Factorial validation and measurement invariance of the French version of the multidimensional competitive orientation inventory (FVMCOI) in the sport field

IntroductionLittle is known about the importance of the adaptive, maladaptive and neutral facets of competitive orientations among French athletes.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to test the factorial validation and measurement invariance of the French version of the multidimensional competitive orientation inventory (FVMCOI) from the original version (MCOI, Orosz et al., 2018), which included 12 items and four factors (i.e., hypercompetitive orientation, self-developmental competitive orientation, anxiety-driven competition avoidance, and lack of interest toward competition).MethodA series of three complementary studies was carried out with a total sample of 891 competitors.ResultsFollowing cross-cultural validation methods a preliminary version of the FVMCOI was constructed and the clarity of its items was established (study 1). Then, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) confirmed that the four-factor model for the FVMCOI was factorially valid, and consistent with the model of the original version. As such, the multiple-group invariance tests showed that the FVMCOI was partially invariant across both age and gender and fully invariant across type of sport, level of competition and over time (study 2). Finally, the concurrent validity of the FVMCOI was demonstrated through its expected relationships with achievement goals, competitive aggressiveness and anger in sport (study 3).ConclusionThe establishment of the FVMCOI extends the research in sport psychology by allowing an extensive psychometric study of the MCOI in the sport domain and providing deeper insights into the healthy, unhealthy, and neutral nature of competitive orientation in this context. The FVMCOI's potential practical applications in sport context, with some limitations and perspectives of this study, are also discussed.     

Olympic coaching excellence: A quantitative study of psychological aspects of Olympic swimming coaches

ObjectivesResearchers investigating the psychological aspects of Olympic coaching have studied coaches as a homogenous group, and the effect of coaches' psychological characteristics on performance-related outcomes remains unclear. The objective of this research, therefore, was to examine whether psychological factors discriminate between world-leading (i.e., Olympic gold medal winning) and world-class (i.e., Olympic non-gold medal winning) coaches.MethodSelf-reported psychometric questionnaires were completed by 36 Olympic coaches who had collectively coached 169 swimmers to win 352 Olympic medals, of which 155 were gold medals. The questionnaires assessed 12 variables within the Big Five personality traits, the dark triad, and emotional intelligence, and the data was analyzed using three one-way multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up univariate F-tests.ResultsThe results showed that the 21 world-leading coaches were significantly more agreeable, had greater perception of emotion, were better at managing their own emotion, and were less Machiavellian and narcissistic than the 15 world-class coaches. The groups of coaches showed no differences in levels of conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, neuroticism, psychopathy, managing other emotion, or utilization of emotion.ConclusionsPsychological factors discriminate between world-leading and world-class coaches. The implications of these differences are discussed for psychology researchers and practitioners operating in Olympic sport.     

Discerning the Ministries of Women

In 1988, the historic Rhodes Inter-Orthodox Symposium on the Place of Women in the Orthodox Church encouraged, among other things, fuller participation of women in the life of the church. This article reports on the results of a study that solicited the views of Orthodox Christians regarding the participation of women in the life of the church. Nearly three-quarters of respondents clearly stated or intimated that they would like to see more opportunities for women to serve in the church. One-third of the respondents identified the issue of deaconesses in their essays. Responses here revealed a great diversity of experience, education, and opinion. Nevertheless, more than half of the respondents commenting on deaconesses showed an openness to this ministry. This may be a powerful measurement indicating that exploring the pastoral need for this and other ministries may well be long overdue.     

Religious Engagement,Civic Skills,and Political Participation in Latin America

To what extent has the growth of Evangelicalism in Latin America contributed to political participation across the region? A number of scholars of religion and politics in the United States have suggested that Evangelicalism promotes the development of civic skills necessary for political engagement, while the Catholic Church, due to its hierarchical structure, provides fewer opportunities for skill acquisition. In this paper, we apply this debate to Latin America to test whether civic skills developed in Catholic and Protestant church activities lead to differential participation rates in 18 countries. We utilize the 2014 Pew Religion in Latin America survey to test these effects, and find that Protestant churches do indeed promote skill-developing activities at higher rates, but that Catholics, when involved, are more likely to translate this religious participation into political action. We conclude that political scientists must better understand the organizational role of religion in promoting political engagement worldwide.     

Building cardiovascular disease competence in an urban poor Ghanaian community: A social psychology of participation approach

This paper describes conceptual, methodological, and practical insights from a longitudinal social psychological project that aims to build cardiovascular disease (CVD) competence in a poor community in Accra, Ghana's capital. Informed by a social psychology of participation approach, mixed method data included qualitative interviews and household surveys from over 500 community members, including people living with diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, their caregivers, health care providers, and GIS mapping of pluralistic health systems, food vending sites, bars, and physical activity spaces. Data analysis was informed by the diagnosis‐psychosocial intervention‐reflexivity framework proposed by Guareschi and Jovchelovitch. The community had a high prevalence of CVD and risk factors, and CVD knowledge was cognitive polyphasic. The environment was obesogenic, alcohol promoting, and medically pluralistic. These factors shaped CVD experiences and eclectic treatment seeking behaviours. Psychosocial interventions included establishing a self‐help group and community screening and education. Applying the “AIDS‐competent communities” model proposed by Campbell and colleagues, we outline the psychosocial features of CVD competence that are relatively easy to implement, albeit with funds and labour, and those that are difficult. We offer a reflexive analysis of four challenges that future activities will address: social protection, increasing men's participation, connecting national health policy to community needs, and sustaining the project.     

A citation network analysis of career mentoring across disciplines: A roadmap for mentoring research in sport

ObjectiveGiven our limited understanding of mentoring in sport, reviewing research from other disciplines has the potential to advance knowledge in this context. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to synthesize and evaluate the mentoring literature across disciplines in order to bridge existing knowledge and to situate the mentoring in sport literature.DesignA citation network analysis.MethodA comprehensive literature search was conducted to locate influential career mentoring articles, books, and book chapters across all disciplines. Subsequently, this body of literature was evaluated using citation network to (a) identify the major career mentoring disciplines, (b) locate the most influential career mentoring texts, (c) evaluate the transfer of knowledge across disciplines, and (d) situate and evaluate the mentoring in sport literature.ResultsThe literature search resulted in a mentoring network of 1,819 texts and 10,951 citation links. Five major mentoring disciplines emerged: academic medicine, industrial and organizational psychology, education, nursing, and psychology. The industrial and organizational psychology and academic medicine disciplines were the most substantial mentoring disciplines. Further, the findings suggest the literature is relatively disconnected within and across disciplines. In regard to sport, the mentoring research represented 1.47% of the full-network (29 texts and 50 citation relations) and is interwoven into the industrial and organizational psychology literature.ConclusionGiven the limited sport texts uncovered in the citation network analysis, sport scholars can stand to benefit from the wealth of existing career mentoring literature in other disciplines. Accordingly, the identification of seminal career mentoring disciplines and texts serves to provide sport mentoring scholars with a roadmap to further promote the advancement and dissemination of mentoring knowledge and research.     

Achievement motive,autonomous motivation,and attendance at fitness center: A longitudinal prospective study

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to test whether achievement motive, autonomous forms of exercise motivation (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation), and controlled forms of exercise motivation (introjected regulation, external regulation) would predict gym attendance over 30 consecutive weeks in a sample of new gym members.DesignA longitudinal prospective study with four distinct measurement occasions was employed. Psychological variables and gym attendance were assessed in the first, fourth, 15th, and 30th week after starting the membership.MethodParticipants were 229 new gym members. The implicit achievement motive was measured using the Picture Story Exercise. The explicit achievement motive and exercise motivations were measured with questionnaires. Gym attendance was obtained via self-reports and also recorded electronically. Multilevel growth modeling was used as the main analysis method.ResultsParticipants overestimated their self-reported gym attendance; the overall gap between self-reported and actual attendance was 39%. The achievement motive did not predict participants’ gym attendance over the 30-week period, neither for self-reported nor for actual. The effect of autonomous motivation was mixed. Intrinsic motivation predicted self-reported, but not actual, gym attendance over the 30-week period, whereas the evolution of intrinsic motivation was unrelated to gym attendance. Identified regulation was unrelated to gym attendance, but the increase in identified motivation over time positively predicted both self-reported and actual gym attendance. Controlled motivation was unrelated to gym attendance.ConclusionsContinuous and regular participation in an exercise program is more likely when individuals enjoy the program and consider it personally important.     

Group cohesion and relatedness as predictors of self-determined motivation and burnout in adolescent female athletes

ObjectivesAthlete burnout is the result of a maladaptive sport experience that is influenced by the social context. A salient social contextual feature of youth sport is group cohesion. Cohesion may link with burnout through its association with relatedness and self-determined motivation. The current study was designed to test a model in which cohesion associates with burnout by way of relatedness and self-determined motivation.DesignCross-sectional survey-based study.MethodFemale youth soccer athletes (N = 276; M age = 14.9 years, SD = 1.3) completed measures of task and social cohesion, relatedness, self-determined motivation, and burnout.ResultsTask (β = 0.26) and social (β = 0.59) cohesion associated with perceptions of relatedness. In turn, relatedness positively linked with self-determined motivation (β = 0.38), which in turn negatively associated with global burnout (β = −0.79). The indirect effects from task cohesion to burnout (β = −0.08) and from social cohesion to burnout (β = −0.18) by way of relatedness and self-determined motivation were significant.ConclusionsResults support the proposed model whereby greater cohesion associates with an athlete’s feelings of relatedness, which links to more self-determined motivation and, consequently, lower burnout perceptions. Future research is needed to assess support for causality of these links and explore how contextual factors such as the teammate-created motivational climate contributes to group cohesion and relatedness perceptions within this burnout model.     

Perfectionism and athlete engagement: A multi-sample test of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism

Few studies have examined how perfectionism relates to athlete engagement. In addition, the studies that do exist have focused on the main effects of dimensions of perfectionism as opposed to their interactive effects. The first purpose of the study was therefore to examine the interactive effects of dimensions of perfectionism in predicting athlete engagement and, in doing so, test the hypotheses of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism. The second purpose of the study was to examine whether support for the 2 × 2 model depended on the instrument used to measure perfectionism. Three samples of junior and adult athletes from various sports (total N = 730) completed measures of perfectionism indicative of personal standards perfectionism (PSP) and evaluative concerns perfectionism (ECP) (HF-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Cox, Enns, & Clara, 2002; Sport-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2, Gotwals & Dunn, 2009; Multidimensional Inventory of Perfectionism for Sport, Stoeber et al. 2007), as well as a measure of athlete engagement (Athlete Engagement Questionnaire, Lonsdale, Hodge & Jackson, 2007). Moderated regression analyses provided support for the hypotheses of the 2 × 2 model for some facets of engagement but not others. Generally, pure PSP (high PSP/low ECP) was associated with the highest levels of athlete engagement and pure ECP (low PSP/high ECP) was associated with the lowest levels of athlete engagement. Support for the 2 × 2 model also differed depending on the instrument used to measure perfectionism. Overall, the findings suggest that the 2 × 2 model may explain differences between athletes in levels of engagement. However, these differences will depend on which indicators of PSP and ECP are examined.     

Overweight and obese men’s experiences in a sport-based weight loss intervention for men

In Western countries, such as Australia and the UK, a significantly greater proportion of men (relative to women) are overweight and obese, yet relatively few weight loss interventions have been developed that sufficiently target men. This lack of male-focused programming may be in part because ‘traditional’ weight loss programs are unappealing for what is considered a ‘hard-to-reach’ population. One program that appears to have such appeal for men is the MAN v FAT Football (MVFF) program, based out of the United Kingdom, which is designed for men with a body mass index of (or greater than) 27.5. MVFF encourages men’s participation in a community-based weight loss program that incentivizes weight loss through participation in a football league, and since 2016 MVFF has supported the weight loss efforts of several thousand men. Using MVFF as an exemplar, our aim was to derive insight into how men experience a male-only competitive, sport-based weight loss program. We recruited twenty-seven players (Mage = 41.13, SD = 9.93), and ten coaches (Mage = 31.8, SD = 11.55) from program locations throughout the United Kingdom. Using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, we identified several appraisal aspects of the program that players and coaches considered important, including the appeal of sport, competition on a level playing field, being part of a team, camaraderie, accountability, men sharing issues with other men, gender-sensitized environment, likeminded and similar men, and perceptions that traditional weight loss programs are tailored towards women. Player experiences (i.e., competence and enjoyment) and functional supports in the program (e.g., player handbook, weight loss coach) were reported to drive outcomes of effective weight loss and program retention. Interventions aiming to target men may be more successful working with rather than against formulations of identity such as masculinities, and this can be achieved by tailoring program content (e.g., messaging), settings (e.g., among men sharing similar characteristics such as body-type or goals), and mode of delivery (e.g., through organized sports, and leveraging competition to drive healthy behaviours).