Current status and prominent issues in sport psychology interventions

Abstract

The prospect of human psycho-behavioral change has fueled the development and growth of applied sport psychology and psychological intervention with athletes. The purpose of this review is to examine the current status of sport psychology interventions and identify issues related to psychological intervention in sport. The development of sport psychology in North America is overviewed and issues arising from the emergence of applied sport psychology are identified. Sport psychology intervention research is reviewed and it is concluded that the effectiveness of sport psychology interventions is supported in the literature. Problems in intervention research are identified and future directions for sport psychology are suggested. These suggestions include a science-practice integration, the use of idiographic assessment methods, the identification and control of moderator variables, and the contextualization of interventions within the unique environment of sport.