نشریه رشد و یادگیری حرکتی - ورزشی
پیاپی 50 (زمستان 1401)

The present study aimed to develop a model of the relationship between trait anxiety and the components of attentional styles in athlete students.

The current research strategy was descriptive and correlational, with the approach of developing a correlational model. In three stages, the attentional styles questionnaire was translated into Persian and was evaluated psychometrically. Its process consisted of the French version translation into Persian, re-translation into French, and the final translation. In this study, 245 athletes were selected conveniently from the student population of Shahid Beheshti University. Participants completed attentional styles and trait anxiety questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Cronbach's alpha coefficient for two factors of top-down and bottom-up attention was 0.70 and 0.72, respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the factor loadings of five items (items 2 and 4 of the top-down attention factor, and items 3, 8, and 9 of the bottom-up attention factor) were less than 0.4, so they were removed. SEM results showed that trait anxiety has an inverse and significant relationship with top-down attention and a direct and significant relationship with bottom-up attention.

The results of the present study highlighted the importance and necessity of paying attention to the relationship between trait anxiety and the components of attentional styles in athletes. Therefore, in planning training programs and improving sports performance, taking this relationship into account can be an effective step in preventing adverse outcomes in sports competitions.

It is essential to become physically literate to develop movement skills, as the knowledge and motivation necessary to lead an active lifestyle. The aim of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of Canadian physical literacy knowledge and motivation questionnaires among 8-10-year-old children in Isfahan.

These questionnaires were translated using the translation–back-translation methodology into Persian and adapted to the Iranian context. A Persian version of these questionnaires was evaluated for its psychometric properties by 384 students aged 8 to 10 in Isfahan city (Iran). The construct validity of the questionnaires was determined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses based on structural equation modeling, and the internal consistency was checked using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The test-retest method determined the temporal reliability of the questionnaires.

Face validity was confirmed by five experts in the field of motor behavior. According to the obtained thresholds, the construct validity was acceptable based on the goodness of fit index. A Cronbach's alpha coefficient greater than 0.85 was obtained for the knowledge and motivation questionnaire as its dimensions. The test-retests within two weeks showed that the intragroup correlation coefficients for all five components were acceptable for both boys and girls.

Based on the results, the Persian version of Canadian Physical Literacy Knowledge and Motivation Questionnaires for 8-10-year-old children had good validity and reliability. Therefore, it is appropriate to use these tools to measure the children's physical literacy in Isfahan city.

Sport is an important part of students' life. The social development of athletes could be different based on their gender and type of sport. The present study aimed to compare the social development of athletes (team and individual sports disciplines) and non-athlete students of Farhangian University.

In a descriptive cross-sectional survey research, 2000 male and female students of Farhangian University of Mazandaran province were recruited as a statistical population. 300 students were selected using the cluster random sampling method. Witsman's Social Development Questionnaire (1990) was used as the research instrument.  To analyze the data, a two-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used.

Based on the results of the two-way analysis of variance, significant results were found for the main effect of gender and group variables. However, the interaction effect of group and gender was not significant. The social development of female students was higher compared with male students. Based on the results of Tukey's post hoc test, athletes had significantly higher social development than non-athletes. Although the social development of athletes in individual sport discipline had a higher mean than the team athletes, the difference was not significant.

Considering the higher social development of athletes compared with non-athletes and also, almost identical social development scores for both groups of athletes (team and individual sports disciplines), it is suggested that coaches foster a supportive environment by emphasizing the importance of equality of each athlete to provide the basis for social development among all people.

Lifestyle changes and the increasing trend of children's developmental disorders, especially in the field of social interactions have made it necessary to conduct research in this field of study. So the present study aimed to investigate the action-specific perception in the different focus of attention conditions in autistic children.

In a quasi-experimental study, 45 people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder were identified and randomly divided into three Internal Attention, External Attention, and Control groups (15 people in each group). The participant's task was to throw darts and estimate the target size. After the pre-test, the groups performed the dart-throwing task in 5 blocks of 10 trials. The focus of attention instructions - specific to the experimental groups- were given before each trial, and subjects were asked to estimate the target size before performing the tasks in each block. For this, participants used a circle shape in Microsoft PowerPoint to draw a circle the same size as the darts' target. The next day, retention and transfer tests were performed.

The results showed that the Internal Attention group was better than the External Attention and Control groups both in dart-throwing performance in acquisition, retention, and transfer stages and in action-specific perception (P≤0.05).

In general, the findings showed that in children with autism spectrum disorder, internal attention leads to better performance and learning than external attention. Therefore coaches and physical education teachers who work with these children should emphasize on benefits of internal focus of attention when designing training sessions.

Motor imagery is one of the cognitive aspects of the tasks which is investigated as a factor affecting performance in many situations. Also, another cognitive dimension of tasks that researchers believe to play an important role in motor control and performance is mental representation. This study aimed to determine the relationship between motor imagery ability and mental representation structure in basketball free throw.

The design of this research was correlational and a convenient method of sampling was used. In this study, the Motor Imagery Questionnaire-Revised and Mental Representation Software were used as tools. The motor imagery ability of 60 female basketball players was measured and 10 participants with the highest (mean age: 16.3±2.05 years) and 10 participants with the lowest (mean age: 20.3±4.9 years) imagery ability were selected. Then, their mental representation was measured using mental representation software. The relationship between motor imagery ability and mental representation was analyzed using correlational analysis.

The results showed that the group with the highest motor imagery ability had a more structured mental representation which was more similar to that of criterion mental representation. Also, the results showed that there was a positive relationship between imagery and mental representation structure scores in both groups.

These results were interpreted using the perceptual-cognitive approach. Also, these results were considered a piece of evidence for the top-down process of imagery. Achieving these results indicate that psychological skills training accompanied by technical skills training will have a critical contribution for the athletes to success in sports.

The mental appraisal and athlete's ability to deal with stressful factors affect the development of negative emotional states and anxiety. Considering the impact of stress and related psychological responses on performance, interventions that reduce stress and may thus increase athletic performance need to be investigated.This study aimed to determine the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on psychological choking, fear of failure, and shooting performance underpressure in students of Imam Ali Officers’ University.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test design that includes a control and an experimental group. Forty students of Imam Ali Officers' University participated in this study. In the pre-test and post-test, the fearof failure and psychological choking questionnaires and also shooting performance tests were used. The tDCS was applied for 20 minutes with an intensity of 2 mA overthe dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) region for 10 sessions. Data were analyzed using univariate repeated measures ANOVA test.

The results showed that tDCS over DLPFC could reduce psychological choking under pressure but could not change the fear of failure. The results also showed that tDCS can increase shooting performance under pressure.

In general, it can be concluded that tDCS probably increase performance-related indicators in high-pressure military environments. However, more studies are needed to find the underlying mechanisms.