Dr.Med, Рrofessor Yu.K. Rodygina¹
Dr.Med, Рrofessor A.A. Potapchuk¹
Dr.Med, Associate Рrofessor S.V. Matveev^1
1I.P. Pavlov First St. Petersburg State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

Keywords: psychosocial health analysis, ice hockey elite, post-retirement period, life quality, biological age, psychological type.

Background. Modern professional sports with their rather specific and challenging environments are known to greatly transform the athletes’ lifestyles, individual values and priorities, social wellbeing and physical and mental health ratable by the relevant biological criteria [3, 6, 9].  Comprehensive analysis of the sport professionals’ post-retirement psychosocial health is indispensable for the medical, psychological and social support, rehabilitation and transformational stress mitigation systems. Methodologically, the study was designed based on the modern psychosocial paradigm with its integrative approach common for the modern medicine and psychology. This approach has been pursued by a pool of the leading researchers including Herbert Weiner in his psychobiological studies [10]; George Engel in his psychosocial model, [8]; Ananyev [1] who considers humans both as natural and social beings; etc.

Objective of the study was to test and analyze the post-retirement psychosocial health of the national elite ice hockey players and offer recommendations on how their social health disorders and early passing away could be prevented.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for our post-retirement psychosocial health analysis an Experimental Group (EG, n=20) of retired 32-42 year-old elite ice hockey players who competed in the top-ranking professional hockey clubs in the KHL and NHL – 38.14 years old on the average (quartiles: 32.10; 42.21) free of chronic diseases. We screened out of the EG the 32-/ 40+ year-old elite players diagnosed with chronic diseases and/ or non-retired. Sampled for the Reference Group (RG, n=20) were non-sporting males aged 35.5 years on average (quartiles: 31.20; 39.51) and free of chronic diseases. We screened out of the RG the 32-/ 40+ year-old males diagnosed with chronic diseases and/or actively sporting.

We used the following test methods to rate the psychosocial health of the sample: biological age test [5]; Shmishek character accentuation typing (psychotyping) method [4]; Bass-Darki Personality Aggression and Hostility test [4]; life quality and social functioning rating SF-36 Health Status Survey recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), with its data processing toolkit [11]; and STATISTICA v.7 software for the mathematical statistical analyses.

Results and discussion. We found the biological age in the EG 10 years higher on average than the passport one, with the difference rated statistically significant; that means that the professional sport fast wears many bodily organs and systems due to its high stressors. The situation was surprisingly much the same for the unsporting RG, however.

Aggression as a personality trait may be interpreted as a preference for violent methods on the way to some personal goals and needs. As far as the modern professional ice hockey sport is concerned, healthy/ reasonable aggression is deemed important for success [6], conditional on the athletes being able to effectively control it and vent only when the game situation requires. When the individual aggression spirals beyond control, it often provokes a variety of deviant behaviors and, hence, social health disorders/ maladjustments.

The Bass-Darki test method found the EG prone to verbal aggression. The neuroticism typical of the retired elite hockey players is associated with rather high feel-of-gilt rates close to the top limit, Me = 6.51. Such intrapersonal situation develops neurotic conflicts associated with the growing stress intolerance, hampered personality progress, psychosomatic diseases, obsessions and addictive disorders including alcoholism etc. [2]. Analysis of the Bass-Darki test data including the hostility indices (median: 8.57; quartiles: 4.21; 15.10) and personality aggression indices (median: 16.5; quartiles 5.11; 29.10) found them excessive in the EG i.e. indicative of a predisposition for social health disorders/ maladjustments.

The tests found the following character accentuation types in the EG, in a descending order: hyperthymic type, exalted type and emotive type. This hierarchy explains why characters of professional players are normally dominated by optimism, sociability and talkativeness and they always need appreciation and attention from the surrounding. The RG was tested with smoother accentuation profiles with some emphasis on the inhibitive personality traits peaking in the stuck, pedantic types.

Furthermore, we rated life quality in EG and RG by the health and social functionality self-rates, with special attention to the social adaptation in the EG.

.Figure 1. Life quality/ social functionality rates in the EG and RG, %

Our analysis of the test data found the greatest problems faced by a professional hockey player in the social functionality falls tested in 50.3% of the EG – due to the social activity limitations (see Figure 1) – versus the RG with its relatively high social functionality rate (88%). Around 30% of the EG was tested with sags in the perceived overall vitality. Partially these sags may be associated with the falls in the perceived general health reported by 70.8% of the EG, plus depression, anxiety and shortages of positive emotions found in 20% of the EG and summarized in the mental health issues tested in 79% of the EG. It should be mentioned that the EG subjects tend to associate their general physical fitness with the role-driven social functioning (work, everyday chores), i.e. role-physical rate estimated at 81% for the group.

Conclusion. The fact that the biological age of the retired elite hockey players was tested on average 10 years higher than the actual one was interpreted as indicative of the physiological and physiological wear – that needs to be addressed by a special rehabilitation service. The dominant psychotyping and aggression tests and analyses give a sound basis for the mental conditioning and disease prevention service with efficient post-retirement guidance to help the retired hockey players to effectively socialize, with the socializing service customizable to the individual psychotypes. The life quality rating tests and psychological profiling studies of the EG supported by objective medical tests and examinations are recommended as a basis for the medical and psychosocial support service to athletes in the post-retirement period.

References

1. Ananev B.G. Problems of modern human science. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Psychology. Moscow: Nauka publ., 1977. 379 p. Ref.: 373-378 p.
2. Zagaynov R.M. Psychology of elite sports. Moscow: Sovetskiy sport publ. 2012. 292 p.
3. Ilyin E.P. Psychophysiology of human states. St. Petersburg: Piter publ., 2005. 415 p.
4. Marishchuk V.L., Bludov Yu.M., Serova L.K. Psychodiagnostics in sports. Moscow: Prosveshchenie publ., 2005. 349 p.
5. Markina L.D. Rating biological age of man by V.P. Voitenko. Study guide for independent work of medical and psychology students. Vladivostok: VSMU publ., 2001 29 p.
6. Mikhno L.V. [ed.] Russian hockey in changing world: from present through past to future. St. Petersburg: Aleteyya publ., 2016. 384 p.: il.
7. Safonov V.K. Aggression in sports. St. Petersburg: SpBSU publ., 2003 – 159 p.
8. Engel G.L. The clinical application of the biopsychosocial model. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1980. Vol. 137.
9. Stambulova N.B., Ryba T.V. Athletes’ Careers Across Cultures. Routledge. 2013, 288 р.
10. Weiner H.: Graves` disease. In: Psychobiology and Human Disease. Elsevier, New York Engel, 1977 (pp. 319-414).
11. Ware J.E., Snow K.K., Kosinski M., Gandek B. SF-36 Health Survey. Manual and interpretation guide. The Health Institute, New England Medical Center. Boston, Mass.-1993.

Corresponding author: yurodygina@yandex.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to test and analyze the post-retirement psychosocial health of the national elite ice hockey players and offer recommendations on how their social health disorders and early passing away could be prevented.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for our post-retirement psychosocial health analysis an Experimental Group (EG, n=20) of retired 32-42 year-old elite ice hockey players who competed in the top-ranking professional hockey clubs in the KHL and NHL – 38.14 years old on the average (quartiles: 32.10; 42.21) free of chronic diseases. We screened out of the EG the 32-/ 40+ year-old elite players diagnosed with chronic diseases and/ or non-retired. Sampled for the Reference Group (RG, n=20) were non-sporting males aged 35.5 years on average (quartiles: 31.20; 39.51) and free of chronic diseases. Standardized psychological techniques were used during the ascertaining experiment.

Results and conclusions. The experiment made it possible to identify a certain psychological type of the elite hockey players was identified, with their biological age exceeding the chronological one by an average of 10 years (p<0.05); difficulties with social functioning encountered by the professional hockey players in the post-career period. The "SF-36 Health Status Survey" method was applied for this purpose. The major problems encountered by elite hockey players are associated with social functioning - 50.3% of 100%, namely with the restriction of social activity (communication).