The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and psychobiosocial states in Italian athletes.

Italy was one of the most impacted countries by the COVID-19 crisis, with detrimental effects on the world of sports. In this exploratory study, we examined Italian athletes' perceived stress and functional/dysfunctional psychobiosocial states during the COVID-19 crisis, comparing current assessment...

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Published in:International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 79 - 92
Main Authors: di Fronso, Selenia, Costa, Sergio, Montesano, Cristina, Di Gruttola, Francesco, Ciofi, Edoardo Giorgio, Morgilli, Luana, Robazza, Claudio, Bertollo, Maurizio
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jan2022
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jan2022
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        10.1080/1612197X.2020.1802612
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        atl: The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and psychobiosocial states in Italian athletes.
      aug:
        au:
          di Fronso, Selenia
          Costa, Sergio
          Montesano, Cristina
          Di Gruttola, Francesco
          Ciofi, Edoardo Giorgio
          Morgilli, Luana
          Robazza, Claudio
          Bertollo, Maurizio
        affil:
          Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics (BIND) Center, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
          Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
          Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University "G. d'Annunzio" of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
          IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy
          Independent Sport Psychology Consultant
      su:
        Italy
        COVID-19 pandemic
        Health behavior
        Habit
        Perceived Stress Scale
        Women athletes
        Athletes
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 pandemic
          Health behavior
          Habit
          Italy
          Other Spectator Sports
          Perceived Stress Scale
          Women athletes
          Athletes
      keyword:
        adversities
        competitive athletes
        Distress
        emotions
        lockdown
        adversities
        competitive athletes
        Distress
        emotions
        lockdown
      ab: Italy was one of the most impacted countries by the COVID-19 crisis, with detrimental effects on the world of sports. In this exploratory study, we examined Italian athletes' perceived stress and functional/dysfunctional psychobiosocial states during the COVID-19 crisis, comparing current assessment scores with data collected prior to the pandemic. Differences by gender, sport (i.e., individual vs team sport), and competitive level (elite/expert vs novice athletes) were also examined. The perceived stress scale and the psychobiosocial states scale were administered to 1132 competitive athletes about one month after the beginning of Italian lockdown. The comparison between the data collected during COVID-19 with the data collected before the pandemic outbreak revealed highly significant differences with medium to large effects sizes. Findings suggest that the COVID-19 crisis increased athletes' perceived stress and dysfunctional psychobiosocial states, while decreased functional psychobiosocial states. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences by gender on perceived stress and both types of psychobiosocial states, as well as by competitive level on perceived stress and functional psychobiosocial states. Specifically, women reported higher perceived stress and dysfunctional psychobiosocial states scores than men, and lower functional psychobiosocial states scores. Elite/expert athletes reported lower perceived stress and higher functional psychobiosocial states scores than novice athletes. From a practical point of view, training regimens and healthy behaviours during pandemic crises should be introduced as standard habits for health and well-being. The application of specific well-being protocols for women and novice athletes should be encouraged.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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