Journal of sport & exercise psychology (J SPORT EXERCISE PSY)

Publications in this journal

• Article: Beyond optimal performance: mental toughness profiles and developmental success in adolescent cricketers.

  Daniel F Gucciardi, Martin Ian Jones
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  ABSTRACT: The purposes of the current study were to identify mental toughness profiles in adolescent cricketers and examine differences between these profiles on developmental assets and negative emotional states. A sample of 226 community cricketers (125 New Zealanders and 101 Australians; male n = 210) aged between 10 and 18 years (M(age) = 14.41 years; SD = 2.11) completed a multisection, online survey containing measures of mental toughness, developmental assets, and negative emotional states. The results of hierarchical (Ward's method) and nonhierarchical (k means) cluster analyses revealed three mental toughness profiles characterized by low, moderate, and high levels of all five mental toughness assets (i.e., affective intelligence, desire to achieve, self-belief, attentional control, resilience). Those cricketers with high levels of mental toughness reported possession of more developmental assets and lower levels of negative emotional states when compared with cricketers with the moderate levels of mental toughness. No statistically significant differences existed between the moderate and low levels of mental toughness profiles. These findings provided preliminary evidence to suggest that mental toughness might be viewed not only from the traditional view of optimal performance but also from a stance that may represent a contextually salient representation of thriving in youth sport settings.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 02/2012; 34(1):16-36.
• Article: The association between physical self-discrepancies and women's physical activity: the mediating role of motivation.

  Jennifer Brunet, Catherine Sabiston, Andree Castonguay, Leah Ferguson, Natalia Bessette
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  ABSTRACT: The objectives of this study were to test the associations between physical self-discrepancies (actual:ideal and actual:ought) and physical activity behavior, and to examine whether motivational regulations mediate these associations using self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987) and organismic integration (Deci & Ryan, 1985) theories as guiding frameworks. Young women (N = 205; M(age) = 18.87 years, SD = 1.83) completed self-report questionnaires. Main analyses involved path analysis using a polynomial regression approach, estimation of direct and indirect effects, and evaluation of response surface values. Agreement between actual and ideal (or ought) physical self-perceptions was related to physical activity both directly and indirectly as mediated by the motivational regulations (R(2) = .24-.30). Specifically, when actual and ideal self-perceptions scores were similar, physical activity levels increased as actual and ideal scores increased. Furthermore, physical activity levels were lower when the discrepancy was such that ideal or ought self were higher than actual self. These findings provide support for integrating self-discrepancy and organismic integration theories to advance research in this area.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 02/2012; 34(1):102-23.
• Article: Self-presentation and physical activity in breast cancer survivors: the moderating effect of social cognitive constructs.

  Jennifer Brunet, Catherine M Sabiston
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  ABSTRACT: This study examined (1) the relationships between self-presentation processes (i.e., impression motivation and impression construction) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among breast cancer survivors, and (2) whether social cognitive constructs (i.e., self-presentational efficacy expectancy [SPEE]; self-presentational outcome expectancy [SPOE]; self-presentational outcome value [SPOV]) moderate these relationships. Breast cancer survivors (N = 169; Mage = 55.06, SD = 10.67 years) completed self-report measures. Hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for age and body mass index, indicated that impression motivation was a significant correlate of MVPA (β = .25). Furthermore, SPEE (β = .21) and SPOV (β = .27) were moderators of this relationship. The final models accounted for 12-24% of the variance in MVPA. The findings of this study suggest that self-presentation processes (i.e., impression motivation) may indeed relate to breast cancer survivors' MVPA. In addition, social cognitive constructs (i.e., SPEE, SPOV) moderated the relationship between impression motivation and MVPA. It may be effective to target impression motivation, SPEE, and SPOV in interventions aimed at increasing MVPA among breast cancer survivors.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 12/2011; 33(6):759-78.
• Article: Psychosocial correlates of bulimic symptoms among NCAA division-I female collegiate gymnasts and swimmers/divers.

  Carlin M Anderson, Trent A Petrie, Craig S Neumann
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  ABSTRACT: In this study, we tested Petrie and Greenleaf's (2007) model of bulimic symptoms in two independent samples of female collegiate swimmers/divers and gymnasts. Structural equation modeling revealed support for the model, although it also suggested additional pathways. Specifically, general societal pressures regarding weight and body were related to the internalization of those ideals and, subsequently, to increases in body dissatisfaction. Pressures from the sport environment regarding weight and appearance were associated with more body dissatisfaction and more restrictive eating. Body dissatisfaction was related to more feelings of sadness, anger, and fear among the athletes. Negative affect, body dissatisfaction, and dietary restraint were related directly to bulimic symptoms, accounting for 55-58% of its variance. These results suggest that general sociocultural pressures are influential, but weight and appearance pressures in the sport environment may be even more pervasive and negative for female athletes.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 08/2011; 33(4):483-505.
• Article: Prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport: the role of coaching style, autonomous vs. controlled motivation, and moral disengagement.

  Ken Hodge, Chris Lonsdale
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  ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the relationships between contextual factors (i.e., autonomy-supportive vs. controlling coaching style) and person factors (i.e., autonomous vs. controlled motivation) outlined in self-determination theory (SDT) were related to prosocial and antisocial behaviors in sport. We also investigated moral disengagement as a mediator of these relationships. Athletes' (n = 292, M = 19.53 years) responses largely supported our SDT-derived hypotheses. Results indicated that an autonomy-supportive coaching style was associated with prosocial behavior toward teammates; this relationship was mediated by autonomous motivation. Controlled motivation was associated with antisocial behavior toward teammates and antisocial behavior toward opponents, and these two relationships were mediated by moral disengagement. The results provide support for research investigating the effect of autonomy-supportive coaching interventions on athletes' prosocial and antisocial behavior.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 08/2011; 33(4):527-47.
• Article: Exploring affective responses to different exercise intensities in low-active young adolescents.

  Kate Stych, Gaynor Parfitt
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  ABSTRACT: Adolescence provides a significant opportunity to influence attitudes toward activity. It has been proposed that affective responses are the first link in the hypothesized exercise intensity-affect-adherence chain. The aim of this study was to explore young low-active adolescents' affective responses to different exercise intensities using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Participants completed 15 min of exercise at four exercise intensities: three set in relation to the participants' ventilatory threshold (above, at, and below) and one self-selected. Affective valence was measured before, during, and after exercise, and participants were interviewed about their responses. Patterns in affective responses in quantitative data support tenets of the dual-mode theory. Qualitative data were presented as four narrative stories, and dominant themes associated with affective responses were identified. Consideration of individual preferences in the prescription of exercise, prescribing exercise set below the ventilatory threshold, or encouraging adolescents to self-select exercise intensity could positively influence adolescents' exercise experiences.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 08/2011; 33(4):548-68.
• Article: Perception of coaching behaviors, coping, and achievement in a sport competition.

  Michel Nicolas, Patrick Gaudreau, Veronique Franche
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  ABSTRACT: This study examined the relationship between perceived coaching behaviors, coping strategies during a sport competition, and sport achievement. A prospective design was used in which 80 athletes from individual sports completed measures of perceived coaching behaviors two days before a competition (Time 1) and measures of coping and sport achievement within three hours after a sport competition (Time 2). As expected, results of multiple regressions indicated that supportive coaching was a positive predictor of task-oriented coping and sport achievement whereas unsupportive coaching was a positive predictor of disengagement-oriented coping. Both types of coping were significantly associated with sport achievement. Task-oriented coping was a significant partial mediator in the relation between supportive coaching and sport achievement. This study, which contributes to both the coaching and coping literatures, highlights the role of supportive coaching behaviors in the initiation of effective stress management during sport competitions.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 06/2011; 33(3):460-8.
• Article: Automaticity of exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs in adults with high and low experience in exercise self-regulation.

  Jude Buckley, Linda D Cameron
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  ABSTRACT: Guided by social cognitive theory (SCT), we investigated whether exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs can be activated nonconsciously in individuals experienced and inexperienced in exercise self-regulation, and whether these beliefs are automatically associated with exercise self-regulation processes. The study used a 2 (Exercise Self-Regulation Experience Group) × 3 (Prime Condition) between-subjects design in which individuals experienced and inexperienced in exercise self-regulation were randomly assigned to receive subliminal, supraliminal, or no priming of exercise self-regulatory efficacy beliefs. Participants completed hypothetical diary entries, which were assessed for exercise self-regulatory efficacy and self-regulation expressions using content analyses with a SCT coding system and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis program. For both exercise self-regulation experience groups, self-efficacy priming led to more expressions of low exercise self-regulatory efficacy and dysfunctional exercise self-regulation strategies compared with the control prime. For participants experienced in exercise self-regulation, supraliminal priming (vs. control priming) led to more expressions of high exercise self-regulatory efficacy and functional exercise self-regulation strategies. For the experienced groups, priming led to automaticity of exercise expressions compared with the control condition. For inexperienced participants in the subliminal prime condition, priming led to automaticity of self-regulatory efficacy beliefs and work-related goals compared with the control condition. Automatic activation of exercise self-regulatory efficacy and exercise self-regulation processes suggests that self-regulation of exercise behavior can occur nonconsciously.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 06/2011; 33(3):325-48.
• Article: The relationship between developmental experiences and mental toughness in adolescent cricketers.

  Daniel F Gucciardi
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  ABSTRACT: The present study investigated the contribution of positive and negative youth sport experiences (i.e., processes or experiences that occur in a particular activity or setting) to self-reported mental toughness among youth-aged cricketers. A sample of 308 male cricketers aged between 13 and 18 years self-reported mental toughness using the Cricket Mental Toughness Inventory (CMTI; Gucciardi & Gordon, 2009), with 187 of these cricketers also documenting their exposure to a variety of positive and negative developmental experiences. Confirmatory factor and internal reliability analyses supported the hypothesized mental toughness measurement model. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that a variety of developmental experiences were related to various mental toughness components, with initiative experiences evidencing the strongest overall relationship with mental toughness followed by negative peer influences. The number of years playing experience and hours per week training evidenced largely insignificant relationships with the exception of desire to achieve and attentional control components of mental toughness, as well as its global factor. Collectively, these findings lend support for the validity of the CMTI as a valid measure among adolescent cricketers, and highlight the importance of initiative and interpersonal experiences for mental toughness in cricket.
  Journal of sport & exercise psychology 06/2011; 33(3):370-93.