Carolina Lundqvist

Linköping University | LiU · Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning (IBL)

Coach burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from chronic stress and a prolonged sense of overwhelm. Burnout can result in negative consequences for the coach’s personal well-being, reduced satisfaction in the coaching role, and also impact the athletes they work with. High-performance coaching is complex and bur...

This study examined the prevalence of non-accidental violence, focusing on experienced harassment andabuse (HA), and mental health among current and retired Swedish competitive cheerleaders. An online survey was distributed to current and retired athletes in the Swedish cheerleading federation. The survey assessed perceived coach–athlete relationsh...

This study explores elite athletes’ experiences of psychotherapy administered by Swedish licensed psychologists or psychotherapists with and without specialization in elite sports, addressing the research question: What do elite athletes experience as important for psychotherapy effectiveness when seeking treatment from a licensed clinical psycholo...

Objectives: To explore the relationships between age, gender, type of sport, perfectionistic self-presentation and motivation on body satisfaction among young athletes in one aesthetic sport (gymnastics) and one non-aesthetic sport (basketball). The study hypothesise that (1) age, gender, and type of sport (aesthetic or non-aesthetic) will predict...

Epidemiological studies suggest that psychiatric disorders are as prevalent among high-performance athletes as in general populations, challenging the myth of invulnerability. Despite efforts of sports organisations to highlight the significance of athletes' mental health, it is still many times tough to combine the sports performance ethos with a...

Background Body dissatisfaction is known as a robust predictor for eating pathology. Empirical knowledge about specific psychological mechanisms, beyond sports type, that can maintain or diminish female and male athletes’ body satisfaction is still sparse and research lack consistency. Prevention can decrease risk factors for eating pathology and p...

Background Elite athletes are role models for young sportspersons regarding social media use. Self-objectification, including self-sexualizing, contributes to body dissatisfaction and body shame, especially in young females. For efficient prevention of self-objectification, knowledge is needed about elite athletes’ self-presentation on social media...

The aims of this scoping review were to map the current literature on interventions for improving mental health in athletes, identify knowledge gaps, and generate future research questions. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guided this review. A systematic literature sea...

Objectives This study described differences in lifestyle factors (sleeping problems/fatigue, pressure/activation), perceived coach autonomy support and indicators of mental health (well-being and poor general mental health) across various age groups (children ≤12 years, youths 13–15 years, junior to senior ≥16 years) and sports (basketball and gymn...

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of a brief body scan with relaxation as an active control group to better understand their respective contributions to the reduction of sleep problems and anxiety symptoms among adolescent athletes. Method: Two hundred and six adolescent athletes were recruited during the school year 201...

The Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020 were postponed by a year due to Covid-19. This postponement came as a surprise to both athletes and support staff. How did the pandemic affect the Olympic preparations and the mental health of the athletes? Twelve athletes, both Norwegian and Swedish medal candidates from nine sports, were interviewed. Norwegian and S...

In this study, we examined knowledge and understanding of sport-related injuries among youth athletics (track and field) athletes and assessed their needs in managing any health problems. Qualitative data were collected via 12 focus groups with youth athletes (16–19 years) studying at Swedish sports high schools with an athletics specialism. All fo...

In this chapter, we focus on wellbeing and wellbeing promotion among soccer players from youth to the professional level. Organized sport, such as soccer, is a social phenomenon, which when properly structured, can promote wellbeing, quality of life, and develop protective psychosocial resources (e.g., self-esteem, life skills, and social relations...

The combined demands on an adolescence in an elite sports high school can negatively affect mental health (eg, stress, burnout, depression, anxiety). Late adolescence is also when elite-striving athletes typically transition from junior-to-senior level programs. In addition, adolescent elite lean sports athletes have an increased risk of suffering...

Background Despite good physical function, many athletes do not return to sports after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). One important reason for this is fear of new injury. The aim of this study was to investigate young athletes’ experiences of knee-related fear after an ACLR and how they perceive this fear to affect them in the...

BAKGRUND Sociala medier används av idrottsutövare på alla nivåer, även av elitidrottare som är stora förebilder för ungdomar. En omtalad negativ aspekt av publicering av bilder på sig själv och sin kropp i sociala medier är självobjektifiering, dvs. antagande att ens värde bestäms av ens fysiska utseende och den sexuella attraktion man framkallar....

In this chapter we draw on our applied experiences and research to highlight how perfectionistic athletes can be supported using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The first part of the chapter describes ACT and research that has examined its use for perfectionism. In keeping with other chapters in this section of the book, the second part of...

This Research topic includes an important collection of articles spanning authors from several continents with contributions targeting mental health from a variety of conceptual and theoretical perspectives. Several articles have a direct application for researchers and practitioners working with mental health support in various elite athlete popul...

The youth-to-first team phase presents a number of challenges in the careers of modern football players with stagnation, inconsistent performance and dropout being reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of staff involved in professional academy football clubs around the globe, with a particular focus on youth and first te...

Eitidrottares mentala hälsa och prestation är ofta sammanflätade vilket synliggjordes under covid-19 pandemin. I mars 2020 tog den Internationella Olympiska Kommittén (IOK) det historiska beslutet att skjuta fram Tokyo 2020 till senast sommaren 2021. Elitidrotten, i likhet medsamhället i övrigt, blev överrumplade av de omfattande konsekvenser pande...

Background: Research shows child abuse to be devastating for psychological health, but children and adolescents display varying reactions from maltreatment. Resilience is known as a protective factor, but sparse research is conducted on adolescents or assess resilience with consideration of ecological theories. Adolescent Resilience Questionnaire...

The WHO defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’ (p. 12). According to this definition, mental health is more than a lack of symptoms of mental i...

The purpose of this study was to explore the views and experiences of sport psychology consultants who have worked with perfectionistic elite athletes and, particularly, their views on the use of cognitive behavioral therapy. Semistructured interviews were conducted with four professional sport psychology consultants who identified themselves as hav...

The present study explored Norwegian and Swedish Olympic aspirants' perceived challenges for the preparations of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (OG) and risk and protective factors for mental health. The focus for this study was the timespan between the declaration of the postponement of Tokyo 2020 and the final months before the Games. A secondary purpo...

Psykiskt mående och prestation går hand i hand och för en långsiktig och hållbar elitidrottskarriär är båda delarna centrala och ofta sammanflätade. Det finns idag ett ökat intresse från idrotten att fördjupa sin kunskap kring psykisk hälsa, samtidigt tycker många att det är ett svårt ämne att få grepp om. I denna artikel försöker vi sammanfatta vi...

Elitidrottares psykiska hälsa och välbefinnande har fått en explosionsartad uppmärksamhet inom idrottsforskningen under senare år. Frågorna fick också stort medialt utrymme under de Olympiska spelen (OS) i Tokyo 2020. Den amerikanska gymnastikstjärnan Simone Biles kom till Tokyo 2020 med ett stort antal världsmästerskaps och olympiska medaljer i ry...

Social support and sports participation are protective factors for mental health. Social distancing restrictions in the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic limited student-athletes’ social interactions with their teams and possibilities to perform their sports. This study aimed to determine the long-term effects of the social distancing restricti...

In reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictive policies altered student-athletes’ academic and athletic life. Sparse research has investigated the pandemic’s effect on student-athlete mental health in terms of both negative (e.g., depression, anxiety) and positive (e.g., well-being, quality of life) dimensions. This study explored the effect of...

The objective of this article is to discuss: (a) the various theoretical perspectives on mental health and mental health disorders adopted in sport psychology, and (b) how the adoption of these various theoretical perspectives in studies might impact upon the interpretations and conclusions in research about the mental health of participants in eli...

The authors were operating in professional roles related to preparations for Tokyo 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. The purpose of the article is to share applied experiences and personal reflections from different parts of the world of psychological challenges and support strategies adopted in elite sports during the first phase...

This chapter focuses on the benefits of stimulating well-being and quality of life (QOL) among athletes as a natural part of sustainable sport participation. Well-being promotion involves proactive support to help athletes develop psychosocial resources to stay functional in the sport environment and life. The historical development of well-being a...

This case report describes the use of behavioral activation when a former Olympic athlete developed depression after career termination. Four sessions were conducted, one session each week, followed by a boost session one month later. In Session 1, the former Olympic athlete displayed mild to moderate depression with anxiety and a low quality-of-li...

This study explored the essence of Swedish elite athletes’ experiences of their quality of life (QOL). Eight individual elite sports athletes (3 men and 5 women; mean age 25.5 years, range: 20-32 years) were interviewed twice. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, findings showed the essence of QOL to consist of four categories. Category...

The primary aim with this chapter is to share personal and practical experiences, as well as theoretical considerations, of providing psychological support to injured elite athletes. Fundamental principles and approaches, based on evidence-based practice from clinical psychology as well as more traditional sport psychology research, found to be fun...

Research examining the student-athlete experience proposes a number of factors that can be both sources of stress and/or support. The dual career pathway offers a number of potential positive outcomes including psychological, social, and financial benefits; however, challenges including time management, fatigue, and restricted social activities are...

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of flotation REST upon skilled and less skilled golfers’ anxiety in terms of physiological indicators of stress, self-rated anxiety scores, muscle tension, and the effect on golf putting. Prior to performing the putting task participants underwent a treatment of flotation REST or a period of...

This article presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of an applied mindfulness intervention for stress reduction delivered to Paralympic leaders prior to the Paralympic Games. The intervention group of Swedish Paralympic leaders (n = 10) received a mindfulness intervention of eight web-based seminars, while a Norwegian reference group (n = 6) r...

Sexual harassment and abuse (SHA) can have a profound negative impact, but research on SHA in sport is scarce and studies of SHA in Swedish sport are absent. This study explores (a) self-reported prevalence of SHA perpetrated by coaches among male and female Swedish athletes, and (b) descriptive statistics for coach–athlete relationship factors and...

One common method in Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to treat anxiety problems is exposure, but there are few articles examining its applicability to sport. The aim of this paper is to give a background of the use of exposure in sport and present a case of how exposure can be used with athletes. The athlete was a 17 year old female cross-country s...

More than 30 years of research on athlete burnout has yielded important insights and questions regarding the onset, nature, and consequences of this detrimental syndrome. Not surprisingly, burnout is considered an important matter, both from a research and practical standpoint (cf. Gustafsson, Hancock, & Coté, 2014). We have been invited to comment...

Research has highlighted flotation-REST as a promising method for relaxation and performance enhancement in sport; however, to further evaluate the use of flotation-REST in an athletic environment, additional research is warranted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six elite track and field athletes about their experiences and perceive...

This study presents the development process and initial validation of the NyTid test, a process-oriented movement assessment tool for compulsory school pupils. A sample of 1,260 (627 girls and 633 boys; mean age of 14.39) Swedish school children participated in the study. In the first step, exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were performed in Sampl...

The present study validated a Swedish version of the 47-item Coaching Behavior Scale for Sport (CBS-S). Sample 1 consisted of 506 team sport athletes [262 men and 244 women; mean age: 22.20, standard deviation (SD) = 3.90] distributed across 41 coaches at the two highest national levels of various sports. Athletes completed the CBS-S and establishe...

This study examined subjective (SWB), psychological (PWB) and social well-being (Social WB) at a global and sport contextual level among ten elite orienteers (6 women and 4 men, median age = 20.4, range 18-30) by employing semistructured interviews. Athletes described SWB as an interplay of satisfaction with life, sport experiences and perceived he...

This study investigated whether need satisfaction, need dissatisfaction, motivational climate, perfectionism and self-esteem relate to athletes' discrete profiles of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and perceived stress. Participants were 103 elite active orienteers (49 men and 54 women; mean age = 22.3 +/- A 4.4) who clustered into three distinct...

Samtidigt som idrottspsykologi har blivit accepterad i både idrott och forskning ökar kraven på vetenskapliga metoder i det tillämpade arbetet. Fler och fler idrottspsykologiska rådgivare använder sig av kognitiv beteendeterapi. Det är en naturlig utveckling mot en modern idrottspsykologi.

Objective: In this study we examined the relationship between trait hope and burnout in elite junior soccer players and whether stress and positive and negative affect mediated this relationship. Methods: Participants were 238 Swedish soccer players (166 males, 71 females; one did not indicate gender) aged 15-19 years who completed questionnaires m...

The objective was to examine the differences in anxiety ratings of elite and sub-elite athletes when the relationship between intensity and direction scores of anxiety ratings is considered in analyses. Participants were 31 junior elite (Mean age: 17.7, SD=1.1) and 53 sub-elite (Mean age: 17.5, SD=1.1) cross country skiers and swimmers who complete...

This paper summarizes the topic of well-being as it applies to competitive athletes, with a particular focus on definitional and conceptual issues. Established definitions within research on human happiness and flourishing based on the hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives are contrasted against definitions applied within sport psychology. The majori...

https://centrumforidrottsforskning.se/article/eliten-kanner-valbefinnande-manga-dimensioner/

The purpose of this study was to psychometrically evaluate the Emotional Recovery Questionnaire (EmRecQ) and to describe athletes' individual response patterns in five repeated assessments using the EmRecQ. Three samples were used. Samples 1 and 2 consisted of 192 and 379 (Mean age 16.4 years, SD = 0.7 and Mean age: 17.0 years, SD = 1.1) elite athl...

The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the process of burning out in endurance athletes. The experiences of three elite cross-country skiers who left their sport due to burnout were explored. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and inductively analyzed. The Athlete Burnout Questionnaire and training logs were used to vali...

This study examined the factorial validity of the Eades Burnout Inventory (EABI) and the prevalence of burnout in adolescent elite athletes and whether burnout is more common in individual sports than in team sports. The EABI was distributed to 980 athletes (402 females and 578 males) in 29 different sports. Confirmatory-factor analyses revealed an...

The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) is one of the most frequently used instruments when assessing competitive state anxiety in sport psychology research. However, doubts have been expressed about the factorial validity of both the English and the Greek versions of the scale. Hence, a revised version of the inventory (CSAI-2R) has rec...