Athletes' Careers Across Cultures

Athletes' Careers Across Cultures
Author: Natalia B. Stambulova
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-06-07
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1135934975

Athletes’ Careers Across Cultures is the first book of its kind to bring together a truly global spread of leading sports psychology career researchers and practitioners into one comprehensive resource. This extensive volume traces the evolution of athlete career research through a cultural lens and maps the complex topography of athletes’ careers across national boundaries exploring how social and cultural discourses shape their development. The area of athlete career development has traditionally been dominated by a Western perspective, an imbalance which has had a considerable influence on the shaping of career studies more generally. Stambulova and Ryba adopt a more culturally sensitive approach, offering a comprehensive analytical review of athlete career research and assistance in 19 different nations. The authors employ diverse theoretical, methodological and practical ideas to demonstrate how local knowledge enables a better understanding of the dynamics of cultural diversity within the field. Athletes’ Careers Across Cultures considers the ‘cultural praxis’ of athletes’ careers as a practical implication of the cultural turn. As such it will stimulate the development of culturally situated career research and assistance and be an invaluable and internationally relevant resource for academics, professionals and students working in sport and exercise psychology.

Athletes' Careers Across Cultures

Athletes' Careers Across Cultures
Author: Natalia B. Stambulova
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2013-06-07
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1135935041

Athletes’ Careers Across Cultures is the first book of its kind to bring together a truly global spread of leading sports psychology career researchers and practitioners into one comprehensive resource. This extensive volume traces the evolution of athlete career research through a cultural lens and maps the complex topography of athletes’ careers across national boundaries exploring how social and cultural discourses shape their development. The area of athlete career development has traditionally been dominated by a Western perspective, an imbalance which has had a considerable influence on the shaping of career studies more generally. Stambulova and Ryba adopt a more culturally sensitive approach, offering a comprehensive analytical review of athlete career research and assistance in 19 different nations. The authors employ diverse theoretical, methodological and practical ideas to demonstrate how local knowledge enables a better understanding of the dynamics of cultural diversity within the field. Athletes’ Careers Across Cultures considers the ‘cultural praxis’ of athletes’ careers as a practical implication of the cultural turn. As such it will stimulate the development of culturally situated career research and assistance and be an invaluable and internationally relevant resource for academics, professionals and students working in sport and exercise psychology.

Career Transitions in Sport

Career Transitions in Sport
Author: David Lavallee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2000
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

This book was written for sport psychologists and other practitioners who are concerned with the well-being of athletes who are facing the difficult transition from a sports career and the regret anxiety and identity loss that can accompany retirement. This is a groundbreaking collaboration by international scholars providing an overview of empirical theoretical and applied perspectives on sports career transitions.

The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology

The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Author: Dieter Hackfort
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 714
Release: 2020-04-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1351739468

The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology integrates the topics of motor control, physical education, exercise, adventure, performance in sports, and the performing arts, in several important ways and contexts, drawing upon diverse cultural perspectives. More than 90 overarching topics have been systematically developed by internationally renowned experts in theory, research, and practice. Each contribution delves into a thematic area with more nuanced vocabulary. The terminology drawn upon integrates traditional discourse and emerging topic matter into a state-of-the-art two-volume set. Volume 1: Theoretical and Methodological Concepts is comprised of theoretical topic matter, spanning theories and terminology from psychology contextualized to sport and physical activity, sport psychology-focused theories, and expansive discussions related to philosophy of science and methodology. Volume 2: Applied and Practical Measures draws upon practical concepts that bridge theory and research and practice. Broader issues that extend beyond sport and physical activity participants are embedded within the entries, intended to augment physical, mental, and social well-being. This expansive encyclopedia is a must-have resource for all professionals, scholars, and students in the fields of sport psychology and sport science.

Sport and Exercise Psychology Research Advances

Sport and Exercise Psychology Research Advances
Author: Martin P. Simmons
Publisher: Nova Publishers
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2008
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9781604561579

The application of psychology to sport and exercise settings is a relatively new field which is rapidly developing and expanding. This branch of psychology is concerned with understanding the behaviour, mental processes, and well-being of people who are involved in sport and exercise. Practitioners typically specialise in either the sport or exercise branches, though some work equally in both fields. This new book presents invigorating recent research in the field.

The feasibility and acceptability of an intervention to improve career adaptability skills in Olympic and Paralympic athletes

The feasibility and acceptability of an intervention to improve career adaptability skills in Olympic and Paralympic athletes
Author: Emma Connaughton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre:
ISBN:

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are a pinnacle experience for athletes, coaches, support staff and their families. Conceptualized as a series of meta-career transitions, each Games is unique in its own way and present intense, emotional, physical and psychological demands on competitors. Research has shown that individuals' ability to adapt to career transitions has implications for their well-being, mental health, motivation and productivity. Consequently, the aim of this research was to develop and test an athlete transition support programme that would enhance career adaptability skills in Irish Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches and athlete support providers. Best practice in intervention development is to approach the design systematically utilizing prior evidence and theory, and to subsequently pilot the intervention to assess key barriers and facilitators to successful implementation. Following this, exploratory trials should be conducted, which ultimately lead to the implementation of a definitive evaluation. Following the six steps of quality intervention development model, this research presents four studies which inform the development and testing of a psychoeducation intervention delivered to Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches and athlete support providers prior to their participation in the Rio 2016 Summer Games. There is a gap in the career transition in sport literature pertaining to preventive interventions which this thesis addresses. Additionally, career adaptability skills have yet to be explored in any elite sport context. This thesis also draws the field of implementation science into sport psychology. The first study is a systematic review of the characteristics of the implementation of well-being related interventions in Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The purpose of this study is to review literature which has attempted to enhance the well-being of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and extract data pertaining to the implementation characteristics of the intervention. The findings suggest that to date little consideration has been given to the impact of implementation factors on intervention effectiveness. The second study is a qualitative exploration of the factors Irish Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches, and athlete support providers believe affect an athlete's engagement in a psychoeducation intervention. The key findings suggest for such an intervention to be feasible and acceptable, it should be delivered in group format, at the training location of the athletes, and be packaged as a workshop to assist athletes in adapting to all stages of the Games and should emphasize the benefits to performance. The third study explores the initial efficacy of video as a delivery method for career adaptability psychoeducation with this population. Participants included 168 athletes with a mean age of 26.46 years (N = 116). Additionally, 10 coaches with a mean age of 40.20 years and 47 athlete support providers with a mean age of 39.77 years participated. Informed by entertainment-education theory, a video 155 seconds in length was found to be effective for communicating up to three learning points immediately following viewing.The fourth study explored the transfer of learning from a group-based psychoeducation intervention delivered over the course of a 90-minute workshop. 140 individuals comprised of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, coaches and sport science and medicine support personnel attended the workshop. Of the 140 attendees, ninety-eight attendees consented to participate in the research. Sports represented included Cerebral Palsy football, mixed Paralympic events, hockey, boxing, rugby 7's, athletics, rowing, triathlon, pentathlon, badminton. Overall participants rated the workshops as satisfactory, useful and relevant to their career. Recommendations for the refinement of the intervention and future research were made. A pre-post evaluation of participants' ability to accurately generalize the content of the intervention found significant improvement in thoughts and behaviours following the intervention, with small-large effect sizes calculated. Additionally, less than 20% of all participant's successfully transferred their learning to the real-world context at two time points following intervention. Overall, participants rated their adaptation to the post-Games career meta-transition positively, and listed skills learned at the workshop as helpful during this adaptation. This thesis contributes to the literature on career adaptability, implementation science, and the practical delivery of career transitions interventions to Olympic and Paralympic populations. Strengths of this thesis lie in the systematic development and testing of a psychoeducation intervention, and in the practical application of career transition theory. Practical recommendations for the development of psychoeducation interventions including both digital video and group format delivery are made.

Athlete Transitions into Retirement

Athlete Transitions into Retirement
Author: Deborah Agnew
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2021-08-12
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1000425134

Transitions in sport can be either normative (relatively predictable) or non-normative (less predictable) and are critical times in the development of athlete’s careers. Whilst retirement from sport is inevitable, the timing of retirement can be less predictable. If an athlete copes well with the transition they may be better able to adjust to life after sport. However, not coping with the transition can lead to a crisis and negative consequences for the athlete. Transition periods from sport and in particular retirement from sport have been identified as high-risk periods for athletes in terms of psychological distress. However, circumstances surrounding the athlete’s retirement are a critical factor in the transition into life after sport. Voluntarily retiring from sport for example, leads to a smoother transition than being forced into retirement through injury or deselection. Research indicates that retirement from sport should be seen as a process rather than a single moment, with many athletes taking up to 2 years to successfully transition out of sport. Currently, there are few bodies of work that are solely devoted to retirement transition. Athlete Transitions into Retirement: Experiences in Elite Sport and Options for Effective Support provides contemporary viewpoints on athlete transitions from elite sport in a global context. This volume is a collaboration of research from leading authors around the world, offering global perspectives to athlete transitions into retirement and is key reading for both researchers and practitioners in the fields of Sport Psychology and Coaching as well as the Athletes themselves.

Social Psychology in Sport

Social Psychology in Sport
Author: Sophia Jowett
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2007
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780736057806

The book is designed to allow readers to study issues in isolation or as part of a course or a module. The five main parts are Relationships in Sport, Coach Leadership and Group Dynamics, Motivational Climate, Key Social and Cognitive Processes in Sport, and The Athlete in the Wider Sport Environment. Each chapter is cross-referenced and provides a clear description of the topic and a concise theoretical overview along with a discussion of existing research. The chapters also introduce new research ideas, suggest practical research applications, and conclude with summaries and questions to help instructors engage the class in discussion and to help students follow the key points."--Publisher's website.