Research in sports psychology has revealed that mental training is essential in the development of successful athletes. This project, comprised of five studies (a total of N = 2015) resulted in a novel approach towards the measurement of mental skills in sport. In Study 1 (N = 797) and Study 2 (N = 405) we used principal component analysis to identify and confirm the structure of a wide range of identified sport mental skills. Study 3 (N = 429) and Study 5 (N = 330) confirmed factorial structure of Polish and English versions. Study 4 documented how both versions of the scale were developed, and how these two versions converge supporting their cross-cultural validity. The final version contains 20 items grouped into 5 subscales (foundational skills, performance skills, interpersonal skills, self-talk and mental imagery). The Sport Mental Training Questionnaire is a reliable and valid brief questionnaire that will facilitate psychological evaluation of mental preparation among athletes.

This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2, as well as to determine the relationship between anxiety and goal orientation among high-performance and recreational athletes. A total of 519 athletes aged M = 22.83 (SD = 4.92) participated in the study, including 266 males and 253 females. 242 athletes trained professionally and 277 recreationally. The Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) was used to assess anxiety levels, while the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ) enabled to assess athletes’ goal orientation. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the model to the data for the Polish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (CFI = 0.945, RMSEA = 0.072). The models obtained during analysis of high-performance and recreational athletes, women and men, also presented a satisfactory fit to the data (CFI 0.932–0.946). The configural, metric, scalar and strict measurement invariances were demonstrated for high-performance and recreational athletes as well as among women and men. High internal consistency coefficients (alpha 0.81–0.91) and a high test–retest reliability indexes were reported (ICC 0.74–0.87). Women presented higher level of competitive anxiety than men. A positive relationship between competitive anxiety and athletes’ ego orientation was also presented. This relationship concerned particularly women practicing sport recreationally.

Decreased bone mass in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is a clinical problem with extremely severe consequences of osteoporotic fractures. Despite its increasing prevalence and the need for mandatory intervention and monitoring, it is often ignored in IBD patients’ care. Determining the biomarkers of susceptibility to bone mineral density disorder in IBD patients appears to be indispensable. We aim to investigate the impact of estrogen receptor gene (ESR1) gene polymorphisms on bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), as they may contribute both, to osteoporosis and inflammatory processes. We characterised 197 patients with IBD (97 with UC, 100 with CD), and 41 controls carrying out vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus serum levels, and bone mineral density assessment at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), ESR1 genotyping and haplotype analysis. We observed that women with CD showed the lowest bone density parameters, which corresponded to the ESR1 c.454-397T and c.454-351A allele dose. The ESR1 gene PvuII and XbaI TA (px) haplotype correlated with decreased femoral neck T-score (OR = 2.75, CI = [1.21–6.27], P-value = 0.016) and may be predictive of osteoporosis in female patients with CD.

The main aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the task and ego orientation in sport questionnaire (TEOSQ). The study covered 651 athletes aged 19.2 years, SD (Standard deviation) = 2.21. The task and ego orientation in sport questionnaire (TEOSQ) and sport motivation scale (SMS-28) were used. Cronbach’s Alpha for the ego subscale was 0.84, and for the task subscale 0.81 (McDonald’s omega was 0.84, 0.82 respectively). The reliability of the test-retest with two weeks interval was ICC (Intraclass correlation coefficient) = 0.86 for ego and ICC = 0.86 for task. Initially, the two-factor model was not fully fitted (CFI (Comparative fit index) = 0.84), however the model with correlated errors for selected test items was well fitted to data (CFI = 0.95). Statistically significant, positive correlations between the task orientation and the intrinsic motivation components were obtained. Additionally, individual athletes had higher scores on the ego factor and lower scores on the task factor than the team athletes. These effects were moderated by the level of participation and occurred among high-performance athletes. Due to satisfactory reliability and validity indicators the Polish version of the task and ego orientation in sport questionnaire (TEOSQ) can be used both for scientific research and in the individual diagnostics of athletes.

The appropriate level of coordination motor skills (CMS) in a football player is one of the factors determining the effectiveness of their actions. Adaptability and complex reaction time are of particular importance in models of coordination requirements in football. The lead aim of this study is to determine the relationship between two selected coordination motor skills and the offensive, defensive and comprehensive effectiveness of an individual player’s actions. The study was conducted on a group of 91 Polish male football players aged 20 to 31 years, all in the senior age category. The research tools included: a test assessing motor adaptation (research by dribbling the ball with the dominant leg), psychomotor test of complex reaction time (tested with an S-10.2 measuring device) and a test of the effectiveness of an individual player’s actions (one-on-one simulation game). The conducted research indicated that adaptability and complex reaction time are both important abilities for success when attacking in an individual game, and in the assessment of a comprehensive index of individual competences in a one-on-one football game. However, the most significant factor influencing the effectiveness of a player’s defensive action is solely the complex reaction time.

The main objective of this study was to determine whether hope for success mediates the relationship between personality and goal orientation in high performance and recreational athletes. The cross-sectional study included 289 high performance and recreational athletes of various sports (age: M = 20.34, SD = 1.86). To examine personality, we used the Big Five IPIP-BFM-20 questionnaire. To assess hope for success, we used the Hope for Success Questionnaire. The Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) was employed to examine goal orientation. Hope for success significantly mediates the relationships between conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability, intellect, and task goal orientation in sport. Higher levels of these personality traits are related to athletes’ higher hope for success, which, in turn, is positively related to their task orientation. Personality traits may underpin the hope for success that develops from childhood. This, in turn, appears to be an important component on which, combined with the positive interaction and support from coaches, a task goal orientation beneficial to sport can be shaped in athletes.