the study was to explore the effectiveness of the two interventions on specific psychological (competitive anxiety, perfectionism, irrational beliefs), physiological (salivary cortisol levels), and neurocognitive (executive functions: working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) functions in Hungarian junior ice hockey players.

Methods: The participants consisted of 10 females and 36 males (N=12, N=14, N=20).

"I must be perfect": The role of irrational beliefs and perfectionism on the competitive anxiety of Hungarian athletes.

In this study the influence of irrational beliefs and perfectionism on the emergence of competitive anxiety was investigated. While previous studies indicate that higher irrational beliefs predict greater competitive anxiety, in the present study it is hypothesized that this relationship is mediated by perfectionism. A serial atemporal multiple mediation analysis revealed that both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism were significant partial mediators between irrational beliefs and competitive anxiety.