The COVID-19 pandemic is now a major global health issue, affecting world population and high-performance athlete too. The aim of the present research was to analyze the effect of psychological profile, academic schedule, and gender in the perception of personal and professional threat of Olympic and Paralympic athletes facing the 2021 Tokyo Olympiad in the actual COVID-19 crisis. We analyzed in 136 Olympic (26.4 ± 6.2 years) and 39 Paralympic athletes (31.8 ± 9.3 years) academic and sport variables, individual perceptions about COVID-19 crisis, personality, loneliness, psychological inflexibility, and anxiety. Paralympic athletes perceived higher negative impact in their training and performance by the confinement than Olympic athletes (+24.18, p < 0.005, r = 0.60). Neuroticism and psychological inflexibility presented the greatest negative feelings for female athletes (+32.59, p < 0.000, r = 0.13) and the perception that quarantine would negatively affect their sports performance. Finally professional athletes showed lower values in personality tests (Agreeableness factor) about COVID-19 crisis than non-professionals (−40.62, p < 0.012, r = 0.88).

Research into the detrimental effects of excessive exercise has been conceptualized in a number of similar ways, including 'exercise addiction', 'exercise dependence', 'obligatory exercising', 'exercise abuse', and 'compulsive exercise'. Among the most currently used (and psychometrically valid and reliable) instruments is the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI). The present study aimed to further explore the psychometric properties of the EAI by combining the datasets of a number of surveys carried out in five different countries (Denmark, Hungary, Spain, UK, and US) that have used the EAI with a total sample size of 6,031 participants. A series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were carried out examining configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance. The CFAs using the combined dataset supported the configural invariance and metric invariance but not scalar invariance. Therefore, EAI factor scores from five countries are not comparable because the use or interpretation of the scale was different in the five nations. However, the covariates of exercise addiction can be studied from a cross-cultural perspective because of the metric invariance of the scale. Gender differences among exercisers in the interpretation of the scale also emerged. The implications of the results are discussed, and it is concluded that the study's findings will facilitate a more robust and reliable use of the EAI in future research. Key pointsCultural factors prevent the actual (score-based) comparison of Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI) factor scores. The EAI is useful for studying the covariates of exercise addiction in all cultures. The interpretation of the EAI (and its items) may be different for men and women.

Background and aims: In nomothetic research exercise addiction is studied on the basis of symptoms which are most often linked to exercise volume. However, other factors may also affect individuals' susceptibility to the disorder. The aim of this research was to examine the influence of gender, social context (team or individual sport), and level of athletic training on symptoms of exercise addiction. Methods: Two groups of university athletes – sport- (n = 57) and non-sport orientation (n = 90) – and a group of elite ultra-marathon runners (n = 95) completed the Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI). The psychometric properties of the Spanish EAI were determined. Results: EAI scores were higher in men than women (p = .018). Participants in team sports reported higher EAI scores than individual athletes (p = .005). Elite runners scored higher on the EAI than university athletes (p = .005), but their scores were unrelated to the volume of training. The prevalence of “at risk” for exercise addiction was 7%–10% in university athletes and 17% among the ultra-marathon runners. The Spanish EAI showed good psychometric properties. Discussion: The results of the current inquiry show that several factors – including gender, level of athletic training, and social context of the training – affect exercise addiction and, in line with the literature, the volume of exercise did not emerge as an index of susceptibility to exercise addiction.

Resilience is important in sport performers to withstand the pressure they experience. This study analyzed the relationship among resilient qualities and coping strategies in 235 Spanish athletes (126 males, 109 females; M age = 20.7 yr) who practiced different sports (79.1% team sports, 20.9% individual sports). They were evaluated at the beginning of the last competitive mesocycle and after an important competition. Coping strategies and level of resilient qualities were measured by the Coping Inventory for Competitive Sport and the Resilience Scale. There was no significant difference in resilience scores between evaluations performed during the last mesocycle or competition. A significant increase occurred in the scores for emotion-oriented and distraction-oriented coping during competition. Resilience scores correlated positively to task-oriented coping and negatively to disengagement- and distraction-oriented coping during both periods. Analysis of variance indicated that athletes with high individual resilient qualities reached higher scores in task-oriented coping, using to a lower extent disengagement- and distraction-oriented coping. Results obtained suggest that resilient characteristics may associate in athletes to the use of more potentially adaptative coping strategies.

Background and aimsRecently, empirical research has linked obsessive passion to the etiology of exercise addiction, and the conceptual reason behind the fact that the latter is more prevalent in athletes than leisure exercisers has been challenged. The aim of this study was to determine the link between exercise addiction and harmonious passion, obsessive passion, and dedication to sports, in the context of athletic levels.MethodA sample comprised of low- and high-level competitive athletes and non-competitive leisure exercisers (n = 313) was examined, in a cross-sectional design, in which participants completed the Spanish validated versions of the Exercise Addiction Inventory (Sicilia, Alías-García, Ferriz, & Moreno-Murcia, 2013) and Passion Scale (Chamarro et al., 2015).ResultsObsessive passion and dedication to sports emerged as strong predictors of exercise addiction. Competitive athletes scored higher than leisure exercisers on all measures. Athletes competing at low and high levels only differed in dedication to their sports from each other. Team-sports athletes reported greater harmonious and obsessive passions, and dedication to sports, but not different exercise addictions, than people taking part in individual sports.ConclusionsThe concept of exercise addiction is not a plain and independent construct and may not reflect a psychological dysfunction in the athletic population. Athletes could interpret exercise addiction screening-items differently from non-athletes. Athletes in team sports report greater passion and dedication than those practicing individual sports.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects the whole world. Spain is 5th in the world and 3rd in Europe with the largest number of diagnosed cases. Spanish citizens' attitudes are important in controlling the pandemic. This research assessed attitudes of Spaniards toward COVID-19 in two studies. One (n = 64) was conducted in a shopping centre in Madrid and another (n = 640) online. The results of both studies suggest that women in Spain have a 'more responsible' attitude toward the COVID-19 than men. Young adults (18-25 years) scored lower on compliance with safety measures and perceived need to stay home than older adults. In Study 1, level of compliance, knowing someone at risk, and knowing someone infected predicted 31.2% of the variance in the perceived need to stay home. In Study 2, personal concern, level of compliance, keeping distance from others, and perceived social alarm predicted 28.5% of the variance in perceived need to stay home. Regardless of age and/or gender, Spanish people's personal concern about COVID-19 was less than their perceived social alarm about it. These results might help policy makers in considering public attitudes which could play an important role in controlling the current, and possibly a second, wave of COVID-19.

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Recent studies have shown a relationship between the risk for exercise addiction (REA) and passion. This research examined whether levels of REA, volume of exercise (in weekly hours), and self-reported exercise intensities yield differences in obsessive passion and harmonious passion among individuals with long history of exercise. Respondents (n = 360) completed the Exercise Addiction Inventory, Passion Scale, and Borg Scale (assessing their usual exercise intensity), and reported their volume of exercise (hours per week). Regression analysis demonstrated that exercise intensity, obsessive passion, and harmonious passion were significant predictors (r 2 = .381, p < .001) of the REA scores with obsessive passion being the strongest predictor (r 2 = .318). Exercisers classified as at REA reported higher obsessive Int J Ment Health Addiction