Kee, Ying Hwa

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between playing style variability and within-season team match performance outcomes. We examined 21,708 matches played in the top five leagues in Europe from the 2014/15 to 2019/20 season. Playing styles used by each team in each match were derived through a Gaussian-Mixture Model clustering of 31 match actions. The relationship between playing style choice and match outcome was also analysed using Multinomial Logistic Regression. However, team and opposition playing style predicted match outcome with low precision (39.78%). Measures of playing style variability, namely flexibility, stability, and adaptability, were derived using the coefficient of unalikeability, and relationship with performance outcomes were computed using Pearson’s correlation. Playing style flexibility was positively correlated with both offensive and defensive performance outcomes and win frequency (p < .01). Conversely, teams displaying higher playing style stability conceded less shots in the penalty box but demonstrated poorer offensive performance outcomes (p < .01). Playing style adaptability, indicative of high flexibility and stability, was positively associated with defensive performance outcomes and win frequency (p < .01). Our results indicate that playing style variability may be a significant indicator of team performance.

This study aims to examine motivation for volunteering and its association with time perspective and life satisfaction among volunteers (n = 221). Latent profile analysis was used to profile individuals based on their time perspectives, and then to compare group differences in life satisfaction and volunteering motivation. Three profiles were identified. Profile 1 (n = 32; 14.5%) was a “balanced time perspective group”, Profile 2 (n = 102; 46.2%) was a “maladaptive group”, and Profile 3 (n = 87; 39.3%) was a “nonchalant group”. Profile 1 showed the highest life satisfaction compared to the two remaining groups. Significant group differences in volunteering motivation between this group and the other two were also reported. These findings suggest that time perspective may be appropriate for understanding motivation for voluntarism and life satisfaction.

Informed by basic psychological need theory, this study was undertaken to examine the relationship between self-reported symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mindfulness, basic psychological need satisfaction/frustration, and smartphone overuse among athletes. Athletes (n = 360, Mage = 20.27, male = 72.5%) completed a survey that measured the outcomes of interest. Path analysis indicated that greater ADHD symptoms were both directly related to higher smartphone overuse scores and indirectly related to greater smartphone overuse scores via need frustration. Higher mindfulness scores were associated with lower levels of need frustration and greater levels of need satisfaction. Mindfulness moderated the positive association between ADHD symptoms and need frustration. Specifically, the positive association between ADHD symptoms and need frustration was attenuated in the presence of higher levels of mindfulness among participants with a lower risk of ADHD. Surprisingly, the same association was heightened among participants with a higher risk of ADHD. These findings highlight the significant role of need frustration in explaining the underlying process from ADHD symptoms to smartphone overuse.

Given the need to alleviate sleep problems confronting athletes, the present experiment, conducted as much as possible in a naturalistic fashion that mimics daily life, seeks to examine whether a brief mindfulness induction immediately prior to sleep following night training can improve athletes' sleep. A sample of university athletes (n = 80) was recruited and 63 of them were eligible to participate in this experiment. They were then randomly assigned into experimental group (n = 32) and control group (n = 31). Following night training and just prior to sleep, those in the experimental group received a self-administered brief 6-min mindfulness induction via a video clip, whereas the control group participants viewed a similar 6-min video devoid of mindfulness induction passively. Questionnaire-based measures of training intensity, pre-sleep arousal, state mindfulness, and sleep diary (i.e., level of rest, sleep duration, and overall sleep quality) were administered. Results showed that brief mindfulness induction reduced pre-sleep arousal, and improved level of rest and overall sleep quality, but not sleep duration. Pre-sleep arousal was also found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between the brief mindfulness induction and reported level of rest during sleep. These findings suggest that the brief mindfulness induction may be an effective approach for decreasing pre-sleep arousal and improving sleep quality after night training among athletes.

The purpose of the present study was to examine and compare Singaporean physical education teachers’ attitudes towards information and communication technologies in physical education across different demographic groups that included gender, age, teaching experience, and school level. A total of 422 Singaporean full-time physical education teachers (mean age = 38.47 years, standard deviation = 8.31) completed the Physical Education Teachers’ Subjective Theories Questionnaire to assess their perspectives towards the integration of information and communication technologies into physical education teaching practice. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests were conducted to examine the differences in participants’ attitudes across different demographic groups. Results revealed that attitudes towards information and communication technologies significantly differed between teachers of different gender, age, and teaching experience. However, no significant difference was found in attitudes towards information and communication technologies among teachers of different school levels. The findings of this study can inform policy-makers and stakeholders with an interest in promoting the integration of information and communication technologies in physical education.

The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationships between need satisfaction, motivation, and outcomes as well as the differential effects of the three psychological needs. The sample consisted of 1549 students from 10 secondary schools in Singapore. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis showed that students’ psychological needs are positively related to autonomous motivation, and this in turn, lead to higher enjoyment, value and lower pressure. On the other hand, the three psychological needs were negatively related to controlled motivation. Controlled motivation was positively related to pressure but negatively related to enjoyment and value. In terms of the differential effects of the three psychological needs, relatedness contributed strongly to autonomous motivation, compared to autonomy and competence. In contrast, while autonomy and relatedness contributed to controlled motivation negatively, competence positively predicted controlled motivation. Finally, competence was found to link to pressure in a negative way. In summary, the findings of the current study provide support to the propositions of SDT and add some insight to the differential effects of the three psychological needs.

Grounded in self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between autonomy-supportive teaching, mindfulness, and basic psychological need satisfaction/frustration. Secondary school students (n = 390, Mage = 15) responded to a survey form measuring psychological constructs pertaining to the research purpose. A series of multiple regression analysis showed that autonomy-supportive teaching and mindfulness positively predicted need satisfaction and negatively predicted need frustration. In addition, the associations between autonomy-supportive teaching and need satisfaction/frustration were moderated by mindfulness. Students higher in mindfulness were more likely to feel need satisfaction and less likely to experience need frustration, even in a low autonomy-supportive teaching environment. These results speak to the relevance of creating autonomy-supportive teaching environments and highlight mindfulness as a potential pathway to basic psychological need satisfaction in educational settings.