Alexandra Predoiu | National University Of Sport And Physical Eucation (original) (raw)
Papers by Alexandra Predoiu
eLearning and Software for Education
In obtaining sports or academic performances, the activity of the professor or coach significantl... more In obtaining sports or academic performances, the activity of the professor or coach significantly influences the motivation of students and athletes. In addition to cognitive skills, the general motivation for performance is an essential prerequisite for professional success. The goal of our research was to identify the level of motivation of students from the National University of Physical Education and Sports from Bucharest, in order to intervene in their professional and personal development. This research included a number of 83 students, aged between 19 and 21 years, 57 male and 26 female, which were at risk of school dropout. The Achievement Motivation Inventory (AMI) was used, being applied through a computerized platform. The general motivational index was used, representing a simple arithmetic sum of the 17 structural scales of AMI (for instance, persistence, confidence in success, dominance, eagerness to learn, flexibility, internality, self-control). One-way ANOVA revea...
eLearning and Software for Education
The main scope of this study was to identify important psychomotor abilities and cognitive capaci... more The main scope of this study was to identify important psychomotor abilities and cognitive capacities of the informal leader in the case of preadolescent handball players. The participants were sorted, in conformity with the individual status scores (after performing a peer assessment, regarding the sport-related competence), in three categories: popular, neglected/ controversial and rejected. The study was carried out on 45 junior female handball players, aged between 11-12 years old, from three different handball teams. Each team included 15 players (all having a training experience of 3- 4 years) and represented the „reference group“, within which preferential status was established. In order to conduct the research concerning the quality of the female athletes’ psychomotor and cognitive behavior we used computerized tests: CMA (Attention Concentration and Mobility) test, RCMV (Motor reactivity, interlimb coordination, vigilance) test and TRS (Simple reaction time) test, all part...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated and facilitated the introduction of telework in organizations.... more The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated and facilitated the introduction of telework in organizations. This has also impacted the workers’ relationship between work and private life. The aim of the current study was to examine the links between resilience and mode of work (stationary vs. remote) and the work–home and home–work relationships, and whether they are mediated by passion for work and strategies of coping with stress. The study was carried out on a sample of 1251 participants from Great Britain, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Vietnam. The following measures were used: The Survey Work–Home Interaction, The Brief Resilience Coping Scale, The Passion Scale, and the Brief COPE. Results showed that the more stationary the mode of work, the lower the intensity of the negative influence of personal life on work. Resilience was revealed to have a positive effect on worker functioning. The study also showed a relationship between education and g...
Journal of Educational Sciences & Psychology
The present study investigates the differences between high- and low-handicap golf players consid... more The present study investigates the differences between high- and low-handicap golf players considering risk-taking behavior and aggression. Also, the existing correlations between golf players’ sports skills, height (inches), weight (lbs), risk-taking behavior and aggression were analyzed. 36 performance golf players from the United States took part in the research (Mage = 18.94). For assessing risk-taking behavior The English adaptation of the Makarowski's Stimulating and Instrumental Risk Questionnaire was used, while aggression was measured through the English adaptation of the Makarowski's Aggression Questionnaire. It was found that low-handicap golf players have higher results for Go-ahead scale, a better sports ability is linked to a heavier weight (only in male athletes), while in female golf players a lower score for stimulating risk is associated to a higher value for instrumental risk (requires rational thinking). Both male and female golf players obtained a signif...
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala
Values are connected to how a person perceives the environment and themselves. One can talk about... more Values are connected to how a person perceives the environment and themselves. One can talk about a certain dynamic of values over time. Changes in the importance of values occur due to existing situations in the external environment or to a significant alteration in one’s internal motivation. The goals of our research were to determine the value structure of preadolescents at risk of school dropout and to identify differences in values depending on the type of vulnerability, gender and geographical region. A total of 120 pre-teens (64 boys and 56 girls) at risk of school dropout participated in the study. We used the Values Questionnaire, part of the PEDb computerised platform (created by Cognitrom), which is calibrated for the Romanian population. The results have revealed that the most important values for pre-teens at risk of school dropout are related to social relations, skill development, free time and compliance with the rules. Significant differences were highlighted betwee...
Healthcare
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affecte... more Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes’ ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05...
Healthcare, 2022
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affecte... more Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes' ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05). To analyze the data, analyses of variance were carried out using Tukey's post hoc test and η2 for effect size. Further, emotional tension was the highest among Polish and Slovak athletes in the fourth wave, while the highest among Romanian athletes was in the pre-pandemic period. The coping strategies used by the athletes in the fourth wave were more dysfunctional than during the first wave (independent t test and Cohen's d were used). The dynamics of the coping strategiesemotion focused and problem focused-were also discussed among Polish, Romanian, and Slovak athletes. Coaches and sports psychologists can modify the athletes' perceived stress while simultaneously promoting effective coping strategies.
Archives of Budo, Jun 1, 2021
Background and Study Aim: The competition is an unique event which supposes pressure, social and ... more Background and Study Aim: The competition is an unique event which supposes pressure, social and financial stake, in these conditions increasing the athletes' probability of getting injured. And this probability is higher in the case of new and inexperienced athletes, in which case (mainly), the win-at-all-costs philosophy may lead to less calculated risks. The goal of the current study is recommendation to researchers, coaches of various martial arts (combat sports)
The European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2018
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-No... more This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Archives of Budo, Jun 1, 2021
Πριν κανείς ασχολη θεί με την ουσία του θέματος, θα έπρεπε ίσως να τονιστεί ότι η
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sport and Kinetotherapy Journal, 2020
Athletes of the highest level in many sports (athletics, football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby,... more Athletes of the highest level in many sports (athletics, football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby, skiing, gymnastics, swimming, basketball etc.) talk about the importance of visualising technical execution both during the training period and in competition (during warm-ups, during breaks in official games, before throws, jumps, free kicks etc.). Visualisation techniques can improve motor skills, grow muscle strength, increase selfconfidence, attention concentration and decrease anxiety. Through the use of imagery, pain management, endurance, performance motivation and physical performance can also be enhanced in athletes. To achieve the best results, visualisation techniques should include the five major senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste) and should consider key aspects such as perspective, emotion, environment, task and timing. Mental rehearsal (or visualisation) is powerful because the subconscious processes the experience as a real one (by firing those neurons that a...
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sport and Kinetotherapy Journal
In the last 50 years, various researchers have investigated the characteristics of the champions,... more In the last 50 years, various researchers have investigated the characteristics of the champions, wanting to highlight their personality traits, mental and physical states, the feelings experienced by athletes in the moment when they achieve tremendous performance. The aim of our paper is to identify the level at which physical and mental states are experienced by top athletes when they have achieved remarkable performance. Such information is very important in the self-monitoring process-in competition, self-monitoring enables selfregulation, representing a way of psychological support of top-level athletes. Top-level Romanian athletes from different sports, who won medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, were investigated. Our research is intended to provide support for athletes who, being aware of the differences between their state at the time t 0 (top athletes become aware after the self-monitoring process) and the optimal psychophysical state (specific to the moments when they achieve extraordinary performance), can intervene in order to activate or to relax, being more confident, detaching themselves from external factors or controlling their effort. In competition, self-monitoring makes self-adjustment possible (athletes can manage their own states in order to get closer to the psychological and physical condition for success). The constellation of mental and physical states that facilitates the achievement of superior results in competitions inevitably depends on the gender and age of the athletes and on the practiced sports branch (besides the interindividual differences related to each person's unique and original personality).
Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Success in sports among athletes on a similar l... more Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Success in sports among athletes on a similar level of skill can depend on individual differences in experienced stress and coping strategies The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of life, including sports The aim of the current study was to verify two hypotheses: (H1) emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsy-chic stress among martial arts athletes will be significantly higher during the height of the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period;(H2) martial arts athletes will less frequently use problem-focused strategies of coping with stress, such as active coping and planning, during the height of the pandemic The study used the Perception of Stress Questionnaire measuring the following dimensions of stress: emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsychic stress Coping strategies were measured with the Brief COPE questionnaire distinguishing 14 coping strategies Seven hundred and eighty-one athletes (including 11...
Archives of Budo, 2020
Background and Study Aim: The personal development process is invaluable for martial arts coaches... more Background and Study Aim: The personal development process is invaluable for martial arts coaches (and not only), our research increasing awareness of viewing the martial art coach as a performer within the sports performance field. The cognitive aim of current study is knowledge about specific personality traits of coaches of martial arts and top coaches at Olympic, World and European levels others sports.
Frontiers in Psychology
IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional suppo... more IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional support in situations of direct threat to patient health and life. They experience numerous difficulties during their work, which result in occupational stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more demanding. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of resilience in the subjective experience of stress among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsThe study was carried out in two phases, in October-November 2019 (N = 75) and in May-June 2020 (N = 84), using the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Skala Poczucia Stresu) and the Resilience Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności).ResultsParamedics exhibited higher intrapsychic stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolerance of failure and treating life as a challenge were higher during the pandemic, in contrast to optimism and the ability to mobilize in difficult situations. Paramedics who were in conta...
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala
The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with... more The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with what each person and family undertake, continuing with the interventions at the community level and ending with the public policy measures. Purpose: This study makes a quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life as perceived by young people who practice sports, and it also highlights the differences in perception of the quality of life among youth, according to gender and the sport practiced (individual or team sport), for the 16 life domains. Methods: The participants were 69 athletes. Quality of life has been measured using the Quality of Life Inventory (QoLI) for Romania, developed by Michael B. Frisch. Results: After processing the data, it has been found that the highest weighted satisfaction is obtained for Goals and Values, Play, Health and Self-Esteem, and the lowest satisfaction is recorded for Children, Money, Community and Neighborhood. Statistical proces...
Psiworld 2015 Proceedings, 2016
The aim of our research consists of investigating the spatial orientation and concentration of at... more The aim of our research consists of investigating the spatial orientation and concentration of attention (expressed through attention efficiency coefficient) at female non-athletes, artistic gymnasts and handball players. To solve the research matters we used the Spatial Orientation test (component of the computerized platform of psychological evaluation Cognitrom Assessment System, developed by Cognitrom) and Attention Concentration and Mobility CMA test (within PSISELTEVA tests, elaborated by RQ Plus). The application of the Mann-Whitney test, revealed statistically significant differences, regarding spatial orientation between the handball players and the female non-athletes and also, concerning attention efficiency coefficient between the artistic gymnasts and non-athletes.
European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 2016
The purpose of this study was to examine the existing correlations between creativity, which is e... more The purpose of this study was to examine the existing correlations between creativity, which is expressed through fluency (wealth of ideas generated in a certain timeframe) and mental flexibility (in contrast with the rigidity of thinking), the resistance to mental fatigue and the coping modalities. To investigate the research issues, the following methods were used: observation, conversation and tests-Imagination and Creativity test, Resistance to Mental Fatigue (RNE) test and the COPE Survey (Coping strategies). The study comprised 11 junior female handball players, aged between 16-17 years. In our study, we used the Spearman correlation, which revealed important relations between the results obtained by the female athletes for creativity-expressed through fluency, as well as for the resistance to disruptive factors, the performance coefficient and the scores obtained by the female players for: planning, looking for instrumental support, looking for emotional support, positive reinterpretation and emotional discharge. The result analysis indicates a positively significant correlation between creativity-fluency and the scores obtained for positive reinterpretation, as a coping strategy, also a positively significant correlation between the performance coefficient and planning, as a coping modality, and negatively significant correlations between the resistance to disruptive factors and the following coping strategies: looking for instrumental support, looking for emotional support and emotional discharge. The results underline that the improvement of the resistance to disruptive factors, of the performance coefficient and of the fluency may have a positive impact on the coping strategies used by the athletes to overcome stressful situations.
European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 2016
The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing correlations between intersegmental coo... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing correlations between intersegmental coordination and the scores obtained by the athletes for the technical element-landing in artistic gymnastics. The subjects who took part in this study were 21 female athletes aged between 9-10 years, practicing artistic gymnastics. The RCMV test included in the PSISELTEVA battery, developed by RQ Plus, was used to assess intersegmental coordination expressed by certain psychomotor parameters (perceptual-motor learning ability, performance coefficient, personal optimum rhythm, resistance to disruptive factors and resistance to time pressure). Using the Spearman correlation, there were highlighted important relations between the results obtained in RCMV test by the female athletes practicing artistic gymnastics and the scores for the technical element-landing (in the case of vault and uneven bars). The analysis of the results indicates that there is a positively significant correlation between the following psychomotor parameters: perceptual-motor learning ability, performance coefficient, resistance to time pressure and the scores obtained by the female athletes for landing (in the case of vault). Also, there is a negatively significant correlation between the personal optimum rhythm coefficient and the results for landing (vault). Consequently, the results indicate that the development of intersegmental coordination can positively influence the technical element-landing of the female athletes practicing artistic gymnastics.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015
The purpose of this study consists of analyzing the existing correlations between the topographic... more The purpose of this study consists of analyzing the existing correlations between the topographical memory, the concentration of attention under slow and fast speed conditions and the sports performance of the top junior female tennis players. The MT and TAC computerized tests, included into the PSISELTEVA battery, developed by RQ Plus, evaluates the topographical memory and the concentration of attention, expressed through specific parameters. The subjects who took part in this study are 8 junior female tennis players, taking part of the elite of the Romanian and of the European players. Using the Spearman correlation there have been important relations highlighted between the topographical memory coefficient, the concentration of attention under fast speed conditions and the sports performance, expressed through the ranking position (the official ranking system).
eLearning and Software for Education
In obtaining sports or academic performances, the activity of the professor or coach significantl... more In obtaining sports or academic performances, the activity of the professor or coach significantly influences the motivation of students and athletes. In addition to cognitive skills, the general motivation for performance is an essential prerequisite for professional success. The goal of our research was to identify the level of motivation of students from the National University of Physical Education and Sports from Bucharest, in order to intervene in their professional and personal development. This research included a number of 83 students, aged between 19 and 21 years, 57 male and 26 female, which were at risk of school dropout. The Achievement Motivation Inventory (AMI) was used, being applied through a computerized platform. The general motivational index was used, representing a simple arithmetic sum of the 17 structural scales of AMI (for instance, persistence, confidence in success, dominance, eagerness to learn, flexibility, internality, self-control). One-way ANOVA revea...
eLearning and Software for Education
The main scope of this study was to identify important psychomotor abilities and cognitive capaci... more The main scope of this study was to identify important psychomotor abilities and cognitive capacities of the informal leader in the case of preadolescent handball players. The participants were sorted, in conformity with the individual status scores (after performing a peer assessment, regarding the sport-related competence), in three categories: popular, neglected/ controversial and rejected. The study was carried out on 45 junior female handball players, aged between 11-12 years old, from three different handball teams. Each team included 15 players (all having a training experience of 3- 4 years) and represented the „reference group“, within which preferential status was established. In order to conduct the research concerning the quality of the female athletes’ psychomotor and cognitive behavior we used computerized tests: CMA (Attention Concentration and Mobility) test, RCMV (Motor reactivity, interlimb coordination, vigilance) test and TRS (Simple reaction time) test, all part...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated and facilitated the introduction of telework in organizations.... more The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated and facilitated the introduction of telework in organizations. This has also impacted the workers’ relationship between work and private life. The aim of the current study was to examine the links between resilience and mode of work (stationary vs. remote) and the work–home and home–work relationships, and whether they are mediated by passion for work and strategies of coping with stress. The study was carried out on a sample of 1251 participants from Great Britain, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Vietnam. The following measures were used: The Survey Work–Home Interaction, The Brief Resilience Coping Scale, The Passion Scale, and the Brief COPE. Results showed that the more stationary the mode of work, the lower the intensity of the negative influence of personal life on work. Resilience was revealed to have a positive effect on worker functioning. The study also showed a relationship between education and g...
Journal of Educational Sciences & Psychology
The present study investigates the differences between high- and low-handicap golf players consid... more The present study investigates the differences between high- and low-handicap golf players considering risk-taking behavior and aggression. Also, the existing correlations between golf players’ sports skills, height (inches), weight (lbs), risk-taking behavior and aggression were analyzed. 36 performance golf players from the United States took part in the research (Mage = 18.94). For assessing risk-taking behavior The English adaptation of the Makarowski's Stimulating and Instrumental Risk Questionnaire was used, while aggression was measured through the English adaptation of the Makarowski's Aggression Questionnaire. It was found that low-handicap golf players have higher results for Go-ahead scale, a better sports ability is linked to a heavier weight (only in male athletes), while in female golf players a lower score for stimulating risk is associated to a higher value for instrumental risk (requires rational thinking). Both male and female golf players obtained a signif...
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala
Values are connected to how a person perceives the environment and themselves. One can talk about... more Values are connected to how a person perceives the environment and themselves. One can talk about a certain dynamic of values over time. Changes in the importance of values occur due to existing situations in the external environment or to a significant alteration in one’s internal motivation. The goals of our research were to determine the value structure of preadolescents at risk of school dropout and to identify differences in values depending on the type of vulnerability, gender and geographical region. A total of 120 pre-teens (64 boys and 56 girls) at risk of school dropout participated in the study. We used the Values Questionnaire, part of the PEDb computerised platform (created by Cognitrom), which is calibrated for the Romanian population. The results have revealed that the most important values for pre-teens at risk of school dropout are related to social relations, skill development, free time and compliance with the rules. Significant differences were highlighted betwee...
Healthcare
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affecte... more Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes’ ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05...
Healthcare, 2022
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affecte... more Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes' ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05). To analyze the data, analyses of variance were carried out using Tukey's post hoc test and η2 for effect size. Further, emotional tension was the highest among Polish and Slovak athletes in the fourth wave, while the highest among Romanian athletes was in the pre-pandemic period. The coping strategies used by the athletes in the fourth wave were more dysfunctional than during the first wave (independent t test and Cohen's d were used). The dynamics of the coping strategiesemotion focused and problem focused-were also discussed among Polish, Romanian, and Slovak athletes. Coaches and sports psychologists can modify the athletes' perceived stress while simultaneously promoting effective coping strategies.
Archives of Budo, Jun 1, 2021
Background and Study Aim: The competition is an unique event which supposes pressure, social and ... more Background and Study Aim: The competition is an unique event which supposes pressure, social and financial stake, in these conditions increasing the athletes' probability of getting injured. And this probability is higher in the case of new and inexperienced athletes, in which case (mainly), the win-at-all-costs philosophy may lead to less calculated risks. The goal of the current study is recommendation to researchers, coaches of various martial arts (combat sports)
The European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2018
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-No... more This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Archives of Budo, Jun 1, 2021
Πριν κανείς ασχολη θεί με την ουσία του θέματος, θα έπρεπε ίσως να τονιστεί ότι η
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sport and Kinetotherapy Journal, 2020
Athletes of the highest level in many sports (athletics, football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby,... more Athletes of the highest level in many sports (athletics, football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby, skiing, gymnastics, swimming, basketball etc.) talk about the importance of visualising technical execution both during the training period and in competition (during warm-ups, during breaks in official games, before throws, jumps, free kicks etc.). Visualisation techniques can improve motor skills, grow muscle strength, increase selfconfidence, attention concentration and decrease anxiety. Through the use of imagery, pain management, endurance, performance motivation and physical performance can also be enhanced in athletes. To achieve the best results, visualisation techniques should include the five major senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste) and should consider key aspects such as perspective, emotion, environment, task and timing. Mental rehearsal (or visualisation) is powerful because the subconscious processes the experience as a real one (by firing those neurons that a...
Discobolul – Physical Education, Sport and Kinetotherapy Journal
In the last 50 years, various researchers have investigated the characteristics of the champions,... more In the last 50 years, various researchers have investigated the characteristics of the champions, wanting to highlight their personality traits, mental and physical states, the feelings experienced by athletes in the moment when they achieve tremendous performance. The aim of our paper is to identify the level at which physical and mental states are experienced by top athletes when they have achieved remarkable performance. Such information is very important in the self-monitoring process-in competition, self-monitoring enables selfregulation, representing a way of psychological support of top-level athletes. Top-level Romanian athletes from different sports, who won medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, were investigated. Our research is intended to provide support for athletes who, being aware of the differences between their state at the time t 0 (top athletes become aware after the self-monitoring process) and the optimal psychophysical state (specific to the moments when they achieve extraordinary performance), can intervene in order to activate or to relax, being more confident, detaching themselves from external factors or controlling their effort. In competition, self-monitoring makes self-adjustment possible (athletes can manage their own states in order to get closer to the psychological and physical condition for success). The constellation of mental and physical states that facilitates the achievement of superior results in competitions inevitably depends on the gender and age of the athletes and on the practiced sports branch (besides the interindividual differences related to each person's unique and original personality).
Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Success in sports among athletes on a similar l... more Background and Study Aims: Materials and Methods: Success in sports among athletes on a similar level of skill can depend on individual differences in experienced stress and coping strategies The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many areas of life, including sports The aim of the current study was to verify two hypotheses: (H1) emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsy-chic stress among martial arts athletes will be significantly higher during the height of the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period;(H2) martial arts athletes will less frequently use problem-focused strategies of coping with stress, such as active coping and planning, during the height of the pandemic The study used the Perception of Stress Questionnaire measuring the following dimensions of stress: emotional tension, external stress, and intrapsychic stress Coping strategies were measured with the Brief COPE questionnaire distinguishing 14 coping strategies Seven hundred and eighty-one athletes (including 11...
Archives of Budo, 2020
Background and Study Aim: The personal development process is invaluable for martial arts coaches... more Background and Study Aim: The personal development process is invaluable for martial arts coaches (and not only), our research increasing awareness of viewing the martial art coach as a performer within the sports performance field. The cognitive aim of current study is knowledge about specific personality traits of coaches of martial arts and top coaches at Olympic, World and European levels others sports.
Frontiers in Psychology
IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional suppo... more IntroductionParamedics play a vital role in the healthcare system by providing professional support in situations of direct threat to patient health and life. They experience numerous difficulties during their work, which result in occupational stress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their work has become even more demanding. The aim of the current study was to examine the role of resilience in the subjective experience of stress among paramedics during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsThe study was carried out in two phases, in October-November 2019 (N = 75) and in May-June 2020 (N = 84), using the Sense of Stress Questionnaire (Skala Poczucia Stresu) and the Resilience Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności).ResultsParamedics exhibited higher intrapsychic stress before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tolerance of failure and treating life as a challenge were higher during the pandemic, in contrast to optimism and the ability to mobilize in difficult situations. Paramedics who were in conta...
Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala
The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with... more The quality of life of individuals, groups and communities depends on many factors, starting with what each person and family undertake, continuing with the interventions at the community level and ending with the public policy measures. Purpose: This study makes a quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life as perceived by young people who practice sports, and it also highlights the differences in perception of the quality of life among youth, according to gender and the sport practiced (individual or team sport), for the 16 life domains. Methods: The participants were 69 athletes. Quality of life has been measured using the Quality of Life Inventory (QoLI) for Romania, developed by Michael B. Frisch. Results: After processing the data, it has been found that the highest weighted satisfaction is obtained for Goals and Values, Play, Health and Self-Esteem, and the lowest satisfaction is recorded for Children, Money, Community and Neighborhood. Statistical proces...
Psiworld 2015 Proceedings, 2016
The aim of our research consists of investigating the spatial orientation and concentration of at... more The aim of our research consists of investigating the spatial orientation and concentration of attention (expressed through attention efficiency coefficient) at female non-athletes, artistic gymnasts and handball players. To solve the research matters we used the Spatial Orientation test (component of the computerized platform of psychological evaluation Cognitrom Assessment System, developed by Cognitrom) and Attention Concentration and Mobility CMA test (within PSISELTEVA tests, elaborated by RQ Plus). The application of the Mann-Whitney test, revealed statistically significant differences, regarding spatial orientation between the handball players and the female non-athletes and also, concerning attention efficiency coefficient between the artistic gymnasts and non-athletes.
European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 2016
The purpose of this study was to examine the existing correlations between creativity, which is e... more The purpose of this study was to examine the existing correlations between creativity, which is expressed through fluency (wealth of ideas generated in a certain timeframe) and mental flexibility (in contrast with the rigidity of thinking), the resistance to mental fatigue and the coping modalities. To investigate the research issues, the following methods were used: observation, conversation and tests-Imagination and Creativity test, Resistance to Mental Fatigue (RNE) test and the COPE Survey (Coping strategies). The study comprised 11 junior female handball players, aged between 16-17 years. In our study, we used the Spearman correlation, which revealed important relations between the results obtained by the female athletes for creativity-expressed through fluency, as well as for the resistance to disruptive factors, the performance coefficient and the scores obtained by the female players for: planning, looking for instrumental support, looking for emotional support, positive reinterpretation and emotional discharge. The result analysis indicates a positively significant correlation between creativity-fluency and the scores obtained for positive reinterpretation, as a coping strategy, also a positively significant correlation between the performance coefficient and planning, as a coping modality, and negatively significant correlations between the resistance to disruptive factors and the following coping strategies: looking for instrumental support, looking for emotional support and emotional discharge. The results underline that the improvement of the resistance to disruptive factors, of the performance coefficient and of the fluency may have a positive impact on the coping strategies used by the athletes to overcome stressful situations.
European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 2016
The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing correlations between intersegmental coo... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing correlations between intersegmental coordination and the scores obtained by the athletes for the technical element-landing in artistic gymnastics. The subjects who took part in this study were 21 female athletes aged between 9-10 years, practicing artistic gymnastics. The RCMV test included in the PSISELTEVA battery, developed by RQ Plus, was used to assess intersegmental coordination expressed by certain psychomotor parameters (perceptual-motor learning ability, performance coefficient, personal optimum rhythm, resistance to disruptive factors and resistance to time pressure). Using the Spearman correlation, there were highlighted important relations between the results obtained in RCMV test by the female athletes practicing artistic gymnastics and the scores for the technical element-landing (in the case of vault and uneven bars). The analysis of the results indicates that there is a positively significant correlation between the following psychomotor parameters: perceptual-motor learning ability, performance coefficient, resistance to time pressure and the scores obtained by the female athletes for landing (in the case of vault). Also, there is a negatively significant correlation between the personal optimum rhythm coefficient and the results for landing (vault). Consequently, the results indicate that the development of intersegmental coordination can positively influence the technical element-landing of the female athletes practicing artistic gymnastics.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015
The purpose of this study consists of analyzing the existing correlations between the topographic... more The purpose of this study consists of analyzing the existing correlations between the topographical memory, the concentration of attention under slow and fast speed conditions and the sports performance of the top junior female tennis players. The MT and TAC computerized tests, included into the PSISELTEVA battery, developed by RQ Plus, evaluates the topographical memory and the concentration of attention, expressed through specific parameters. The subjects who took part in this study are 8 junior female tennis players, taking part of the elite of the Romanian and of the European players. Using the Spearman correlation there have been important relations highlighted between the topographical memory coefficient, the concentration of attention under fast speed conditions and the sports performance, expressed through the ranking position (the official ranking system).