The ХХV Bulgarian Antarctic expedition on the Livingston isles, which included scientists and alpinists, began in November 2016. The participants' activities are highly dependent on the extreme conditions they are in.The aim of the present researchis to studydynamics ofanxiety and perceived stress and to find a relation with the participants'preferred strategies for coping with stress in highly risky activities in an extreme climatic and social environment.Subject of the study were 21 participants in the ХХV Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, mean age 27 and 70. We have used Bulgarian adaptation of: Spielberger's Anxiety Inventory (STAI);Questionnaire for perceived stress (PS-1) and Coping Orientations to Problems Expe-rienced scale -COPE 1. The first two tests were applied before the departure for Antarctica and before the return to Bulgaria.The level of perceived stress in the beginning of the expedition issignificantly higher compared to the resultsobtained in the end of the expedition.Similar results were observed in terms of situational anxiety, which refers to the dynamic mental states.The cognitive engage-ment coping strategies are the main ones, whereas cognitive and emotional disengagement strategies are the least used.The results from the regression analysis show that the high levels of perceived stress has the biggest impact on the levels of anxiety in participants studied.The present study adds to the understanding the role of anxietyand perceived stressin difficult and challenging missions in extreme conditions in highly risky activities.

The activities performed by people who go on military missions or on Antarctic expeditions to Livingston Island often arise various questions and interpretations. On the one hand, they suppose a tendency toward risky acts; on the other hand, they require discipline and balance in one's behavior. The aim of our study was to examine the peculiarities of the need of security and the need of sensation seeking as basic personal variables of participants in military missions in Afghanistan and Bulgarian Antarctic expeditions and to examine their relation to the coping strategies applied. The research was done among 141 individuals (107 participants in Bulgarian military contingent which took part in an international NATO mission in

Satisfaction is seen as an important determinant of motivation for sports. The motivational climate is related to the subjective assessment of environmental factors. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationships between motivational climate and satisfaction of athletes differentiated by sex, kind of sport, and sports results. The research was done among 101 athletes practicing team sports (70 men, 31 women) with a mean age of 2.3 years (±5.4). We used the following questionnaires: Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2) and Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (ASQ). Satisfaction with individual performance is enhanced by a perceived motivational climate oriented towards mastery (β=.440**), cooperative learning (β=.424**), the importance of each athlete for the success of the team (β=.201*), investment of effort and improvement (β=.411**). The structuring of team actions through training and instruction is enhanced by perceiving a motivational climate oriented towards mastery (β=.208*) and cooperative learning (β=.263**). Unequal recognition reduces satisfaction with team performance (β=-.232*), but collaborative learning (β=.298**), effort and improvement (β=.267**), and mastery of motivational climate (β=.283**) increase it. Satisfaction with personal treatment decreases with the dominance of a performance motivational climate (β=-.216**) and application of punishment for mistakes (β=-.208**) and increases with effort and improvement (β=.283**). The results of this study give grounds to assume that the perceived motivational climate plays a significant role in shaping satisfaction with sports activities. They are a guide to creating an appropriate motivational climate related to optimal sports performance and satisfaction.

A number of methods for mental training have been developed and approved in sports practice - progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, visualization, mental imagery, and different forms of meditation. In order to be mastered and efficiently used, however, they should be applied continuously and repeatedly. In recent years, the efforts of mental training specialists have been aimed at developing and implementing machine instrumentation methods, which prove to have more powerful effects and accelerate the processes of mental training. The basis of these methods is biofeedback. The aim of this study is to research the impact of cognitive training through machine instrumentation methods on significant for sports performance psychological factors. We used: Thoughtstream Stand-Alone System – a personal biofeedback training system, and Procyon Light and Sound Mind Machine - Full Spectrum Audio-Visual Synthesizer. The research was done among three groups (66 sambo athletes, 49 men, 17 women) with a mean age of 19,2 years (±4.2). Different machine instrumentation methods were applied to the two experimental groups. The first group undertook 10 sessions of a mixed program of 15-minute duration with Procyon Light and Sound Mind Machine. The second group undertook 8 mental training sessions with The Thought Stream Personal Biofeedback System. The third group used autogenous training as a relaxation method. Two measurements were made to evaluate the experiment results – before and after the impact. The indexes of sensorimotor coordination, time-movement anticipation, reaction test, and risk choice behavior were measured. The measurements were made with the help of the Vienna test system. The comparative analysis (Wilcoxon) establishes significant differences between the first and second testing in the two experimental groups regarding sensorimotor coordination, time anticipation, reaction test, and risk choice behavior. The obtained results from the research show that the apparatus methods for mental training are more efficient than the traditional ones, such as the autogenic training applied in the control group.

Long-term motivation, perceived motivational climate, and leadership style are factors related to the endurance of load, resistance to stress and sports results. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationships between leadership style, motivational climate, and long-term motivation of athletes differentiated by sex, kind of sport, and sports results. The research was done among 101 athletes practicing team sports (70 men, 31 women) with mean age 20.3 years (±5.4). We used the following questionnaires: Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS), Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ - 2), and the Test for the study of long-term motivation assessing the long-term goals and prospects. The mastery of motivational climate is strengthened by applying democratic behavior (β=.229*) and structuring of team actions through training and instruction (β=.435**). The performance motivational climate is strengthened by using autocratic behavior (β=.426***) and avoiding: democratic behavior (β=-.459**), and giving positive feedback (β=-.236*). Long-term motivation increases with the dominance of the mastery motivational climate (β=.310**) and decreases with the performance motivational climate (β=-.202*). The obtained results give grounds to assume that the coach’s leadership style plays a significant role in shaping the perceived motivational climate, which determines the level of athletes’ long-term motivation.