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Review
. 2022;18(4):1187-1199.
doi: 10.1007/s11332-022-00964-7. Epub 2022 Jun 8.

Effects of the lockdown period on the mental health of elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review

Vittoria Carnevale Pellino  1   2 , Nicola Lovecchio  3 , Mariangela V Puci  4 , Luca Marin  1   5   6 , Alessandro Gatti  1 , Agnese Pirazzi  1 , Francesca Negri  1 , Ottavia E Ferraro  4 , Matteo Vandoni  1
Affiliations
Review

Effects of the lockdown period on the mental health of elite athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review

Vittoria Carnevale Pellino et al. Sport Sci Health. 2022.

Abstract

Purpose: This review aimed to assess the effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on mental health to elite athletes. The emotional background influenced their sport career and was examined by questionnaires.

Methods: We included original studies that investigated psychological outcomes in elite athletes during COVID-19 lockdown. Sixteen original studies (n = 4475 participants) were analyzed.

Results: The findings showed that COVID-19 has an impact on elite athletes' mental health and was linked with stress, anxiety and psychological distress. The magnitude of the impact was associated with athletes' mood state profile, personality and resilience capacity.

Conclusion: The lockdown period impacted also elite athletes' mental health and training routines with augmented anxiety but with fewer consequences than the general population thanks to adequate emotion regulation and coping strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Elite athletes; Lockdown; Mental health; Psychological distress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study selection flow-chart
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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