Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the psychic and behavioral aspects of athletes: a systematic review

Abstract

The Covid-19 Pandemic has caused several high-performance sports activities to be suspended around the world. It is estimated that the obstruction of athletes’ training, competitions and employment contracts have generated uncertainties and insecurities regarding the future of their careers. The objective of the present review is then to analyze the effects of the Pandemic on the psychic and behavioral dimensions of income athletes. The databases used for the review were PubMed, VHL, Scopus and Web of Science. A total of 1,116 articles were found, of which 33 were selected using the PRISMA approach. The quality of the articles was obtained by applying the CASP scale. The following results were obtained: 1) symptoms of anxiety, depression, fear, bad mood, insomnia, eating disorders, lack of optimism and lack of motivation to train affected the athletes; 2) demographic, age, gender, practice time and alternative training conditions influenced athletes’ behaviors and emotional content during the pandemic; 3) social support, resilience and emotional intelligence proved to be elements of attenuation of negative emotions and behaviors. It is concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic can be a negative predictor in the behavioral and psychic reactions of high performance athletes and these effects are influenced by age, gender, type of modality and the quality of the alternative training programs proposed.