Background: In Kuwait, as in much of the world, COVID-19 epidemic has been spreading since February 2020. The government of Kuwait has taken several measures to minimize virus spread. The epidemic and measures to contain it will likely psychologically influence individuals. This study investigated the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in Kuwaiti nationals and expats. The study’s secondary aim was to identify the association between sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity (PA) engagement, with psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait. A two-section survey was used to examine sociodemographic characteristics and PA engagement, and generalized anxiety (GAD-7) and depression symptoms (PHQ-9). Results: Results of this study indicated that 53.7% and 59.6% of the respondents experienced anxiety and depression. The multiple regression models significantly predicted anxiety and depression (P < 0.001). In addition, PA, gender, education, and age were significantly associated with anxiety (P < .05), while PA, gender, age, and marital status were significantly associated with depression (P < .05). Conclusions: Findings suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak may have a greater psychological impact on women, younger individuals, married people, and individuals with a bachelor’s degree. However, regular PA appears to be an important immediate and long-term factor in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression during an epidemic.

We examined the effectiveness of perceptual training on the performance of handball goalkeepers when anticipating the direction of both direct and deceptive 7-m throws. Skilled goalkeepers were assigned equally to three matched-ability groups based on their pre-test performance: a perceptual training group (n = 14) received video-based perceptual training, a placebo training group (n = 14) received video-based regular training and a control group received no training. Participants in the perceptual training group significantly improved their performance compared to both placebo and control groups; however, anticipation of deceptive throws improved less than for direct throws. The results confirm that although anticipating deception in handball is a challenging task for goalkeepers, task-specific perceptual training can minimise its effect and improve performance.

This study investigated effects of home confinement on physical activity (PA) in Team Handball during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 1359 handball players participated (age: 23 ± 6 years). Participants from Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa answered an online version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) considering “before” and “during” confinement. COVID-19 home confinement has had a negative effect on PA (vigorous, moderate, walking, and overall). The largest decrease was in the sum parameter “all PA” (MET (metabolic equivalent of task)-min/week, η_p² = 0.903; min/week, η_p² = 0.861). Daily sitting time increased from 2.7 to 5.0 h per weekday (p < 0.001, η_p² = 0.669). For gender, continent, country, level of handball league, and playing position, no significant differences (group and interaction effects) were observed. The largest change in PA behavior was in walking (minutes per day: η_p² = 0.755), with males displaying the greatest decrease (from 62 ± 11 to 30 ± 14 min per weekday; d = 2.67). In terms of magnitude, difference between genders was greatest for sitting time (difference in d = 1.20). In conclusion, while COVID-19 measures were essential to preserve public health, PA was compromised and sedentary behavior increased because of these public health measures regardless of gender, playing position, and competition level.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors (SB) and sleep duration and the associations between those variables among Kuwaiti Physical Education (PE) College students. Methods: A total of 418 participants (220 females) were randomly selected from the Basic Education College in the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait. Body weight and height were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. A validated questionnaire was used to assess lifestyle behaviors. Results: Based on BMI classification, the prevalence of overweight or obesity among males (34.9%) was significantly higher than that of females (16.7%). However, the mean (SD) of body fat percentage using bioelectrical impedance analysis was 21.3 (9.0) for males and 32.3 (7.7) for females. The proportions of highly active (>1200 METs-min/week) males (85.9%) and females (64.3%) were significantly (p<0.005) different. The participants exceeding 3 hours of screen viewing time/day and insufficient sleep duration (<7 hours/night) were 76.8% and 65.1%, respectively, with no gender differences. Logistic regression, adjusted for confounders, showed that highly active PE students had a higher proportion of SB. However, neither sleep duration nor body fat percentage exhibited any significant difference relative to PA. Conclusions: Despite having high PA, Kuwaiti PE College students had a high prevalence of SB and insufficient sleep. Gender differences were found in PA but not in screen time or sleep duration. Efforts toward reducing SB and insufficient sleep among Kuwaiti PE College students are needed to reduce unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and promote health and well‑being.

Few studies have examined referee self-efficacy in a competitive situation such as team handball. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between handball playing and refereeing experience and referee self-efficacy as well as to investigate the differences in self-efficacy between international and national handball referees. Handball referees were conveniently selected during the 18th Asian Men’s Handball Championship 2018 and the 2017-2018 Kuwaiti Handball League. Participants completed an in person demographic information questionnaire as well as the 13-item Referee Self-Efficacy Scale (REFS) (Myers, Feltz, Guillén, & Dithurbide, 2012) which assesses Game Knowledge (GK), Decision making (DM), Pressure (PR), and Communication (CM). There were significant positive correlations for all Referee Self-Efficacy Scale dimensions with years of refereeing experience. Past playing experience was correlated with DM. Number of officiated matches in the last 12 months were significantly correlated with DM and CM. International referees were significantly more confident in their decision making; in dealing with pressure; and in their communication abilities. Expertise as an effective factor for enhancing self-efficacy was confirmed and referees should focus on developing technical, physical, and psychological skills in order to achieve superiority in refereeing. Self-efficacy can be used to differentiate expert from less-experienced handball referees