on shyness as a personality type has examined shyness as a trait, or in other words, looking at shyness as a descriptor. However, withdrawal scholars have moved past trait shyness and have begun assessing the motivations behind social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, avoidance, and unsociability
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Melanie S. Hill, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Larry J. Nelson, and Alexander C. Jensen
Derek A. Swain
The present study involved three in-depth interviews with 10 informants who had voluntarily withdrawn from hockey, horse racing, football, and racquet-ball. The personal histories of the informants were examined for diversity and commonality of experience. A synthesized description of career change experience was written as a general story, identifying a sequence of experiential units that reflect the shifts in focus within the common experience. The general story indicated that withdrawal from sport was not simply an event but a process that began soon after the athletes became engaged in their career. This study supports and extends a model proposed by Schlossberg (1984) which attempts to account for diversity in the experience of transitions. The model is considered helpful in developing an understanding of the process of a transitional experience such as retirement from sport, considering the context in which the experience takes place, the meaning it has for the individual, and how it changes over time.
James M. Robbins and Paul Joseph
The types and frequency of sensations experienced by runners when required to miss a run or series of runs was studied. Most of 345 runners of various weekly mileage levels reported some kind of distress; irritability, restlessness, frustration, guilt, and depression were reported most often. Sleeping problems, digestive difficulties, and muscle tension and soreness were reported less frequently. Three causes of exercise withdrawal were proposed: (a) a misinterpretation of the return of dysphoria that had been temporarily masked by the effects of running; (b) an inability to cope with stress in periods when the coping mechanism of running is temporarily unavailable; and (c) the loss of regular, predictable reinforcement of feelings of self-fulfillment gained through success or achievement in previously unimagined and unattainable ways. Results, based on cross-sectional data, were consistent with these hypotheses but do not rule out alternative explanations. The reciprocal nature of number of miles run in an average week and exercise deprivation sensations was also studied. Results indicated that runners tended to run longer in order to avoid the negative sensations that would come from not running, but that an escalation in mileage did not necessarily result in more frequent experiences of distress when not able to run.
Roberta Antonini Philippe, Nadège Rochat, Michaël Vauthier, and Denis Hauw
We analyzed the courses of experience of 10 runners who volunteered to describe their experiences of withdrawal during an ultra-trail race. Data collected contained traces of past activities elicited in self-confrontation interviews. Data were coded and compared with identify structures in common sequences. Seven representative sequences were identified: feeling pain; putting meaning to those feelings; adjusting one’s running style; attempting to overcome the problem; other runners’ influences; assessing the situation; and deciding to withdraw. Results showed that disruptive events could cause progressive, cumulative, and varied transformations in runners’ courses of experience that led inevitably to withdrawal. Practical implications for mental preparation and race management are proposed.
Barbara A. Brown
The high attrition rates observed among young athletes, particularly adolescents, have been attributed to and studied primarily as outcomes of negative aspects of the organization and administration of competitive youth sport. The present study extends this research by examining withdrawal from competitive sport roles in the broader context of the role constellation and lifestyle of adolescent girls. A conceptual framework was developed to examine the process of withdrawal from the role of competitive age group swimmer. It was hypothesized that withdrawal is influenced by six categories of factors: (a) the salience of gender-role stereotypes; (b) the diversity and salience of the opportunity set; (c) the degree of social support from significant others for the sport role; (d) the extent to which the athlete role is perceived as central to personal identity; (e) the extent to which positive and negative outcomes are associated with sport involvement; and (f) the degree of commitment to the athlete role. Survey data were collected from 211 former swimmers and 193 currently involved age group swimmers in Ontario, Canada. It was concluded that a combination of factors from a variety of sources interact to influence the role transition.
Lise Gauvin and Attila Szabo
This study examined the effects of 1-week exercise deprivation on the mood and subjectively perceived physical symptoms of college students highly committed to exercise; it employed the experience sampling method (ESM). Male and female subjects (N=21) filled out questionnaires four random times a day in response to the tone of a pager for 35 days. Subjects who were randomly assigned to the experimental condition refrained from exercising between Days 15 and 21 of the procedure whereas those in the control group maintained their regular levels of physical activity. Results indicated that subjects in the experimental group reported more symptoms than at baseline and in comparison to the control group during and following the week of exercise withdrawal. Results are interpreted in light of Pennebaker's (1982) competing cue, selective attention, and schema hypotheses. Suggestions for the application of the ESM in exercise and sport psychology are provided.
Sandrine Isoard-Gautheur, Emma Guillet-Descas, and Henrik Gustafsson
The negative feelings that are part of burnout syndrome may prompt athletes to drop out of their sport. The objective of the current study was therefore to examine the influence of athlete burnout profiles on playing status 6 years later. The participants of this study were 458 boys and girls between 14 and 18 years old (M = 15.44; SD = .95) enrolled in elite handball training centers. Cluster analysis on athlete burnout and multinomial logistic regressions on the playing status were conducted. The results suggest that those individuals with a “higher burnout” profile at Time 1 were more likely to have stopped playing handball 6 years later. It therefore seems important to develop strategies to prevent burnout in young athletes enrolled in elite training structures and to promote long-term engagement and well-being in elite sporting activity.
We, the Editors and Publishers of the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, have withdrawn the following article in whole: Plews, DJ, Laursen, PB. Training intensity distribution over a four-year cycle in Olympic champion rowers: different roads lead to Rio [version of record published online ahead of print September 27, 2017]. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. doi:
