Alejo García-Naveira

Background and Objectives: The relationship between mental health and sports injuries has become increasingly important in youth soccer, due to developmental changes in this population, the high demands of training, and the competitive pressures of sport. This cross-sectional study examined the association between injury history (no injuries, 1–2, >2 injuries), mental health indicators (anxiety, stress, depression), and differences by sex, competitive category, and playing position. Materials and Methods: 146 soccer players (79 males, 67 females; ages 12–30; mean age = 16.65, SD = 2.34 years) from youth and senior categories of a professional club in Spain completed the STAI-T (trait anxiety), DASS-21 (state anxiety, stress, depression), sociodemographic and sports-related variables (gender, sports category, playing position), and self-reported injury history: no injuries (n = 39), 1–2 injuries (n = 80), >2 injuries (n = 27). The statistical analyses performed were one-way ANOVA (ηp²), χ² tests, and Games-Howell post hoc tests. Results: 73.3% of the players reported ≥1 injury (54.8% 1–2 injuries; 18.5% >2), with no differences by gender, position, or category (χ² range: p > 0.05). The ANOVA revealed significant differences for trait anxiety (F(2, 143) = 3.68, p = 0.029, ηp² = 0.049; small-to-moderate), and state anxiety (F(2, 143) = 4.63, p = 0.014, ηp² = 0.061; moderate). No effects were found for stress/depression (p > 0.12). The post hoc test (Games-Howell) indicates that the group with no injuries showed significantly lower trait anxiety (p = 0.038, d = 0.33) vs. 1–2 injuries, and state anxiety (p = 0.012, d = 0.70) vs. >2 injuries. Stress and depression showed a non-significant upward trend. Conclusions: A greater history of injuries is associated with higher levels of anxiety in youth soccer players. The findings suggest routine assessment of anxiety and training in emotional self-regulation for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the bidirectional relationship.

Background and Objectives: The relationship between mental health and sports injuries is increasingly relevant in soccer, given the psychological vulnerability of young athletes to training and competition demands. This study aimed to examine the association between injury history and mental health indicators (anxiety, stress, and depression), and to ex-plore whether injury history differed according to gender, competitive category, and play-ing position. Materials and Methods: A total of 146 soccer players (79 males, 67 females) aged 12–30 years from Under-14, Under-16, Under-18, and Senior categories completed the STAI-T and DASS-21 questionnaires. Mental health levels were compared across inju-ry history groups (no injuries, 1–2 injuries, >2 injuries), and associations with gender, cat-egory, and position were examined. Results: Overall, 73.3% of players reported at least one injury, with no significant differences by gender, category, or playing position. Significant differences were found for anxiety: players with a higher number of injuries reported higher levels of trait anxiety (STAI-T) and anxiety symptoms (DASS-21). No significant group differences were observed for stress and depression, although scores showed an in-creasing trend with greater injury history. Conclusions: Injury history in soccer players was primarily associated with anxiety indicators. These findings highlight the importance of considering the emotional impact of injuries, especially anxiety, and support the inclusion of targeted psychological strategies within injury prevention programs and during reha-bilitation.

Introduction: Sports retirement represents a vital, complex, and multifactorial transition with significant implications for the psychological, social, and occupational well-being of high-performance athletes. Objective: To analyze the impact of retirement on the psychosocial aspects and mental health of this population. Methodology: A scoping systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, with searches performed in Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Scopus, covering studies published between 2004 and 21 September 2025; of the 12,236 articles initially identified, 73 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: The findings indicate that sports retirement is influenced by factors such as athletic identity, retirement planning, social and family relationships, mental health, physical health, and individual differences. Discussion: An imbalance in these domains may lead to personal crises, family conflicts, difficulties in employment integration, and increased risks of anxiety, stress, or depression, making it essential to promote a multidimensional identity and plan retirement during the active career phase while strengthening social and family relationships and safeguarding both physical and mental health. Conclusions: Strategies should be implemented to support employment integration, financial education, psychological assistance, and the development of new routines and social networks outside of sport, and attention to vulnerable groups such as women, athletes with disabilities, and injured athletes, along with consideration of cultural specificities and institutional co-responsibility through targeted policies, is crucial to achieving a more adaptive, equitable, and sustainable post-athletic transition.

Background: Adolescence is a critical period of physical, psychological, and social development, during which athletes are particularly vulnerable to stress and injuries. Competitive anxiety has been identified as a psychological factor that may increase injury risk; however, its role among young soccer players remains underexplored. Objectives: This study aimed to analyse the association between competitive anxiety and injury vulnerability in young male soccer players aged 10 to 15 years. Methods: A total of 322 male soccer players from youth categories (Alevin, Infantil, and Cadete) participated. Competitive anxiety was assessed using the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), and injury data were collected via a self-reported questionnaire covering the 2024–2025 season. Descriptive, comparative, and correlational analyses were conducted using non-parametric tests. Results: A high incidence of injuries was observed, increasing progressively with age category. In the overall sample, injuries were associated with higher levels of Somatic Anxiety, as well as with age and sporting experience, variables also linked to increased Worry and reduced Distraction. When analysed by category, no significant associations between anxiety and injury were found in Alevin players. In the Infantil group, injury incidence showed a slight increase with age and experience, but no association with anxiety was detected. Among Cadete players, injuries were positively related to Somatic Anxiety and Distraction, highlighting the influence of psychological factors at this developmental stage. Conclusions: These findings underscore the relevance of competitive anxiety, particularly Worry and Distraction, as risk factors for injury in youth soccer. The implementation of preventive psychological interventions and ongoing monitoring is recommended to reduce anxiety levels and injury vulnerability, thereby promoting safer and healthier athletic development among young soccer players.

Background: The complexity of triathlon goes beyond the multidisciplinary nature of the sport and extends to the physical and mental health of the athlete. One of the most relevant aspects is injuries, which, in addition to the physical impact, can affect mental health indicators. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between injuries sustained by triathletes and mental health indicators. Methods: Sixty-three subjects participated, of whom 48 suffered one or two injuries. The average age was 37.83 years, and the sample consisted of 34 men (39.56 years) and 29 women (32.21 years). The instruments used were an online questionnaire to collect the number of injuries, type, and severity; the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). A longitudinal study was conducted, lasting six months, where the questionnaires were administered monthly. Results: The greater the number of injuries, the higher the scores in the coefficients of variation of anger and vigor, and the highest peak is found in the variable stress, followed by anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Triathletes who suffer a greater number of injuries have higher scores in stress and depression, and their level of vigor and anger is increased, so they present a more negative and reactive stress and mood profile.

Background: Athletic success depends not only on physical performance and psychological well-being but also on the effective emotional regulation of adaptive processes to prevent sports injuries in stressful situations such as competition. This study analyzes the relationship between emotional state, pre-competitive anxiety, and injury incidence in female volleyball players throughout an entire competitive season. Methods: The POMS and CSAI-2 questionnaires were administered before 16 league matches to 21 high-performance players (mean age = 29.66 ± 5.19 years). Results: Players exhibited an iceberg mood profile with low levels of pre-competitive anxiety. Negative moods were higher at the start and decreased over time, while positive moods increased as matches progressed (p < 0.05). Anxiety remained stable throughout. Additionally, 28.6% of players experienced injuries; injured players showed higher cognitive anxiety, lower self-confidence, and emotional instability, suggesting a potential psychological risk profile for injury, even though group differences did not reach statistical significance. Significant correlations were found between Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) and cognitive anxiety (r = 0.49, p < 0.05) and between vigor and self-confidence (r = 0.52, p < 0.01), indicating a bidirectional relationship. A bidirectional relationship between mood and anxiety was confirmed, highlighting the POMS Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) index as a global emotional indicator. Conclusions: These findings suggest that managing worries, self-confidence, and emotional balance are key factors in injury prevention, emphasizing the importance of regularly monitoring and managing psychological indicators as part of injury prevention strategies.

Why are there numerous cases of esports teams with superstar rosters that have failed? This question highlights that having top professional players with extraordinary individual skills may not be enough to achieve success. Since winning is a primary goal, it is crucial to understand all the variables that positively influence performance. While individual performance is critical to success as part of an esports team, team dynamics, structures, and processes also foster group functioning and performance. Thus, this research aims to conduct a systematic review of the team variables involved in the performance of esports teams. For this purpose, we conducted a literature search following the PRISMA guidelines in Science Direct, Web of Science, and PsycInfo databases since 2023. This search resulted in 371 articles, and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of twenty-three scientific articles were analyzed. The results were grouped under seven main topics: 1) Organigram, 2) Stages of a team, 3) Team structure, 4) Team variables and processes, 5) Leadership, 6) Lack of experience in team integration, and 7) Holistic and integral perspective. To conclude, more research is needed to study the effect of team dynamics in esports, as well as to highlight the role of the psychologist in fostering group dynamics to improve team cohesion, coordination, motivation, performance, and synergy.