Browsing by Author "Gomes, A. Rui"
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- Athletes' perspective on parental involvement, motivation, and performance throughout a football seasonPublication . Morais, Catarina; Gomes, A. Rui; Teixeira, Marco; Branco, CatarinaProblem Statement: Athletes’ goal orientation is a widely-studied topic in sports because motivation significantly influences sport participation and overall development. According to Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), athletes adopt either a task/mastery orientation – where success is determined by continuous development – or an ego orientation, where success is determined by comparison to others’ performance. These orientations impact athletes’ effort, perseverance and, ultimately, their performance. However, goal orientation is not only intrinsic; it can also be shaped by parental behaviors and involvement in sports. The present study tests the assumption that athletes’ perception of parental involvement affects their goal achievement orientation, which, in turn, predicts their performance. Approach: A total of 153 young athletes competing at elite levels were followed across a football season. At Time 1 (T1), participants completed a questionnaire assessing their parents’ involvement in sport (for both mothers and fathers), their own goal achievement orientation, and their perceived performance. At Time 2 (T2), the final stage of the season, they again completed a measure of perception of performance. Additionally, objective performance data were collected by researchers at both T1 and T2. Results and Conclusions: The results revealed that athletes’ perceptions of ´parental involvement can influence their goal orientations – specifically, the involvement of their fathers, but not mothers. This, in turn, affects their perceptions of performance, though it does not have an impact on actual (objective) performance. In other words, the more athletes perceive their fathers to be involved in their sport, the stronger their mastery orientation, which contributes to a more positive perception of performance at T1 and consequently T2.
- Being an effective leader: relationship between philosophy, practice and leadership indicatorsPublication . Morais, Catarina; Resende, Rui; Gomes, A. Rui; Alves, João
- Coach-athletes communication: data from the communication behaviors evaluation systemPublication . Gomes, A. Rui; Almeida, Albino; Resende, Rui; Morais, CatarinaEste estudo analisa a comunicação entre treinadores e atletas, utilizando o Sistema de Avaliação de Comportamentos de Comunicação (SACC). Este sistema proporciona uma perspetiva ampla das interações entre treinadores e atletas, considerando a perspetiva de ambos e de observadores. Os comportamentos foram avaliados através do Questionário de Comportamentos Comunicacionais (QCC), versão para treinador, atletas e observador. O estudo incluiu 64 atletas de futsal masculino, com idades entre 13 e 43 anos (M = 18.98, DP = 7.05) e os seus treinadores, do sexo masculino, com idades entre 29 e 43 anos (M = 35.75, DP = 5.26). Os resultados revelaram seis aspetos: (1) o CBQ assumiu uma estrutura de dois fatores (comportamentos positivos e negativos), mas um item foi suprimido; (2) os treinadores assumiram comportamentos positivos com mais frequência do que comportamentos negativos; (3) os comportamentos espontâneos positivos foram ligeiramente mais frequentes do que os comportamentos reativos positivos; (4) os treinadores avaliaram-se como apresentando mais comportamentos reativos negativos do que comportamentos espontâneos negativos; (5) feedback positivo e incentivo após insucesso foram os comportamentos positivos mais frequentes; (6) feedback negativo foi o comportamento negativo mais frequente. O SACC assumiu-se como uma ferramenta útil para avaliar a comunicação entre treinadores e atletas.
- Do we really need sport psychologists?: facilitators and barriers to sport psychology developmentPublication . Gomes, A. Rui; Morais, CatarinaEven though sport psychology is an established field of Psychology, with over a century of research and well-defined practice, there are still questions about the added value of these professionals. In this paper, we briefly reflect on some of the advantages of hiring sport psychologists. namely the benefits of supporting evidence-based practice, certified professionals, and developing the athlete as a whole (not just focusing on their performance). On the other hand, there are some barriers related to costs, work conditions, and development opportunities that make organizations question the hiring of such professionals. In this manuscript, we propose a decision-tree on hiring sport psychologists based on one’s analysis of four domains: beliefs about science, ethical issues, career opportunities and work conditions.
- Emotional profile of athletes before competition: contributions for perceived stress, cognitive appraisal and coping strategiesPublication . Nogueira, José Miguel; Morais, Catarina; Mansell, Paul; Gomes, A. RuiIntroduction: Understanding athletes’ emotional experience prior to competition is crucial for examining their adaptation to stress. Earlier research suggested anxiety impaired performance by disrupting tasks like information processing, attention, and concentration—leading to increased stress and perceived threat. Over time, focus shifted toward understanding how athletes’ interpretations of anxiety could influence performance positively. This led to broader research into other emotions typically considered “negative” (e.g., anger, dejection) and “positive” (e.g., excitement, happiness). However, how these emotions influence performance and interact with intensity has been under-studied. Methods: A total of 383 elite athletes completed a questionnaire 24–48 h before a major competition, assessing overall stress, emotional intensity (excitement, happiness, anxiety, anger, dejection), emotional direction, cognitive appraisal, and coping strategies. Results: A cluster analysis based on emotion intensity and direction identified three athlete profiles: “Emotionally Balanced” (moderate intensity), “Facilitating Arousal Profile” (mixed intensity, all emotions viewed as performance-enhancing), and “Low Arousal Profile” (low emotional intensity). Despite differing emotional profiles, athletes reported similar stress levels before competition. However, those in the “Facilitating Arousal Profile” reported greater challenge appraisals, perceived control, and use of adaptive coping strategies compared to others. Discussion: These findings suggest that not just emotional intensity but also the perceived impact of emotions plays a key role in performance. These results have important implications for psychological interventions, emphasizing the need to consider both how emotions are experienced and how they are interpreted in the context of competition.
- Explaining organizational commitment and job satisfaction: the role of leadership and seniorityPublication . Morais, Catarina; Queirós, Francisca; Couto, Sara; Gomes, A. Rui; Simães, ClaraEffective leaders increase organizational success. The Leadership Efficacy Model suggests that leaders’ efficacy increases when leaders are perceived as congruent; that is, when employees perceive the leader to do (practical cycle of leadership) what s/he says will (conceptual cycle of leadership) and there is a close match between what employees expect from leaders and what leaders display. This recent theoretical framework also acknowledges that a number of factors can interfere with the relationship between leadership cycle congruence and leadership efficacy. Such antecedent factors include group members’ characteristics (e.g., organizational seniority). This study aimed to test the assumption that leadership cycles congruence positively predicts leadership efficacy (measured by organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and that this relationship is moderated by employees’ seniority. 318 employees (55% male, with an average seniority of 8 years) completed a questionnaire assessing leadership cycles, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. Path analysis results showed that the higher leadership cycles congruence, the higher employees’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the rela- tionship between leadership cycle congruence and organizational commitment was stronger for more senior members of the organization (but not for job satisfaction). The results highlight the importance of leaders act in a congruent manner with their ideas and of meeting employees’ needs. Moreover, it shows that senior members of the organization are parti- cularly sensitive to leadership congruency.
- Leadership efficacy in youth football: athletes' and coaches’ perspectivePublication . Gomes, A. Rui; Gonçalves, Alexandre; Morais, Catarina; Simães, Clara; Resende, RuiAccording to the Leadership Efficacy Model, leadership efficacy depends on leaders’ tendency to make linear relationships between leadership philosophy, practice, and criteria (i.e., congruence of leadership cycles). Moreover, efficacy increases if coaches make these linear relationships by using the optimal leadership profile and by considering the antecedent factors of leadership (characteristics of the leader, team members, and organizational conditions; i.e., favorability of conditions for leadership). This study compared the perceptions of athletes and their coaches regarding leadership cycles, and tested the moderator role of optimal leadership profile and leadership favorability in the relationship between leadership cycles and leadership efficacy. This study included 92 football athletes (ages less than 17 and 19 years) and respective coaches (n = 5). The evaluation protocol included measures of leadership cycles, leadership styles, leadership favorability, and sport performance perception. Athletes and coaches agreed on coaches’ need to increase their practice and criteria, but athletes also considered that coaches should better clarify their philosophy. Regression analyses confirmed that leadership congruency predicts higher perceptions of team performance in athletes. Moreover, optimal leadership profile and higher leadership favorability were associated with higher team and individual performance. However, these two factors did not moderate the relationship between leadership congruency and efficacy.
- Occupational stress and cognitive appraisal profiles as predictors of students’ burnoutPublication . Gomes, A. Rui; Simães, Clara; Morais, Catarina; Couto, AdrianaObjective: Analyze if different patterns of occupational stress experienced by students (lower versus higher) and different cognitive appraisal profiles assumed by students (positive evaluation of academic activity versus negative evaluation of academic activity) affect their experience of burnout over time. Background: The interactive and transactional perspective of adaptation to stress was adopted to analyze how university students evaluate their activity and related academic stress, and how they feel in terms of burnout. Method: Longitudinal study design, with three moments of data collection, with a sample of 175 psychology students, from a Portuguese university. The investigation protocol included the Stress Questionnaire for Students, the Primary and Secondary Cognitive Appraisal Scale, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Scale. Results: The results showed that students who experienced higher levels of stress and a negative evaluation of their academic activity also reported higher levels of burnout when compared to students who experienced lower levels of stress and positive evaluation of academic activity. Moreover, a pattern of high stress in M1 increases in 443% the probability to experience moderate to high burnout in M2. A profile of negative evaluation of the academic activity in M1 increases in 594% the probability to experience high burnout in M2. Students exposed to high levels of burnout at M2 are over nine times more likely to experience moderate levels of burnout at M3, and over 300 times more likely to experience high levels of burnout at M3. Conclusion: Students who experience higher academic stress and those who evaluate their academic activity more negatively have a higher tendency to experience burnout. Although, the experience of burnout in a specific data point is the main predictor of experiencing burnout in a later moment, highlighting the chronic effects of this syndrome on human wellbeing. Application: This study provides specific indications of how much stress and cognitive appraisal can affect burnout, alerting also for the chronic nature of burnout feelings, which must be considered in safety and occupational health interventions.
- Perfis de envolvimento parental no futebol juvenil: um estudo com jovens atletasPublication . Branco, Catarina; Gomes, A. Rui; Morais, Catarina; Fontes, Liliana; Sousa, JacintaEste estudo analisou as diferenças na perceção dos atletas acerca dos comportamentos parentais, considerando também a importância do escalão desportivo dos atletas. Além disso, foi analisado se diferentes perfis de envolvimento parental, segundo a avaliação dos atletas aos seus pais, correspondiam a diferenças na orientação motivacional e na perceção de rendimento dos jovens atletas. Participaram no estudo 292 atletas do sexo masculino com idades compreendidas entre os 12 e 19 anos (M = 15.0; DP = 1.5), praticantes de futebol no campeonato nacional. Foram aplicados três instrumentos, (1) Questionário de Comportamentos Parentais no Desporto; (2) Escala de Objetivos de Realização no Desporto Juvenil; (3) Questionário de Perceção de Rendimento Desportivo. Os resultados indicaram (a) diferenças na perceção de comportamentos do pai e da mãe separadamente, sendo que, a perceção dos atletas variou em função do seu escalão desportivo; e (b) a orientação motivacional e a perceção de rendimento variaram em função do perfil de envolvimento parental percebido. Em suma, os resultados demonstram a importância do envolvimento parental no desporto juvenil, devendo este fator ser considerado pelos profissionais que intervêm junto dos jovens atletas.
- Psychological distress on nurses: The role of personal and professional characteristicsPublication . Simães, Clara; Gomes, A. RuiThis study explored the role of nurses' personal and professional characteristics on the expression of psychological distress, overcoming the limi-tations of studying humans' responses to work environments using the stress-strain approach. The sample consisted of 2203 registered nurses working in Portugal. The investigation protocol included a Sociodemographic and Profes-sional Questionnaire and the Portuguese version of the General Health Ques-tionnaire-12. A high percentage of nurses (79.3%) showed levels of psycholog-ical distress, deserving for clinical attention. Significant differences were found between nurses with and without clinical symptoms of psychological distress. Female nurses, those working in primary health care, and nurses with no hobby and no physical exercise behaviors, presented significant levels of distress, de-serving for clinical attention. These nurses reported high levels of anxie-ty/depression and social dysfunction. More, the absence of a hobby and the lack of physical exercise behaviors constituted as risk factors for the experience of clinical symptoms of distress, anxiety/depression and social dysfunction. These findings represent an important issue in occupational stress research, suggesting that leisure activities may be a protective factor for nurses’ mental health, acting as a “Daily Uplifts” for the stress recovery balance. Thus, in order to ensure the patients’ safety and the quality of health care, health organizations must consid-er nurses’ personal and professional characteristics that influence their mental health and global functioning when developing occupational health programs.