School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Sports and Wellbeing Analytics, Swansea, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Int J Sports Med. 2021 Jul;42(9):782-788. doi: 10.1055/a-1446-9642. Epub 2021 Apr 16.
Monitoring the physical load undertaken by athletes and examining the subsequent relationship with performance and injury and illness risk is common practice in high performance sport. Less attention has been paid to the psychological factors contributing to the overall load experienced and the impact upon health status and performance. This paper discusses considerations for the conceptualization and measurement of psychological load in sport. First, we outline the importance of ensuring conceptual clarity is adopted in the measurement of psychological load. Next, we discuss the challenges to measuring psychological load in a comparable manner to which physical load is currently evaluated, including use of subjective assessment, adoption of specific and global approaches, and development of measurement instrumentation, techniques, and expertise. We then offer recommendations for practitioners when undertaking assessment of psychological load in sport. We conclude with future research directions to advance the study and measurement of the construct, including the interaction between psychological and physical load, the appraisal of the load faced, and personal and social resources available to successfully cope. We also highlight the need to consider groups of athletes (e. g., transitioning athlete, long-term injured) at greater risk from threats to mental and physical health from increased psychological load.
监测运动员所承受的身体负荷,并研究其与运动表现和伤病风险之间的后续关系,这在竞技体育中是常见的做法。但人们对导致整体负荷的心理因素以及对健康状况和运动表现的影响关注较少。本文讨论了在运动中对心理负荷进行概念化和测量的注意事项。首先,我们概述了确保在测量心理负荷时采用概念清晰的重要性。接下来,我们讨论了在以与目前评估身体负荷类似的方式来测量心理负荷时所面临的挑战,包括使用主观评估、采用特定和整体方法,以及开发测量仪器、技术和专业知识。然后,我们为从业者在进行运动中心理负荷评估时提供了一些建议。最后,我们提出了未来的研究方向,以推进对该构念的研究和测量,包括心理和身体负荷之间的相互作用、对面临的负荷的评价以及成功应对所需的个人和社会资源。我们还强调需要考虑面临更大的心理健康和身体健康威胁的运动员群体(例如,转型运动员、长期受伤运动员)。