Dr.Sc.Psych.., Professor T.D. Dubovitskaya¹
Dr.Sc.Econ., Professor G.M. Romanova¹
PhD, Associate Professor I.N. Makarova¹
PhD, Associate Professor I.N. Ovsyannikova^1
1Sochi State University, Sochi

Keywords: physical education, mass sports, psychological barriers, professional career, sport career, priority values, elite sports, academic sports, professional applied sports.

Background. Since the physical education and sports service and its health benefits are increasingly appreciated by the national policy makers, a special priority is given to the efforts to remove barriers for the physical education and sport service progress and competitive successes on the whole and psychological barriers for athletic progress in particular. The latter, as verified by the relevant studies, are manifested in harmful sentiments, lack of confidence, anxiety, fears, shame, low self-esteem etc. to result in physical inactivity and reluctance in some activity fields [3, 4]. As analyzed by S.I. Samygin and P.S. Samygin [2] in their study of athletic performance, such psychological barriers can seriously hamper competitive progresses. As provided by the national statistics, only 0.004% of the physically fit junior athletes make progress to qualify for WCMS; with 70% of those who quitted sports before qualifying for CMS reportedly did so for the loss of interest in sports and/ or dissatisfaction with the coaching service. Thus G.V. Bugaev, I.E. Popova and O.N. Savinkov [1] reported the following psychological barriers in the track and field sports: fatigue, fears of coach’s negativism, fears of failure in the efforts to meet expectations, fears of non-compliance with the rules of competitions, pre-start fever, negative mindsets, poor sleep etc. It should be noted that the above and other studies demonstrate that the national science is still in need of psychological barriers studies for progress from mass sports to elite sports, and psychological barriers control models for the relevant retirement- and burnout-prevention, psychological support, corrective and mental progress facilitating purposes in sports.

Objective of the study was to identify group psychological barriers for physical education and sports on a sports-specific basis.

Methods and structure of the study. We run an empirical study using the following methods: (1) Questionnaire survey form with optional responses to find the sporting cultures and competitive accomplishments in the sample; (2) E. Shein Career Anchors Test (adapted by V. A. Chiker and V. E. Vinokurov) to rate the priority values; and (3) Our own psychological barriers rating questionnaire survey form. Sampled for the tests were the 18-44 year old Sochi State University students (n=106).

Results and discussion. Based on the prior survey, the sample was split up into (1) Academic sport group (n=37) of the sporting and competing Socio-pedagogic Department students including future teachers, psychologists, speech therapists and other non-sporting specialties; (2) Professional applied sport group (n=42) majoring in physical education, physical education and sports and adaptive physical education i.e. with the sports-specific future professional competences (in military or fire-fighting services, youth coaching at sports schools for children, etc.). The group was active in physical trainings and competitions – mostly in the specialty events; and (3) Elite sports group (n=27) of the part-time actively sporting students majoring in physical education and physical education and sports (27 people), actively training and competing in the top-ranking events for the titles; having high sports qualifications, accomplishments and titles; with their future career expectations directly related to sports.

The group test data were processed to obtain the arithmetic mean psychological barriers test rates for a comparative analysis. On the whole, the psychological barriers test rates were the highest, moderate and lowest for Academic sport, Professional applied sport and Elite sports (Groups 1, 3 and 2, respectively). We highlighted the significant differences for Groups 2 and 3 since Group 1 test rates was even further from Group 3. The comparative analysis found some group psychological barriers being virtually the same, with the Elite sports Group 3 ranked the highest versus Group 2 in the following psychological barriers: unwillingness to take risks i.e. make the life too difficult, too stressful, waste energy for a mythical result; belief that the success may not be worth the costs; appreciation of own accomplishments with the feeling that now comes the time of different values ​​and priorities; feeling limited by external factors (existing rules, traditions, laws, relations, etc.); insufficient professional fitness/ education; no progress opportunities at the work/ study site; unwillingness to restrict oneself in interesting hobbies, entertainments; and need for connections and patronage for progress.

The study data and analysis show these barriers being the most hampering for progress on the way from popular/ mass sports to elite sports. These psychological barriers may be due to external factors and typical individual traits that need to be addressed by prudent psychological support and correction service. We grouped the above wide range of psychological barriers so as to facilitate the service being provided on an integrated basis. We run a factorial analysis of the principal components with a Varimax rotation to find the following eight key factors that altogether account for 76.2% of the variance.

Factor 1 includes the following barriers: unwillingness to take further risks i.e. make the life too complicated, too stressful, waste energy for a mythical result; appreciation of own accomplishments with a feel that now comes a time for different values ​​and priorities; feeling constrained by external factors (existing rules, traditions, laws, relations, etc.); unwillingness to restrict oneself in interesting hobbies, entertainments; desire to change the profession/ sport; loss of interest in the sport/ physical education and sports profession. On the whole, Factor 1 unites the psychological barriers dominated by the loss of physical education and sports motivations with unwillingness to take risks, complicate life and refuse its pleasures.

Factor 2 includes the following barriers: fear of failure; fear of new challenges; lack of confidence; fears of disappointment in the surrounding after failure; disappointment in own progress and sports-related professional achievements; poor mental controls; and low willpower. Thus Factor 2 refers to the emotional psychological barriers associated with fears, disappointments and poor emotional and volitional controls.

Factor 3 includes the following barriers: feel that success is not worth the costs; poor living standards and/or family problems; low prestige of the physical education-and-sports-related service; and laziness, unwillingness to leave the comfort zone. Thus this factor covers the psychological barriers associated with failed expectations from sports, low prestige of sports in society of frustrating effect on the athlete.

Factor 4 includes the following barriers: need for moral support/ appreciation from the surrounding; high competition, hard pressure from the rivals. This factor refers to the poor relationships with other people.

Factor 5 includes the following barriers: frustration with own resource and abilities; health issues with fears of health failures on the way to success. This factor refers to the health and own resource self-rating domain.

Factor 6 includes the following barriers: perceived shortage of material resource; life problems/ limitations; poor provisions for professional progress at work/ university; and need for connections and patronage. This factor is indicative of the athlete opting for victimized self-position under pressure from some external influences/ circumstances (which are never good enough) that are blamed for failures/ regresses.

Factor 7 includes the following barriers: emotional/ professional fatigue/ burnout; poor mental self-controls, low willpower. These barriers refer to the emotional/ professional burnouts that can hardly be corrected.

And Factor 8 includes the following barriers: perceived shortage of abilities; poor professional fitness/ education; and laziness, unwillingness to leave the comfort zone. Note that these barriers are partly covered by the above factors. Being consolidated herein they likely refer to self-criticism with a passively justifying rather than energizing reasoning.

We have also calculated the psychological barriers to career expectations correlation ratios to find the psychological barriers being in negative correlations with the following aspects: professional competence (r = -0.214, p <0.05); and challenge (r = -0.272, p <0.01). This finding shows that the higher is the athlete’s determination to realize his/ her gifts and abilities, make progress, overcome obstacles, solve difficult problems, compete and succeed, the lower are the psychological barriers. Knowing that the career expectations are ranked with the deep-rooted personality psychological settings, as opposed to the psychological barriers, their analyses may provide a sound basis for the progress forecasts.

Conclusion. The study data and analyses offer a sound basis for the relevant rating scales development efforts, and make it possible to design the psychological barriers prevention systems to facilitate professional progresses in sports with the necessary targeted psychological, correctional and mental conditioning services. The perceived psychological barriers for professional progress are actually correlated with some individual typological features, which presumably include the external locus of control,  failure avoidance behavioral models, some specifics of individual temperaments, career expectations and other personality traits that effectively shape up the individual psychological resource for professional progress. A broader survey may be recommended to profile the sports-specific psychological barriers on a more detailed basis.

References

1. Bugaev G.V., Popova I.E., Savinkova O.N. Effect of psychological correction of pre-competitive fear on nervous system properties of track and field athletes. Vysshee obrazovanie [Electronic resource] Available at: http://vuzirossii.ru/publ/vlijanie_psikhologicheskoj_korrekcii_predstart... (date of access: 04.05.2019).
2. Samygin S.I., Samygin P.S., Osipova A.A. Youth and Sports: Psychological Barriers to elite Sports. Gumanitarnye, sotsialno-ekonomicheskie i obshchestvennye nauki. 2015. no. 9. pp. 280-284.
3. Harash A.U., Karpenko L.A. [ed.], Petrovsky A.V. Barriers are psychological. Psychological vocabulary. Encyclopedic Dictionary in 6 volumes. M.: PER SE publ., 2005. 251 p.
4. Wylleman P.R.F. The career development of elite athletes: a life-span perspective. 2004 Pre-Olympic Congress. Proceedings. V.1. Thessaloniki, 2004. pp. 14-15.

Corresponding author: in-makarova@yandex.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to identify differences in the psychological barriers for a professional sport career, including: 1) student sports; 2) applied professional sports; 3) elite sports. Psychological barriers can be a serious obstacle to achieving high sports results.

Methods and structure of research. The authors applied the following research methods: 1) a questionnaire to identify the nature of respondents’ relationships with sports and their athletic achievements; 2) the "Career Anchors" questionnaire by E. Schein (translated and adapted by V. A. Chiker, V. E. Vinokurova) for determining career-related value orientations; 3) an author's questionnaire to identify the athletes’ psychological barriers. Sampled for the study were 106 students of FSBEI HE Sochi State University (aged from 18 to 44 years)..

Results of the study. The students of the elite sports group, as opposed to the athletes of other groups, demonstrated lower values of the following psychological barriers: unwillingness to make own lives more complicated or busier, to waste energy on a mythical result; understanding that success does not justify the efforts spent or means used; understanding that the desired sport goals have been reached, and now there are other values and priorities; understanding that the efforts spent were to no purpose due to a number of external factors (existing rules, traditions, laws, relationships, etc.); insufficient level of professional preparedness/ education; lack of the necessary conditions for success and professional growth in the organization (they work/ study at); unwillingness to hold back on interesting hobbies, various amusements; lack of necessary connections and patronage.

Conclusions. The study made it possible to determine the ways to remove psychological barriers for the professional sport career, carry out the necessary targeted psycho-correctional and psycho-development work.