A Psychological Profile of Elite Polish Short Track Athletes: An Analysis of Temperamental Traits and Impulsiveness

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the temperament and impulsiveness profile of short track athletes. Professional athletes (juniors and seniors), under training in the Polish National Team (Nfemale = 21, Nmale = 19, Mage = 20), completed The Temperament and Character Inventory- Revised (TCI-R (56)) and a shortened version of the Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, Sensation-Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (S-UPPS-P). The results proved that skaters obtain higher scores than the general population on the temperamental scales i.e., persistence, harm avoidance and novelty seeking and impulsivity scales i.e., sensation seeking and positive urgency. After the cluster analysis, two homogeneous profiles of short track athletes were determined. The first profile includes athletes with high scores on the reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, cooperativeness, temperamental and sensation-seeking impulsiveness scales coupled with low scores on the temperamental scale, harm avoidance and impulsiveness scales: positive urgency, negative urgency and the lack of perseverance. The second profile is the reverse of the first profile for the short track athletes.

Cognitive fitness modulates gender differences in sleep and mental health among competitive athletes under chronic stress

“…Competitive women athletes self-reported greater positive urgency impulsivity which was in contrast to pre-pandemic studies reporting no gender difference ( Holfelder et al, 2020 ; Gabrys and Wontorczyk, 2022 ). However, gender differences in urgency have been reviewed as unlikely to moderate the likelihood of maladaptive outcomes ( Cyders, 2013 ; DeVito et al, 2020 ), which was also confirmed by our lack of gender by urgency interactions.…”

Mindfulness and impulsive behavior: exploring the mediating roles of self-reflection and coping effectiveness among high-level athletes in Central China

“…This study contributes significantly to the theoretical analysis of impulsive behavior in athletes, making several noteworthy contributions. Firstly, prior research on athlete impulsivity has predominantly focused on aspects such as competitive anxiety ( Terres-Barcala et al, 2022 ) and psychological characteristics ( Gabrys and Wontorczyk, 2022 ). However, there has been limited exploration into the specific nature of athlete impulsive behavior.…”

“…Impulsivity is typically characterized by a lack of careful consideration and an inability to resist immediate temptations ( Gabrys and Wontorczyk, 2022 ). On the other hand, self-reflection promotes a deeper understanding of one’s actions, decisions, and motivations ( González-Hernández et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Previous research on athlete impulsive behavior has primarily focused on factors such as athlete’s competitive anxiety ( Terres-Barcala et al, 2022 ), psychological traits ( Gabrys and Wontorczyk, 2022 ), technical performance ( Lage et al, 2011 ), and also included studies on athletes with sports-related concussions ( Liebel et al, 2021 ; Byrd et al, 2022 ). The academic community has not thoroughly explored the relationship between athlete mindfulness and impulsive behavior.…”

Influence of Mindfulness on Levels of Impulsiveness, Moods and Pre-Competition Anxiety in Athletes of Different Sports

“…It is described in terms of the process involved: motor (i.e., action without thought), perceptual–attentional (i.e., lack of concentration on the task), and lack of planning or transcendence (i.e., prioritising when, how, and where the action occurs without giving value to the consequences for the future) [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. In sport contexts, impulsive responding has been related both to the pursuit of greater and faster efforts to be perfect [ 11 ], fear of failure [ 12 ], and even self-destruction [ 13 ], and to negative emotions such as anger, aggressive behaviours, concentration difficulties, and poor performance [ 14 , 15 ].…”