The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic scoping review of the research focussing on student-athletes’ mental health (MH). More specifically, we aimed to describe and synthesise: (a) the study and sample characteristics of the dual career (DC) and MH research literature, (b) the types of MH outcomes examined in student-athlete populations, (c) comparisons of student-athletes’ MH in relation to other populations of interest, and (d) the variables associated with student-athletes’ MH. Articles were collected from four databases: SPORTDiscus, PsycInfo, Scopus, and PubMed. In total, 159 studies spanning three decades met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were conducted within the North American collegiate context. The majority (62.5%) examined mental ill-health outcomes (e.g. disordered eating, depression, anxiety), 22.6% examined positive mental health outcomes (e.g. subjective well-being, psychological well-being), and 13.8% combined both perspectives. Most studies using non-student-athlete comparison groups found that student-athletes were at a similar or decreased risk for MH problems, although notable exceptions were identified. Finally, 49 distinct variables were associated with student-athletes’ MH. Most variables related to generic or sport-specific factors, with only a limited number of studies examining DC-specific factors. Findings from our scoping review are critically discussed in view of the existing literature.

Research question. The last decade has seen an increase in empirical research associated with dual careers in sport, with a particular focus on understanding and developing individual characteristics which are important to ensure success in sports and education or a vocation. More recent work has, however, also identified the importance of environmental factors in ensuring successful dual career outcomes. The aims of this study, therefore, are to: (a) identify and classify the different types of dual career development environments (DCDEs) and (b) provide outlines of the key features of the environments identified. Research methods. To achieve these aims, this study adopted the procedure of initial documentary analysis, interviews with knowledgeable stakeholders, cross-case analysis, and researcher discussions across seven countries in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Results and findings. Results highlighted that there are eight types of DCDEs – (a) sports-friendly schools, (b) elite sport schools/colleges, (c) professional and/or private club programs, (d) sport-friendly universities, (e) combined dual career systems, (f) national sports programs, (g) defense force programs and (h) players’ union programs with a range of approaches to supporting dual careers. Implications. The research has practical implications in the context of dual career, through providing a possible framework for developing national taxonomies and, therefore, identifying DCDE characteristics and gaps in dual career support.

The aim of this FEPSAC Position Statement is to summarize current knowledge about athletes' dual careers (DCs) in the European context and propose recommendations for future DC research, practice, and policy. Inspired by the European Union's Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012), researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborated over the last decade to create the European DC discourse as a context-informed and negotiated body of DC knowledge. In this paper, we proceed from analyzing this body of knowledge using recent review papers and European DC psychological research projects to formulating seven postulates summarizing DC research findings on factors influencing athletes in their striving for DC excellence. These factors include (1) context, (2) pathways and transitions, (3) challenges, (4) resources and coping, (5) support and empowerment, (6) student-athletes' mental health, and (7) DC development environments. In the final section, we acknowledge the contributions of European DC discourse in serving athletes in their pursuit of DC excellence and European DC culture. We also provide a critical discussion on DC knowledge gaps and, on behalf of FEPSAC, offer recommendations for DC research, practice, and policy in Europe.

The present study examined relationships among perceptions of motivational climate, perceived ability, satisfaction and fair play attitudes in young soccer players. Participants were 472 male Catalan players (from 10 to 14 years). Results indicated that perceptions of a task-involving climate were positively associated with satisfaction in practices and self-referenced perceived ability and were inversely related to rough play attitudes and normative perceived ability. In addition, perceptions of an ego-involving motivational climate were related positively with normative perceived ability and with favorable attitudes towards winning in a soccer game. The differences across motivational climate profiles groups revealed that the highest level of acceptance of rough play was found in the subgroup with a low-task/high-ego orientation. In contrast, the lowest level of acceptance of rough play was found in the opposite subgroup of high-task/low-ego. The findings support the importance of creating a task-involving climate in sports.

Building upon Deci's and Ryan (1985) Self-determination theory as well as the sportive behavioral correlates of the model of Commitment (Scanlan et al., 1976), this study tries to establish the relationship between motivation and commitment in youth sport. For this purpose 454 young competitive soccer players answered the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQ) during the regular season.The SMS measures the three dimensions of the Motivational continuum (the Amotivation, the Extrinsic Motivation and the Intrinsic Motivation). The SCQ measures the Sportive Commitment and its composing factors such as the Enjoyment, the Alternatives to the sport, and the Social Pressure. Our findings provided a clear pattern of the influence of motivation in sport enjoyment and commitment, outlining the positive contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to enjoyment and commitment. Amotivation, contributes positively to alternatives to sport and negatively to enjoyment and commitment. It should be noted that extrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to enjoyment whereas intrinsic motivation has a higher contribution to commitment.