Resilience in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portuguese Adult Athletes
Abstract
COVID-19 triggered the most significant global state of emergency since World War II, establishing a long-lasting and challenging transition period in anyone's life. In the case of athletes, some specific challenges arise, particularly those associated with the restrictions in training and competitions imposed by sanitary measures. This exploratory and cross-sectional study aims to understand athletes' resilience in the face of COVID-19. The data was collected between December 2020 and March 2021 from 1016 participants with a mean age of 30 years (SD=12.5), ranging from 18 to 83 years, and an average of 14 years of federated practice (SD=9.55). Resilience was measured through a tripartite assessment of its domains: adversity factors (personal experience with the virus, effects on sports practice, and fear of COVID-19), protection mechanisms (satisfaction with social support and coping strategies), and adjustment (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and subjective impact of the pandemic). The results suggest that the drop in training characteristics, time without training and lockdown, fear of COVID-19, and behavioral disengagement are negative predictors of positive adjustment. On the other hand, active coping and satisfaction with social support were positively associated with athletes' adaptation. Furthermore, it was found that being female is an additional adversity factor and that external circumstances, such as the severity of the pandemic, seem to interfere with the participants' adjustment. In conclusion, results suggest that sports institutions should prioritize athletes’ mental health and promote their sports practice as much as possible.
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