The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between, multidimensional competitive trait anxiety (cognitive and somatic anxiety), trait cognitive threat appraisal, and coping styles. Five-hundred and fifty male and female athletes of several individual and team sports, between the ages of 15 and 35 (M = 19.8 ± 4.5), completed the translated and adapted versions of the Sport Anxiety Scale and of the Brief COPE, as well as the Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition – Threat Perception. Pearson and Canonical correlations showed that higher levels of trait cognitive anxiety and threat appraisal were positively related to emotion-focused and avoidance coping and inversely related to problem-focused coping. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of individual differences in trait anxiety and threat appraisals, regarding athletes' coping styles.

Youth soccer performance is multifaceted, includes physical growth, biological maturation, and physical fitness, and is linked to the sporting environment to which the players are exposed. We aim to describe age-related associations in body physique, body composition, physical performance technical and tactical skills, psychological and club characteristics of male soccer players aged 12 to 14 years. A total of 157 male soccer players clustered into three age-cohorts (12, 13 and 14 years) were recruited from six soccer clubs. Anthropometric, body composition and body physique, biological maturation, physical performance, skill/game proficiency data, psychological characteristics, and clubs’ characteristics were collected. Group means were compared using analysis of variance and covariance. Fourteen years old players were significantly taller, heavier, leaner, faster, stronger, and technically more skilled than their younger peers (p < 0.05). Differences in physical performance and technical skills (p < 0.05) were found between age groups when adjusting for confounders of soccer training and biological maturation. No significant differences (p > 0.05) between age groups were found in psychological domains. Our findings suggest that age, biological maturation, and training volume are key factors influencing young soccer players’ performance and development. Further, clubs’ conditions provide players with ample resources for their success in training and competition.

Within the theoretical framework of achievement goals ( Nicholls, 1989 Nicholls, J. G. 1989. The competitive ethos and democratic education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] ), Duda and Nicholls (see Duda, 1989 Duda, J. L. 1989. The relationship between task and ego orientation and the perceived purpose of sport among male and female high school athletes. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology., 11: 318–335. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ; Duda & Whitehead, 1998 Duda, J. L. and Hayashi, C. T. 1998. “Measurement issues in cross-cultural research within sport and exercise psychology”. In Advances in sport and exercise psychology measurement, Edited by: Duda, J. L. 471–483. Morgantown, WV: FIT. [Google Scholar] ) developed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) to assess individual differences in achievement goal orientations. This study searches for validity evidence of the TEOSQ in the case of Spanish (2473) and Portuguese (2486) junior high school. The results showed that factor structure, factor loadings, and intercepts could be considered invariant across groups. Between group differences in latent means showed slightly higher mean scores for the Spanish group for both factors. The results also provide high support for the internal consistency of both the Spanish and Portuguese versions of this scale.

Background: Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) has been studied and implemented through physical activity in different backgrounds for over three decades. However, there is no systematized review in the literature concerning the after-school context. Aim: Conducting a systematic review of literature on after-school interventions based on the TPSR model. Methods: This study was driven by the following research questions: Which were the conclusions regarding the implementation of TPSR in after-school settings? Which research methodologies have been used to assess TPSR in after-school time settings? Which results related to TPSR were reported in after-school time settings? Cochrane protocol guidelines were followed. Papers were selected by two independent researchers, with Cohen’s Kappa value of 81%. Results and discussion: Twenty-seven papers were selected, thirteen of which were reported with high scores. Most interventions were conducted in the USA on community-based after-school programs, lasting more than nine sessions, and led by school staff who prepared physical activities for youngsters from disadvantaged communities. Most of the reported studies resorted to qualitative methodologies. Some gaps were detected, such as lack of systematization of methods, lack of validity and reliability. Personal and social benefits were found. Other results were grouped into leadership, staff-youngsters relationship, values, transference, and impact on staff lives. We recommend future studies in the after-school context extend to extend to other countries, with more detailed descriptions of the specific used methods.

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese versions of the Sport Anxiety Scale and of the Brief COPE, as well as of the Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition– Threat Perception, namely regarding their factor structure validity and internal consistency. Participants were 550 male and female athletes of several sports, aged 15 to 35 years old (M=19.8; SD=4.5). Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the instruments demonstrated good psychometric properties. In general, the measurement models provided a good fit to the empirical data and with the exception of some scales of the Brief COPE, the calculated Cronbach's a coefficient of reliability indicated adequate internal consistency for the three instruments. Overall, the results of the present study provided evidence for these instruments' validity and reliability, ultimately supporting their importance for research and psychological intervention in sport contexts.