Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review
Background: Numerous studies have been published on alexithymia among athletes in the last decades. The objective, here, is to provide a critical review on alexithymia in sport and identify elements demonstrating that alexithymic athletes can attain a competitive advantage. Methods: The Center for R...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/3/511 |
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| author | Catarina Proença Lopes Edem Allado Mathias Poussel Aziz Essadek Aghilès Hamroun Bruno Chenuel |
| author_facet | Catarina Proença Lopes Edem Allado Mathias Poussel Aziz Essadek Aghilès Hamroun Bruno Chenuel |
| author_sort | Catarina Proença Lopes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Numerous studies have been published on alexithymia among athletes in the last decades. The objective, here, is to provide a critical review on alexithymia in sport and identify elements demonstrating that alexithymic athletes can attain a competitive advantage. Methods: The Center for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines were used. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines served as the template for reporting the present systematic review. We searched PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and PsycINFO, without language or date restrictions. Results: Within 72 eligible studies, 23 articles fulfilling the selection criteria were included in the review. Alexithymia is associated with various pathologies and considered to be counter-performing. However, despite considerable suspicion of an advantageous performance effect of alexithymia, there is a lack of data to quantify this effect. Studies identified are heterogeneous (different scales of measurement of alexithymia used or outcomes, different sports), that do not allow us to conclude on an observed causal relationship, because the studies are mostly observational. Conclusion: This systematic review opens a new search field on alexithymia, as possibly promoting performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:46:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-311d9a3c4b314323b8fbab404e1e2aa5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:46:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-311d9a3c4b314323b8fbab404e1e2aa52023-11-24T01:22:43ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-03-0110351110.3390/healthcare10030511Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic ReviewCatarina Proença Lopes0Edem Allado1Mathias Poussel2Aziz Essadek3Aghilès Hamroun4Bruno Chenuel5Development, Adaptation and Disadvantage, Cardiorespiratory Regulations and Motor Control (EA 3450 DevAH), University of Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, FranceDevelopment, Adaptation and Disadvantage, Cardiorespiratory Regulations and Motor Control (EA 3450 DevAH), University of Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, FranceDevelopment, Adaptation and Disadvantage, Cardiorespiratory Regulations and Motor Control (EA 3450 DevAH), University of Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, FranceINTERPSY (EA 4432), University of Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, FranceDepartment of Public Health, Epidemiology, Health Economics and Prevention, Regional and University Hospital Center of Lille, Lille University, 59000 Lille, FranceDevelopment, Adaptation and Disadvantage, Cardiorespiratory Regulations and Motor Control (EA 3450 DevAH), University of Lorraine, 54000 Nancy, FranceBackground: Numerous studies have been published on alexithymia among athletes in the last decades. The objective, here, is to provide a critical review on alexithymia in sport and identify elements demonstrating that alexithymic athletes can attain a competitive advantage. Methods: The Center for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines were used. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines served as the template for reporting the present systematic review. We searched PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, and PsycINFO, without language or date restrictions. Results: Within 72 eligible studies, 23 articles fulfilling the selection criteria were included in the review. Alexithymia is associated with various pathologies and considered to be counter-performing. However, despite considerable suspicion of an advantageous performance effect of alexithymia, there is a lack of data to quantify this effect. Studies identified are heterogeneous (different scales of measurement of alexithymia used or outcomes, different sports), that do not allow us to conclude on an observed causal relationship, because the studies are mostly observational. Conclusion: This systematic review opens a new search field on alexithymia, as possibly promoting performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/3/511alexithymiasport psychologyemotionperformanceathlete |
| spellingShingle | Catarina Proença Lopes Edem Allado Mathias Poussel Aziz Essadek Aghilès Hamroun Bruno Chenuel Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review Healthcare alexithymia sport psychology emotion performance athlete |
| title | Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Alexithymia and Athletic Performance: Beneficial or Deleterious, Both Sides of the Medal? A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | alexithymia and athletic performance beneficial or deleterious both sides of the medal a systematic review |
| topic | alexithymia sport psychology emotion performance athlete |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/3/511 |
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