The aim of this study is to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Croatian Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ-Cro) as part of the Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 (SMHAT-1) validation. We assessed the reliability and applicability of the APSQ-Cro among Croatian athletes. The international sports community is increasingly focused on mental health issues in athletes, highlighting the need for early detection tools like the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ) and SMHAT-1. We included 869 Croatian competing athletes across 54 sports who received a link to access the WEB-based questionnaire. The Croatian Olympic Board helped in distributing the questionnaires, aiming to reach as many and as diverse a group of registered competing athletes in Croatia as possible. Results showed a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75 for the entire questionnaire, indicating acceptable reliability. An exploratory strategy of factor analysis was used to determine the underlying structure of the APSQ-Cro. For this purpose, the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett’s test for sphericity were performed to ensure the suitability of the data. The KMO test ensured sampling adequacy, with a measure of 0.77 indicating suitability for factor analysis, while Bartlett’s test confirmed significant correlations among variables (χ² = 2779.155, df = 45, p < 0.001), validating the dataset’s appropriateness for data reduction techniques. The factor analysis, together with the Cattell scree test and varimax rotation, resulted in a two-factor structure for the APSQ-Cro. Factor 1 included items related to internal psychological struggles, while Factor 2 included items related to external pressures from the athletic environment. These two factors explained 53% of the variability, with Cronbach’s alphas of 0.75 and 0.88 for the respective factors. The APSQ-Cro is a valid and reliable tool for assessing distress in Croatian athletes. Croatian athletes’ sporting experience will be improved with the broad adoption of the APSQ-Cro, which can help detect early signs of psychological distress and subsequently improve mental health outcomes.

This study examines the prevalence of mental health problems among Croatian adolescent competing athletes, with a focus on gender differences. Mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and attention deficiency hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are particularly relevant in this population due to the combined and simultaneous challenges of competitive sport and adolescence. Understanding gender-specific patterns is crucial for targeted interventions. A cross-sectional study involved 674 Croatian athletes (418 men, 256 women) aged 16–24 years from 43 sports. Data were collected using the Sports Mental Health Assessment Tool (SMHAT-1), which assessed 12 mental health concerns. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, effect size analysis with Cramér’s V, and power analysis were performed. The results showed significant gender-specific differences. Female athletes reported higher rates of anxiety (22.7% vs. 3.8%, p < 0.001), depression (25.4% vs. 5.3%, p < 0.001), alcohol use (27.0% vs. 7.7%, p < 0.001), ADHD (18.8% vs. 2.4%, p < 0.001), and post-traumatic stress disorder (8.2% vs. 1.2%, p < 0.001) compared to males. Gender-specific mental health interventions are crucial for improving sport performance and injury prevention. Further research should refine strategies to address vulnerabilities associated with gender and competitive sport environments.

Within the last decade, childhood obesity has become a serious problem, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research paper aimed to examine whether body mass index (BMI) was higher during the pandemic (2020–2022) than in the pre-pandemic period (2012/2013–2019) using trends related to sex, urban–rural area, and physical activity (PA). This study included data from physical examinations of an entire population of primary school children from Split-Dalmatia County (Croatia) over a period of 10 years. There were 103,804 students from the first, fifth, and eighth grades who participated in the analysis. During the pandemic, the BMI of all the students increased, except for eighth-grade girls. Generations of eighth graders have had significantly different BMIs throughout the past decade. We found that first graders were overweight and obese in urban areas, while in rural areas, this problem was experienced by upper grades. Girls were more overweight and obese in the first and eighth grades, but boys experienced this more in the fifth grade. Reduced PA influenced an increase in BMI in both sexes, especially in girls. During the pandemic, this situation became worse. This study could be useful to experts for the creation of new policies for Split-Dalmatia County and surrounding regions that are similar economically and culturally.

The sample consisted of 121 respondents from fifth and sixth-grade elementary schools from the City of Zadar. A research was conducted to determine the differences between students who, in addition to physical education and health education, also attend some other form of extracurricular sports activity. By conducting a descriptive analysis, we obtained results that show us that male students engaged in extracurricular activity achieved 21.28% better average results than respondents who do not engage in extracurricular activities. Female respondents engaged in extracurricular activities achieved 9.16% better results than respondents who did not engage in extracurricular activities (better scores in the test to assess functional ability (F6 test)). Using the t-test, we found that empirical levels of significance were statistically significant (p = 0.000) for all respondents in both sexes in functional abilities (F6 test). The authors can claim that students attending some forms of extracurricular sports activity have a better score in the variable F6. By performing regression analysis, authors cannot predict the result in the F6 test based on anthropometric characteristics of body height (TV) and body weight (TT). To improve the functional abilities of students, each teacher should encourage them to attend some additional forms of extracurricular sports activities in the form of improving the overall anthropological status.

The paper provides an overview and review of the use, knowledge and importance of cannabidiol (CBD) on stakeholders in the sports system, on the example of members of the Sports Community of the City of Zadar. In particular, a review is given of the possible harmfulness of taking substances that contain prohibited amounts and ingredients for athletes, ie unfounded and unconfirmed independent research. The method and purpose of taking cannabidiol by the stakeholders of the sports system are presented, with special reference to athletes in the field of recreation. The survey, through a questionnaire, determined whether athletes and sports professionals are sufficiently aware of what are cannabidiols, and what is the impact on the health status of athletes when using cannabidiol and the possible harm to the health of athletes in uncontrolled cannabidiol intake. In conclusion, research has shown that athletes and sports professionals do not know enough about what are cannabidiols, and what is the impact of their use on athletes and recreational athletes. Therefore, the conclusion is that it is necessary to educate these stakeholders in sports and conduct future research.

Uzorak je činio 121 ispitanik iz petih i šestih razreda osnovnih škola grada Zadra. Provedeno je istraživanje kako bi se utvrdile razlike između učenika koji, osim tjelesnog i zdravstvenog odgoja pohađaju i neki drugi oblik izvannastavne sportske aktivnosti. Provođenjem deskriptivne analize dobili smo rezultate koji nam pokazuju da su muški učenici koji se bave izvannastavnom aktivnošću postigli 21,28% bolje prosječne rezultate od ispitanika koji se ne bave izvannastavnim aktivnostima. Ispitanice uključene u izvannastavne aktivnosti su postigle 9,16% bolje rezultate od ispitanica koje se nisu bavile izvannastavnim aktivnostima (bolji rezultati u testu za procjenu funkcionalne sposobnosti (F6 test)). Korištenjem t-testa otkrili smo da su empirijske razine značajnosti statistički značajne (p = 0,000) za sve ispitanike kod oba spola u funkcionalnim sposobnostima (F6 test). Autori mogu tvrditi da učenici koji pohađaju neke oblike izvannastavnih sportskih aktivnosti imaju bolji rezultat u varijabi F6. Izvođenjem regresijske analize autori ne mogu predvidjeti rezultat u F6 testu na temelju antropometrijskih karakteristika tjelesne visine (TV) i tjelesne težine (TT). Broj nastavnih sati i trajanje sata tjelesnog odgoja u osnovnoj školi nije dovoljan za razvoj funkcionalne sposobnosti. Da bi poboljšali funkcionalne sposobnosti učenika, svaki bi ih učitelj trebao potaknuti da pohađaju neke dodatne oblike izvannastavnih sportskih aktivnosti u vidu poboljšanja cjelokupnog antropološkog statusa. Niže funkcionalne sposobnosti imaju posljedice i veći rizik od raznih bolesti. Stoga ne postoji aktivnost poput sportskog treninga kako bi se spriječili potencijalni problemi.