Background: Performing artists are exposed to a range of occupational demands from organisational, interpersonal and intrapersonal sources, which may impact their well-being. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate and synthesise the literature where researchers have considered the relationship between occupational demands and well-being in performing artists. Methods: A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted including professional and student performing artists. Quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods study designs were eligible for inclusion in the review. A total of 14 databases were searched from their inception through to October 2017, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus. Critical appraisal was conducted using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool and results presented as a narrative synthesis. Results: A total of 20 studies were included in the review, comprising of quantitative ( n = 7), qualitative ( n = 9) and mixed-methods ( n = 4) study designs. Several frameworks of occupational stress and well-being were explored in relation to the results. Organisational, social and emotional demands were associated with lower well-being. Conversely, music-making, performance activities and social support were reported to be resources and were related to higher well-being. Conclusion: This systematic review highlights the need for researchers in this field to adopt methodologically robust study designs, which are informed by appropriate theoretical frameworks. The paucity of high quality and theoretically informed research in this area is a hindrance to the development of evidence-based interventions for this population.

In this article the ethics of disclosure through personal narrative are explored through a relatively benign autobiographical vignette concerning the background to a doctoral study on referee communication in rugby union football. It deals specifically with the referee’s encounters with three key ‘actors’: his mentor, a club coach, and a player (with a rich and therefore identifiable biography) who was ‘sin binned’ in a particular game. Through it, four substantive themes are explored: (i) the impracticality of voluntary informed consent; (ii) anonymity — and the possibilities for the errors of disclosed identities and mistaken identities; (iii) risk of harm; and (iv) violation of privacy.

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The application of law, combined with contextual judgment and communication have been shown to be essential skills of the elite sports official (Mascarenhas, Collins & Mortimer, 2005). Further, the behaviours that officials demonstrate to communicate decisions to sport participants have important implications for match outcomes and perceptions of fairness (Mellick et al., 2005; Simmons, 2010). The purpose of the present study was to explore the higher-order decision making and decision communication processes of three international rugby union referees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the routines, psychological strategies and processing skills they utilise to meet the decision making demands of the game. Interview data were analysed by means of thematic content analysis providing four core themes related to expert decision making processes and decision communications: corporate theatre, pre-game preparation and post-game analysis, refereeing philosophy and approach, and within-game psychological skills. The results of this investigation will provide practice-based information to inform training interventions as a pedagogic tool to assist pre-elite sport officials in developing higher-order understandings of decision making processes and communication patterns.