Fear of water is the strongest predictor for no or low swimming competencies. Some individuals will never learn to swim due to their complete avoidance of water, whereas others might have difficulty with learning due to the fact that they cannot sufficiently relax their body to facilitate floating or swimming. Therefore, it is important to identify these people and to establish effective teaching strategies that can best help this specific population. Recognizing this, there is a clear need for an assessment tool which can help swim teachers and coaches identify people with a fear of water. The study aimed to first develop and then validate a fear of water assessment questionnaire (FWAQ). 2074 male and female people participated in the creation of a 40-item questionnaire. The exploratory factor showed that a 3 factor solution including 20 items was most sensible – such a solution accounted for 31.69% of explained variance and the Cronbach’s alpha α was 0.831, which makes for a reliable enough solution. A subsequent discriminant function analysis correctly classified 98.2% of participants. We concluded that the findings from this study support that the FWAQ is a valid scale that effectively identify people with fear of water.

This study describes the physical activity of university students (PA) and their motives to exercise in the summer of 2021, after the COVID-19 lockdown in Slovenia. Adults over 18 years of age (n = 493; 72% women) completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form and the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2) via an anonymous online survey. Since the EMI-2 has never been used with the Slovenian population, the measurement properties of the Slovenian version (EMI-2) were also determined in this study. A forward–backward translation was used for cross-cultural adaptation. The internal consistency of the EMI-2 subscales was high. The results of the study showed that male students spent more minutes per session on intense physical activity and performed this activity more frequently per week, whereas female students were more likely to walk for more than 10 min without a break. In addition, female participants were more likely than male participants to cite weight management as a motivator. Male participants were more likely than female participants to cite fun, challenge, social recognition, belonging, competition, and strength and endurance as motivations. Results showed that respondents with a history of competitive sports had higher scores for revitalization, fun, challenge, social recognition, affiliation, competition, positive health, appearance, strength and endurance, and flexibility. They also engaged in intense physical activity more frequently per week, and when they engaged in moderate or intense PA activity, they did so for longer periods of time. Compared to respondents who never exercised, more of them overcame COVID-19. The results also showed some correlation between motivation and physical activity. The motives of revitalization, enjoyment, challenge, competition, strength and endurance, and stress management were more important for individuals who exercised vigorously more often in the past 7 days. Total time spent in daily physical activity is also related to the enjoyment of exercise and challenge. In conclusion, understanding the motives for exercise is important for the behavior of PA, especially after a period of inactivity due to lockdown.

There is conflicting evidence that sport plays a protective role in the development of psychopathological disorders and contributes to the sustainability of mental health. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of mental disorders among elite Slovenian athletes. We were interested in the prevalence of depression, anxiety, suicide risk, substance abuse, and eating disorders among athletes of both sexes and among athletes of individual and team sports aged 18 years or older. A total of 97 elite athletes participated in the study. We used PAI and EDI-3 questionnaires, and the study also included a control group of 90 non-athletes, matched in gender and age to the target group of elite athletes. Testing was conducted in 2020 and 2021. The comparison between elite athletes and the normative group showed a similar expression of depressive and anxious symptomatology. The athletes have a more pronounced drive for thinness and are more expansive, self-confident, and confident of their abilities compared to the control group. A total of 14% of the athletes show self-confidence to the point of self-grandiosity. Male athletes are more likely to use alcohol and other psychoactive substances and are also more impulsive and risk-taking, while female athletes are at higher risk of developing eating disorders. The study suggests that the prevalence of mental disorders in elite athletes is as high as in the general population. There is an urgent need to sustainably ensure the psychological well-being of athletes.

Background: Personality represents a relatively consistent and unique sum of psychological, cognitive and physical characteristics of an individual. Sensation seeking is defined as an action, characterized by the search for different, new, complex and intensive emotions and experiences and preparedness to take physical, social, legal and financial risks in order to achieve these experiences.Objective: We were looking for differences in personality and sensation seeking between high-risk sports athletes and recreational athletes and the correlation between one's purpose to participate in high-risk sports and actual participation.Method: The data was acquired using three different questionnaires: Sensation Seeking Scale (forms SSS - V and SSS - VI) and the Big Five Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 76 high-risk sports athletes and 51 recreational athletes. Data was analyzed using the SPSS statistical program.Results: The results were unexpected because we noticed differences between the two groups in which recreational athletes received higher results, especially in openness. Mostly results from such research show the converse - athletes of high-risk sports are more open. We did not find any difference between the two groups in sensation seeking. We found some correlations between personality traits and factors of Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS - V and SSS - VI). Openness and the Thrill and adventure seeking factor correlated in both versions of SSS.Conclusions: We conclude that high-risk sports athletes differ from recreational athletes, especially in openness. Also, we can confirm that both used versions of SSS are equally effective for analyzing sensation seeking

Our purpose in this study was to examine the effects of using goggles and snorkel during a learn-to-swim program on the aquatic skills of young non-swimmers with fear of water. 40 children volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly divided into two groups: one that used goggles and snorkel (GS) and one that did not (NGS). After four weeks (five sessions per week) of learn-to-swim interventions, both groups improved aquatic skills, but improvements in water entry, back gliding, and prone swimming were greater for the GS than for the NGS group. In contrast, the intervention effect on a blowing bubbles skill was smaller for the GS than for the NGS group. Thus, the use of goggles appears to be more beneficial in a learn to swim program for young swimmers with a fear of water than not using goggles for all lessons other than blowing bubbles.