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. 2021 Apr 12;18(8):4065.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084065.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Quality of Life among Romanian Athletes

Germina-Alina Cosma  1 , Alina Chiracu  2 , Amalia Raluca Stepan  1 , Marian Alexandru Cosma  1 , Marian Costin Nanu  1 , Florin Voinea  3 , Khalid Walid Bibi  4 , Cătălin Păunescu  5 , Monoem Haddad  4
Affiliations

COVID-19 Pandemic and Quality of Life among Romanian Athletes

Germina-Alina Cosma et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze athletes' quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 249 athletes between 15 and 35 of age, M = 21.22, SD = 5.12. The sample was composed of eight Olympic Games medalists, three European medalists, 67 international medalists, and 63 national medalists. The instruments used were: (1) COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, (2) Athlete Quality of Life Scale, (3) Impact of Pandemic on Athletes Questionnaire, and (4) International Personality Item Pool (IPIP Anxiety, Depression, and Vulnerability Scales). The results indicate significant differences in COVID-19 anxiety depending on the sport practiced, F (9239) = 3.81, p < 0.01, showing that there were significant differences between sports. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and the athletes' quality of life. The percentage of mediation was 33.9%, and the indirect effect was -0.11, CI 95% (-0.18, -0.03), Z = -2.82, p < 0.01. Trait anxiety has an increasing effect on the intensity of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 0.23, CI 95% (.10, 0.35), Z = 3.56, p < 0.01, and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has a decreasing effect on quality of life, -0.47, CI 95% (-0.67, -0.27), Z = -4.62, p < 0.01. Gender and age did not moderate the relationship between the negative impact of COVID-19 and athletes' quality of life. The results of the study highlighted the impact that social isolation and quarantine have on athletes' affective well-being.

Keywords: COVID-19; athletes; neuroticism; quality of life; vulnerability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean scores for COVID-19 anxiety depending on the sport practiced.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean scores for negative impact depending on the sport practiced.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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