Cargando…

Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance

Moods have been shown to be predictive of athletic performance and a reflection of mental health status. The aims of our study were (a) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes with population norms; (b) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes grouped by gender and age bands; (c) to exp...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Parsons-Smith, Renée L., Barkase, Sherry, Lovell, Geoff P., Vleck, Veronica, Terry, Peter C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9703086/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36452384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925992
_version_ 1784839785984032768
author Parsons-Smith, Renée L.
Barkase, Sherry
Lovell, Geoff P.
Vleck, Veronica
Terry, Peter C.
author_facet Parsons-Smith, Renée L.
Barkase, Sherry
Lovell, Geoff P.
Vleck, Veronica
Terry, Peter C.
author_sort Parsons-Smith, Renée L.
collection PubMed
description Moods have been shown to be predictive of athletic performance and a reflection of mental health status. The aims of our study were (a) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes with population norms; (b) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes grouped by gender and age bands; (c) to explore whether six distinct mood profile clusters reported in the literature were evident among triathletes and their respective prevalence; (d) to determine if pre-race mood scores predicted triathlon performance; and (e) to interpret our findings in terms of the risk of mental health issues for triathletes. Participants were 592 age-group triathletes (also referred to as recreational or amateur triathletes) who completed the Brunel Mood Scale pre-race and recorded their time goal for the race. Mean mood scores deviated significantly from population norms, with Tension and Vigor scores at the 55th and 54th percentile, respectively, and Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion scores between the 42nd and 46th percentile. Females reported higher Tension scores than males (p < 0.001), and those in the 18–25  years and 26–35 years age bands reported higher Tension scores than those in the 46–55 years age band (p < 0.008). Using k-means cluster analysis, six distinct mood profiles were identified, the distribution of which approximated the general population, except for a low prevalence of very negative profiles. Mean scores for Depression and Anger were exceptionally low and only 1.5% of triathletes, compared to the normal prevalence of ~5%, reported an “inverse Everest” profile, which is associated with elevated risk of psychopathology. Mood scores did not predict triathlon performance, assessed by finish time as a percentage of time goal. Results showed an association between triathlon participation and psychological well-being. Findings will inform future investigations of mood responses among triathletes and provide a relevant point of reference for applied practitioners who work with triathletes.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9703086
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-97030862022-11-29 Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance Parsons-Smith, Renée L. Barkase, Sherry Lovell, Geoff P. Vleck, Veronica Terry, Peter C. Front Psychol Psychology Moods have been shown to be predictive of athletic performance and a reflection of mental health status. The aims of our study were (a) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes with population norms; (b) to compare pre-race mood scores of triathletes grouped by gender and age bands; (c) to explore whether six distinct mood profile clusters reported in the literature were evident among triathletes and their respective prevalence; (d) to determine if pre-race mood scores predicted triathlon performance; and (e) to interpret our findings in terms of the risk of mental health issues for triathletes. Participants were 592 age-group triathletes (also referred to as recreational or amateur triathletes) who completed the Brunel Mood Scale pre-race and recorded their time goal for the race. Mean mood scores deviated significantly from population norms, with Tension and Vigor scores at the 55th and 54th percentile, respectively, and Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion scores between the 42nd and 46th percentile. Females reported higher Tension scores than males (p < 0.001), and those in the 18–25  years and 26–35 years age bands reported higher Tension scores than those in the 46–55 years age band (p < 0.008). Using k-means cluster analysis, six distinct mood profiles were identified, the distribution of which approximated the general population, except for a low prevalence of very negative profiles. Mean scores for Depression and Anger were exceptionally low and only 1.5% of triathletes, compared to the normal prevalence of ~5%, reported an “inverse Everest” profile, which is associated with elevated risk of psychopathology. Mood scores did not predict triathlon performance, assessed by finish time as a percentage of time goal. Results showed an association between triathlon participation and psychological well-being. Findings will inform future investigations of mood responses among triathletes and provide a relevant point of reference for applied practitioners who work with triathletes. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-11-14 /pmc/articles/PMC9703086/ /pubmed/36452384 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925992 Text en Copyright © 2022 Parsons-Smith, Barkase, Lovell, Vleck and Terry. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Parsons-Smith, Renée L.
Barkase, Sherry
Lovell, Geoff P.
Vleck, Veronica
Terry, Peter C.
Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title_full Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title_fullStr Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title_full_unstemmed Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title_short Mood profiles of amateur triathletes: Implications for mental health and performance
title_sort mood profiles of amateur triathletes: implications for mental health and performance
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9703086/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36452384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.925992
work_keys_str_mv AT parsonssmithreneel moodprofilesofamateurtriathletesimplicationsformentalhealthandperformance
AT barkasesherry moodprofilesofamateurtriathletesimplicationsformentalhealthandperformance
AT lovellgeoffp moodprofilesofamateurtriathletesimplicationsformentalhealthandperformance
AT vleckveronica moodprofilesofamateurtriathletesimplicationsformentalhealthandperformance
AT terrypeterc moodprofilesofamateurtriathletesimplicationsformentalhealthandperformance