Skydivers are required to interpret person-context characteristics to overcome inherent internal challenges (i.e., fear and anxiety) and external challenges (i.e., equipment malfunctions) to successfully perform. Research suggests that as skydiving experience increases, skydivers' self-confidence in their actions increases, while their perception of risk and anxiety decreases. However, there is a lack of research investigating the influence of experience and considerations of performance in extreme sports. This study examined the influence of skydiving experience on the interpretation of risk perception, anxiety and self-confidence. Participants comprised 503 experienced Australian skydivers (M_age = 40.10, SD_age = 12.40; 79.5 % male). Using a mixed methods approach, skydivers completed measures of risk perceptions, anxiety, and self-confidence related to skydiving, as well as open-ended questions on their skydiving experiences. The findings indicated that increases in jumping experience led to greater self-confidence, and self-confidence mediated the relationship between all elements of jumping experience and cognitive and somatic anxiety associated with skydiving. Thematic analysis reinforced that skydivers understood the inherent risks associated with skydiving, and that skydivers adopted positive strategies that promoted self-confidence and mastery to perform successfully, while also managing their interpretations of risk and associated anxiety that potentially exists. Further research is needed to better understand the interpretation of person-context situations in extreme sports and recognize the important affordances for performance.

Athletes are vulnerable to a range of mental health symptoms, in part due to stressors within the sport environment. An early intervention framework suggests the benefits of routine screening and referral for mental health, however, greater understanding around athlete help-seeking is needed to support referral uptake. This review examined rates of formal help-seeking behaviour as well as barriers and facilitators to help-seeking in sport settings. Relevant studies were retrieved from SportDiscus, PubMed and PsycInfo, with unpublished studies identified through contacting authors. Help-seeking rates were meta-analysed and barriers and facilitators were meta-synthesised. Twenty-two studies were included. Help-seeking rates were reported in 11 studies (N = 3415) and the pooled proportion of help-seeking was 22.4 % (95 % CI 16.2–30.2, I ² = 95.7 %). Barriers were reported in 13 studies and facilitators in six, highlighting a range of sporting-specific factors, such as stigma in relation to athlete identity and sport culture, fear of deselection, and concerns around confidentiality in sport settings, in addition to lack of awareness, low mental health literacy, and negative attitudes to services. Normalising experiences of mental health in sport settings, including through role models, was a key facilitator to help-seeking. Results provide implications for sport organisations to promote help-seeking and athlete mental health, such as through the use of role models, ensuring clarity around confidentiality, stigma reduction interventions, and fostering team cultures that promote mental health. Findings also support the value of sport staff in facilitating help-seeking, and organisational culture changes to foster wellbeing.

This study investigated the effects of imagery training on reactive agility and whether reacting to unpredictable stimuli could be improved using imagery. Forty-seven female athletes (M_age = 21.51, SD = 2.32) were randomly assigned to either a three-week physical training, imagery training, or control condition. Physical training condition involved physically rehearsing the reactive agility task, whereas the imagery training condition involved imagining the presenting stimulus and performing the reactive agility task. The control condition did no reactive agility training. A 3 (training conditions) x 7 (reactive agility performance components) mixed-model MANOVA was conducted to examine changes in reactive agility performance from the training interventions. Physical training improved decision time components and overall reactive agility performance. Imagery training improved Stimulus-Decision Time and Stimulus-Foot performance, but not overall reactive agility performance. No performance improvements occurred for the control condition. Findings support imagery use for the decision time variables associated with light-stimulus reactive agility performance. The lack of overall reactive performance improvement may indicate that imagery training is not effective for all components of perceptual-motor performance. Performance change inconsistencies appear to indicate that participants may not have generated unpredictable stimuli during imagery. Future investigation as to whether imagery improvements translate to sport-specific reactive tasks is needed.

There remains limited understanding and mixed results around predictors of compulsive exercise, especially outside of eating disorder populations and settings. Research is also limited by operationalisation of compulsive exercise as a unidimensional construct, despite evidence that it is best understood and examined as multi-dimensional. Given that compulsive exercise is also observed in the general exercise population, increased understanding around predictors of compulsive exercise is needed. This study examined the relationship between dimensions of compulsive exercise (Compulsive Exercise Test) with obsessive and harmonious passion (the Passion Scale) and exercise identity (the Exercise Identity Scale) in a sample of N = 1184 Australian general exercisers. Correlation, regression and moderation analyses indicated that exercise identity was associated with all dimensions of compulsive exercise, although strength and direction of relationships varied. Harmonious passion was related to several dimensions of compulsive exercise and also moderated relationships between identity with weight-control exercise, mood improvement and lack of exercise enjoyment, whereas obsessive passion moderated the relationship between identity and lack of exercise enjoyment only. Results highlight that compulsive exercise dimensions have nuanced relationships with other variables and that examination of dimensions can increase understanding around compulsive exercise. Harmonious passion predicted more aspects of compulsive exercise than obsessive passion. Individuals with high exercise identity, and those with low harmonious passion may be more at risk of poor outcomes including compulsive exercise pathology and other related outcomes.

This study examined how growth and fixed mindset beliefs coexist within athletes to form distinct Athletic Mindsets; and whether these composite mindsets differentially predict level of sport performance and athletic coping skills. Athletes in Australia (N = 281, 52% male, M_age = 32.21, SD = 14.40) completed self-report questionnaires measuring mindset, athletic coping, and level of sport performance. Cluster analysis of growth and fixed belief variables identified four distinct athletic mindset profiles: High-Growth/Low-Fixed, Low Growth /Low Fixed, Low Growth /High Fixed, and High-Growth/High Fixed. Analysis revealed that athletes with a HighG/LowF mindset were more likely to participate at higher levels of sport performance than athletes with the other three mindsets, and that this predictive effect was mediated by greater athletic coping skills. These findings indicate that growth and fixed mindset beliefs coexist and interact, and that possessing a HighG/LowF mindset benefits sports performance and coping. These findings illustrate support for the use of athletic mindset profiles to predict level of sport performance and inform coaching strategies.

Objective: There remains a lack of consensus around nosology for compulsive exercise (CE). Although widely observed in eating disorders (ED), CE shares theoretical overlap with obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD), where exercise compulsions occur in response to obsessions. Yet, there is limited and mixed evidence of a relationship between CE with OCD. This study aims to explore the appropriate diagnostic classification of CE through examination of CE in relation to OCD, obsessional thinking, and ED symptoms.

Method: Two hundred and eighty one adults with mental health symptoms, dieting, and exercise behaviour completed measures of OCD, CE, and disordered eating symptoms. Regression and Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses examined relationships between dimensions of CE with OCD and ED symptoms, and the predictive ability of CE assessment for detecting threshold OCD and ED symptoms.

Results: CE assessment was poor at predicting threshold OCD symptoms, probable Anorexia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder and moderate at detecting probable disordered eating and Bulimia Nervosa. Associations between CE and OCD symptoms were not significant after adjustment for ED symptoms. Obsessional thinking was associated only with lack of exercise enjoyment.

Conclusions: Results indicate that excessive exercise might represent a distinct disorder, with some shared traits across CE, OCD and ED symptoms. Findings question the utility of adaptation of OCD diagnostic criteria for CE. Assessment and treatment implications are considered.

The extent to which individuals identify with important in-groups has been shown to be associated with psychological well-being. Little is known, however, on how the diversity (breadth) of in-group associations is related to well-being outcomes, and prior to the present research, no measure existed to simultaneous assess the breadth and salience of social identity diversity in a fully comprehensive way. In the current research, a new measure of social identity diversity (known as the Diversity of Social Identity Scale, or “DoSIS”) was developed and psychometric properties assessed. The scale was completed over the course of the research 789 times by 552 Australian adult participants, aged 18 to 89, via an online questionnaire. Participants also completed other psychological assessments in the course of the study, namely the Holmes Rahe Stress Inventory; Satisfaction with Life Scale; Assessing Emotions (emotional intelligence) Scale; K10, a measure of psychological distress; PANAS, a measure of positive and negative moods; DASS-21, a measure of depression, anxiety, and stress; a measure of the Big 5 Personality traits; and the Ryff Psychological Well-being measure. Correlations examined the association between social identity diversity and other constructs. A two-year longitudinal follow-up provided data for a moderation analysis showing that the level of life stressful events over the course of a year significantly moderated the relationship between social identity diversity and the experience of recent psychological distress such that more diversity predicted distress for individuals who experienced a high level of stressors. The findings provided initial evidence that the DoSIS is a reliable and valid measure and that diversity of social identity is positively correlated with emotional intelligence, the Big 5 factors of extraversion and agreeableness, positive affect, satisfaction with life, and five of the six Ryff well-being subscales. Furthermore, the findings showed that level of life stress events moderates the relationship between social identity diversity at a baseline time with the experience of psychological distress a year later. These results indicate that diversity of social identity is associated with both positive and negative aspects of mental health.