Browsing by Subject "psyykkinen valmennus"

Objectives. Self-talk is an essential part of an athlete's mental training. It has an influence on sport performance, which makes self-talk an interesting subject to study. With Automatic Self-Talk Questionnaire for Sports (ASTQS) it is possible to evaluate the content of athletes' self-talk during performance. In this study the ASTQS questionnaire was translated into Finnish and the aim was to study construct validity of the instrument and also to evaluate Finns' self-talk use. In addition, the aim of this study was to examine associations between self-talk and the Big Five personality traits because clarifying the role of personality can help identify individual differences in self-talk. Differences between individual sport athletes and team sport athletes in self-talk and personality traits were also examined. Methods. The data in this study was a sample of over 15-year-old athletes who compete at relatively high level in their own sport in Finland (N = 383). Included sports were football, ice-hockey, floorball, orienteering, and athletics. The mean age of the participants was 19 years. The participants filled a web-based form, which consisted of ASTQS measuring self-talk and Big Five Inventory measuring personality. The construct validity of ASTQS was examined with factor analysis and associations between self-talk and performance with canonical correlation analysis. Results and conclusions. The structure of the Finnish ASTQS corresponded to the original eight-factor solution quite well. All of the eight self-talk dimensions were found, but a few connections outside the original model were also allowed. On average, the athletes reported using self-talk a little less frequently than sometimes. They also reported using more positive than negative self-talk. Individual sport athletes used more instruction, psych up, and anxiety control related self-talk than team sport athletes. Team sport athletes had were more agreeable than individual sport athletes. Associations between self-talk and personality were ambiguous, but there seemed to be a positive relationship between neuroticism and worry and between the other traits and positive self-talk. This study produced the first Finnish version of ASTQS that can be used to evaluate Finnish athletes' content of self-talk during performance. Using a systematic self-talk measure can help identify and modify athletes' self-talk. Knowing the role of personality can in turn direct self-talk interventions to athletes who could benefit from them the most.