Cognition plays a key role in sports performance. This meta-analytic review synthesizes research that examined the relationship between cognitive functions, skills, and sports performance. We identified literature by searching Cochrane Library, APA PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. We included studies conducted on competitive athletes, assessed cognitive prerequisites, and included performance measures related to the sport. Of the 9,433 screened records, 136 reports were included, containing 142 studies, 1,227 effect sizes, and 8,860 participants. Only 11 studies used a prospective study design. The risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies. The multilevel meta-analysis showed a medium effect size for the overall difference in cognitive functions and skills, with higher skilled athletes scoring better than lower skilled athletes (Hedges' g = 0.59, 95% CI [0.49, 0.69]). The moderator analysis showed larger effect size for tests of cognitive decision-making skills (g = 0.77, 95% CI [0.6, 0.94]) compared to basic (g = 0.39, 95% CI [0.21, 0.56]) and higher cognitive functions (g = 0.44, 95% CI [0.26, 0.62]), as well as larger effect for sport-specific task stimuli compared to general ones. We report that higher skilled athletes perform better on cognitive function tests than lower skilled athletes. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether cognitive functions and skills can predict future sport performance. We found no evidence to support claims that tests of general cognitive functions, such as executive functioning, should be used by practitioners for talent identification or player selection. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: An understanding of physical activity through mediators of behaviour change is important to evaluate the efficacy of interventions. The purpose of this review is to update prior reviews with meta-analysis in order to evaluate the state of physical activity interventions that include proposed mediators of behaviour change. Methods: Literature was identified through searching of five key databases. Studies were eligible if they described a published experimental or quasi-experimental trial in English examining the effect of an intervention on physical activity behaviour and mediators in non-clinical adult populations with the necessary statistical information to be included in the meta-analytic structural equation modelling analysis. Results: Fifty-one articles (49 samples) met the eligibility criteria. Small overall effects were identified for mediation paths a (r = .16; 95% CI = .10 to .22), b (r = .21; 95% CI .16 to .27), and c (r = .24; 95% CI .12 to .35), c’ (r = .05 to .19) and ab (r = .02 to .07) that showed similar findings by theory and construct. Conclusion: The effect sizes seen in physical activity interventions are mediated by our current theories, but the effects are very small and no one construct/theory appears to be a critical driver of the mediated effect compared to any other. Innovation and increased fidelity of interventions is needed.

Based on the Self-determination theory process model, this study aimed to explore relationships between the latent constructs of psychological need satisfaction, autonomous motivation and exercise behaviour; the mediational role of autonomous motivation in the association of psychological need satisfaction with exercise behaviour; as well as gender and age differences in the aforementioned associations. Adult active members of an Internet-based exercise program (n = 1091) between 18 and 78 years of age completed a test battery on motivational aspects based on Self-determination theory. The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale and the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire-2 were used to measure need satisfaction and type of motivation and the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire to measure self-reported exercise. Need satisfaction predicted autonomous motivation, which in turn predicted exercise, especially for women. Autonomous motivation was found to mediate the association between need satisfaction and exercise. Age and gender moderated several of the paths in the model linking need satisfaction with motivation and exercise. The results demonstrated gender and age differences in the proposed sequential mechanisms between autonomous motivation and exercise in the process model. This study thus highlights a potential value in considering moderating factors and the need to further examine the underlying mechanisms between needs, autonomous motivation, and exercise behaviour.

Factors influencing sport injury risk, rehabilitation outcomes, and return to sport processes have been the focus in various research disciplines (sports medicine, psychology and sociology). One discipline, with over 50 years of scholarship, is the psychology of sport injury. Despite the research in this field, there is no evidence-based consensus to inform professional practice. The aim of this original and timely consensus statement is to summarise psychological sport injury research and provide consensus recommendations for sport practitioners seeking to implement psychological principles into clinical practice. A total of seven experts with extensive experience outlined the consensus objectives and identified three psychology of sport injury sub-domains: risk, rehabilitation and return to sport. The researchers, grouped in pairs, prepared initial drafts of assigned sub-domains. The group met in Stockholm, and the three texts were merged into a draft and revised in an iterative process. Stress responses are the strongest psychological risk factor for acute injuries. Intra- and interpersonal factors, as well as sociocultural factors, are demonstrated psychosocial risk factors for overuse injuries. Stress management and mindfulness interventions to prevent injuries have been successfully implemented. The rehabilitation process may influence athlete’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioural responses. Social support, mindfulness, acceptance-based practices, and cognitive-behavioural based intervention programs reduce negative reactions. Return to sport includes various stages and different trajectories. Returning athletes typically experience concerns regarding competence, autonomy, and relatedness. It is recommended that athletes focus on the physical, technical, and psychological demands of their sport as they progress to increasingly intense activities. Interdisciplinary collaboration (e.g., sports medicine and psychology) would be beneficial in enhancing clinical practice and improving athlete outcomes.

The purpose of the present study was to use a person-oriented analytical approach to identify latent motivational profiles, based on the different behavioural regulations for exercise, and to examine differences in satisfaction of basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) and exercise behaviour across these motivational profiles. Two samples, consisting of 1084 and 511 adults respectively, completed exercise-related measures of behavioural regulation and psychological need satisfaction as well as exercise behaviour. Latent profile analyses were used to identify motivational profiles. Six profiles, representing different combinations of regulations for exercise, were found to best represent data in both samples. Some profiles were found in both samples (e.g., low motivation profile, self-determined motivation profile and self-determined with high introjected regulation profile), whereas others were unique to each sample. In line with the Self-Determination Theory, individuals belonging to more self-determined profiles demonstrated higher scores on need satisfaction. The results support the notions of motivation being a multidimensional construct and that people have different, sometimes competing, reasons for engaging in exercise. The benefits of using person-oriented analyses to examine within-person interactions of motivation and different regulations are discussed.