Disputation i psykologi

Lis Johles försvarar sin doktorsavhandling i psykologi "Mindfulness and Mental Health in Swedish Athletes Psychometric Development and Investigations with Body Scan". Händelsen är öppen för allmänheten.

Kort beskrivning av innehållet (ur baksidestexten): There is growing interest in applying mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions among competitive athletes. However, longitudinal studies assessing the impact of these interventions remain scarce. Additionally, there is a lack of validated sport-specific scales to measure psychological flexibility in athletic contexts. The studies included in this thesis investigated mental health in competitive athletes, focusing on psychological flexibility and the effects of mindfulness-based body scan interventions. Study I developed and validated the Psychological Flexibility in Sport Scale (PFSS), identifying a single-factor, seven-item structure. Higher levels of psychological flexibility were associated with better performance and quality of life (QoL). Study II, a randomized controlled trial, compared a brief body scan intervention with relaxation. Both interventions reduced anxiety, but neither improved sleep. There were no significant differences by intervention type or duration. Study III examined the mediating role of mindfulness measured by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) on QoL. No significant differences or mediations were found between interventions. In conclusion, both body scan and relaxation interventions were somewhat effective in reducing anxiety but did not improve sleep or QoL. Investigations demonstrated healthy levels of anxiety and sleep among student-athletes. Future research could benefit from incorporating mixed methods to study mindfulness and psychological flexibility in greater depth.

Medverkande

Opponent

  • Professor Anne Marte Pensgaard, Norges Idrottshögskola

Betygsnämnd

  • Docent Billy Jansson, Mittuniversitetet 
  • Biträdande professor Anett Sundqvist, Linköpings universitet 
  • Docent Sven Hassler, Karlstads universitet

Upplysningar