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Elite level ice hockey places high demands on player’s physical and technical attributes as well as on cognitive and executive functions. There is, however, a notable lack of research on these attributes and functions. The present study investigated executive function with selected tests from the D-KEFS test battery among 48 ice hockey players and compared them to a standardized sample. Results show that ice hockey players’ scores were significantly higher on Design Fluency (DF) compared with the standardized sample score. Elite players’ scores were not significantly higher than those of lower-league hockey players. A significant correlation was found between on-ice performance and Trail Making Test (TMT) scores. Exploratory analysis showed that elite-level center forwards scored significantly higher on DF than did players in other positions. Future research should investigate whether assessment of executive function should be taken into account, in addition to physical and technical skills, when scouting for the next ice hockey star.

Researchers have noted that when taken to an excessive level, exercise may become addictive. This study investigated the risk of exercise addiction for triathletes using the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI; Terry, Szabo, & Griffths, 2004). The sample consisted of 1,285 male and female triathletes, ranging in age from 18–70 years old. Results indicated that approximately 20% of triathletes are at risk for exercise addiction, and that training for longer distance races (i.e., Olympic, Half-Ironman, and Ironman) puts triathletes at greater risk for exercise addiction than training for shorter races (i.e., Sprint). No significant association was found between the risk for exercise addiction and the number of years of participating. However, as the number of weekly training hours increased, so did a triathlete’s risk for exercise addiction. At-risk triathletes need greater clinical attention, and further research should be conducted to help clinicians develop awareness and appropriate interventions.

The purpose of the present study was to conceptualize maladaptive forms of sport perfectionism by determining the factors (and items within each factor) that best describe this construct among skilled male and female athletes. The sample consisted of 217 undergraduate student athletes ranging in age from 19 to 33 years. A theory-driven four-factor, 18-item Likert-type scale, called the Sport Perfectionism Inventory (SPI), was generated for this study. The factors, each reflecting maladaptive perfectionism to an excessive degree, included the following: concern over mistakes (CM), self-criticism (SC), personal standards (PS), and negative feedback (NF). Results showed that the items were generalizable for both genders, and all correlations between factors in the scale were significant. It was concluded that these dimensions depicted maladaptive sport perfectionism as a function of gender.

This study reports the psychometric development of a measure to assess individual differences in exercise motivations using a functionalist strategy (Snyder & Cantor, 1997). Factor analyses revealed two subscales for the newly developed Function of Exercise Scale (FES): Weight and Appearance (WA), and Health and Enjoyment (HE). FES-HE scores correlated with better psychological well-being and predicted prospectively monitored as well as concurrently and longitudinally assessed exercise behavior. FES-HE scores also correlated with lower pulse, systolic blood pressure, and salivary cortisol readings, indicating its association with better physical health. In contrast, FES-WA scores correlated with greater depressive and eating disorder symptoms, as well as lower self-esteem, and predicted the later emergence of eating disorder, but not depressive, symptoms. FES-WA scores failed to show a relationship with measures of physical well-being, including exercise engagement and vital sign data. Overall, the FES appears to hold promise as a succinct and psychometrically sound heuristic for meaningfully relating exercise motivations to important indices of both physical and psychological well-being.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of subclinical psychological difficulties, as assessed by the Multilevel Classification System for Sport Psychology (MCS-SP; Gardner & Moore, 2004b, 2006), on the efficacy of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC; Gardner & Moore, 2004a, 2007) performance enhancement intervention. Thirteen collegiate field hockey and volleyball athletes participated in a 7-week MAC protocol, and their results were compared to those of a control group of 7 same-sport athletes. Nonparametric analysis of the data offers additional support for MAC as a strategy for enhancing the athletic performance of collegiate athletes and suggests the importance of the accurate assessment of subclinical psychological difficulties to ensure the successful application of sport psychology interventions. In essence, these results suggest that the presence or absence of subclinical psychological difficulties may serve as a moderating factor in performance enhancement efforts.