A qualitative analysis of the perceived determinants of success in elite esports athletes
- Authors: Poulus, Dylan , Coulter, Tristan , Trotter, Michael , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Sports Sciences Vol. 40, no. 7 (2022), p. 742-753
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The current study aimed to qualitatively investigate the perceived determinants of success in professional esports athletes. Guided by the bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006), thematic analysis was used to explore elite esports athletes’ perceptions of success determinants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven elite esports athletes. The interviews were used to investigate players’ psychology when playing well, training in elite esports, and working in esports teams. Deductive and inductive analyses were conducted to capture the core themes of success in esports within the bioecological model. When playing well, elite esports athletes experienced high levels of confidence, uninterrupted focus, and flow states. Elite esport athletes use mental strategies to help regulate their emotions and remain mindful in the presence of “tilt”. Furthermore, breathing techniques and tactical breaks were used when players felt nervous or when trying to “reset” from a stressful situation. When working in elite esport teams, players reported using strategies to improve team cohesion and that the biggest challenge was interpersonal disagreements. The results contribute to the growing body of literature highlighting the psychological similarities between elite esports and traditional sports athletes and serve as an index for future research into high-performance in esports. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Examining the impact of school esports program participation on student health and psychological development
- Authors: Trotter, Michael , Coulter, Tristan , Davis, Paul , Poulus, Dylan , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 12, no. (2022), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study examined the influence of 7 high school esports developmental programs on student self-regulation, growth mindset, positive youth development (PYD), perceived general health and physical activity (PA), and sport behaviour. A total of 188 students (male n = 120; female n = 68) originally participated (89 enrolled in an esports program in their school and 99 acted as aged-matched controls), with 58 participants (n = 19 esports group; n = 39 controls) completing both pre- and post-program information. At baseline, no significant differences were found between youth e-athletes and their aged-matched controls. The analysis for the observation period showed a significant interaction effect for the PYD confidence scale, with post-hoc comparisons showing a significant decrease in the control group from pre- to post assessment whereas the esports group remained the same. Time main effects showed a decrease in the self-regulation motivation factor, PYD connection factor and PA for all participants. Overall, this study showed that students enrolled in their respective school esports program did not differ from those who did not in self-regulation, growth mindset, PYD, perceived health and PA, and sport behaviour. It was likely that all participants showed a decrease in motivation, connection, and PA due to COVID19 lockdown during the study period. This study is the first to investigate the longitudinal impact of student involvement in high school esports and showed that esports participation did not have a negative impact on any health or psychological factors. Copyright © 2022 Trotter, Coulter, Davis, Poulus and Polman.
Longitudinal analysis of stressors, stress, coping and coping effectiveness in elite esports athletes
- Authors: Poulus, Dylan , Coulter, Tristan , Trotter, Michael , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology of Sport and Exercise Vol. 60, no. (2022), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: The current study aimed to longitudinally examine the stressors, stress appraisal, coping, and coping effectiveness experienced by elite esports athletes. Design: Six elite male League of Legends (LoL) athletes, competing in the Oceanic Challenger Series (OCS), completed diaries over the 2020 competitive season (87 days). Method: Athletes completed weekly diaries after three events: solo training, team training, and competitive matches. Each diary collected data on the stressors experienced, stressor intensity and threat/challenge perception (appraisal), coping strategies used, and perceived coping effectiveness. Results: General performance, outcome, critical moment performance, and teammate mistakes accounted for 55% of the stressors reported. More stressors were reported in competitive diaries than in training diaries. Competitive stressors were rated as being more intense than training stressors. There were no differences in overall challenge and threat perception, but performance stressors were more likely to be perceived as a challenge, and teammate stressors were more likely to be perceived as a threat. Problem-focused coping (PFC) was the most frequently employed coping strategy. PFC and emotion-focused coping (EFC) strategies were perceived as more effective at reducing stress than avoidance coping (AC). Conclusions: Elite LoL athletes experienced a small number of reoccurring stressors over an 87-day competitive period. Athletes reported more stressors around competitive matches and perceived competitive stressors as more intense than team and solo training stressors. Similarly to traditional sports athletes, PFC strategies were the most frequently employed and, PFC and EFC were rated as being more effective than AC. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Perceived stressors experienced by competitive Esports athletes
- Authors: Poulus, Dylan , Coulter, Tristan , Trotter, Michael , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Esports Vol. 1, no. 1 (2021), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Aim: The present study explored the sources of stress experienced by competitive esports athletes. Methods and results: Cross-sectional survey. Participants were 270 esports athletes, ranked in the top 40% (determined by in-game rank) of one of five major esports: Rainbow Six: Siege, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Defence of the Ancients 2. Participants reported a stressor they had recently encountered as part of a stress appraisal measure (1). 11 sources of stress reported by traditional sports athletes were reported by esports athletes (2). Furthermore, four novel esports specific stressors were identified: Technical issues, balancing life commitments, anti-social behaviour, and critical moment performance. Similar to traditional sports, teammate stressors (53.7%) and performance stressors (26.9%) were reported by 79.2% of participants. Finally, esports athletes in the 99 – 100th percentile reported more performance-related stressors than teammate stressors, whereas esports athletes in the 90 – 99th, 80 – 90th, 70 – 80th, and 60 – 70th reported more teammate-related stressors than performance stressors. Conclusions: Results from this study could inform the development of psychological interventions for competitive esports athletes.
Social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use in E-Athletes
- Authors: Trotter, Michael , Coulter, Tristan , Davis, Paul , Poulus, Dylan , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 12, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The aims of the present study were twofold. First, to investigate self-reported social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use in esports athletes (e-athletes) compared to traditional athletes. Second, to determine if self-reported social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use influenced e-athlete in-game rank. An online survey was used to collect data from an international sample of e-athletes (n = 1,444). The e-athletes reported less social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use than reported by traditional athletes in previous studies. E-athletes with higher scores in social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use was associated with higher in-game rank. The lack of an organisational structure in esports may be a contributing factor as to why e-athletes score lower than traditional athletes on social support, self-regulation, and psychological skill use. Future research is warranted to explore the development of esports programs aiming to promote athletes’ social support, self-regulation, and use of psychological skills to enhance in-game performance and well-being. Copyright © 2021 Trotter, Coulter, Davis, Poulus and Polman.
Stress and coping in esports and the influence of mental toughness
- Authors: Poulus, Dylan , Coulter, Tristan , Trotter, Michael , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 11, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study explored stress and coping in electronic sports (esports) athletes and the influence of mental toughness (MT), as defined by two prominent conceptualizations: the 4/6Cs and Mental Toughness Index (MTI) frameworks. Participants were 316 esports athletes, ranked in the top 40% of one of five major esports: Defense of the Ancients 2, League of Legends (LoL), Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch and Rainbow Six: Siege. Participants completed the MTI, Mental Toughness Questionnaire 6 (MTQ6), Stress Appraisal Measure, and Brief COPE inventory. Results showed that MT (via both MT frameworks) was associated with perceived control, and MTQ6 subscales were associated with stress intensity. Mental toughness (both frameworks) was associated with the selection of more problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies and less avoidance coping strategies. The results indicate there is some overlap between the MT and stress-coping process in high-performing traditional sports and competitive esports athletes. These results suggest that esports athletes could benefit from sports psychology interventions designed for traditional sports athletes. Finally, the MTQ6 and MTI had low shared variance (20%), suggesting that the two questionnaires appear to measure different aspects of MT. © Copyright © 2020 Poulus, Coulter, Trotter and Polman.
The association between esports participation, health and physical activity behaviour
- Authors: Trotter, Michael , Coulter, Tristan , Davis, Paul , Poulus, Dylan , Polman, Remco
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 19 (2020), p. 1-14
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We investigated the association between obesity, self-reported physical activity, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and perceived health in esports players, and the influence of player in-game rank. Data was collected with an online survey with an international participant sample of esports players representing five esports and all skill levels (n = 1772). Esports players were more likely to be categorized as normal weight, or obesity class 2 and 3 and as non-smokers (92%) and non-drinkers (65.1%) compared to international reference data. Esports players met international physical activity guidelines less than global general population. Esports players ranked in the top 10% were more physically active compared to the remaining esports players. As esports player in-game rank increased, so did the amount of time spent playing esports. Although esports players appear generally healthy, a small group was significantly obese and most esports players did not meet physical activity guidelines, indicating potential future health risks. © 2020, MDPI AG. All rights reserved.