This study sought to track changes in intensity of fear of childbirth and locus of labor pain control in women attending an exercise program for pregnant women or traditional childbirth classes and to identify the predictors of these changes. The study was longitudinal/non-experimental in nature and run on 109 healthy primigravidae aged from 22 to 37, including 62 women participating in an exercise program for pregnant women and 47 women attending traditional childbirth classes. The following assessment tools were used: two scales developed by the present authors - the Fear of Childbirth Scale and the Control of Birth Pain Scale, three standardized psychological inventories for the big five personality traits (NEO Five Factors Inventory), trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and dispositional optimism (Life Oriented Test-Revised) and a questionnaire concerning socioeconomic status, health status, activities during pregnancy, relations with partners and expectations about childbirth. Fear of childbirth significantly decreased in women participating in the exercise program for pregnant women but not in women attending traditional childbirth classes. Several significant predictors of post-intervention fear of childbirth emerged: dispositional optimism and self-rated health (negative) and strength of the belief that childbirth pain depends on chance (positive).

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Purpose. The aim of the study was to analyze which psychological factors can determine the physical activity levels of 15-yearold adolescents. The psychological factors examined were self-efficacy, physical self-esteem (body weight and body appearance) and body image. A multifactorial perspective based on a socioecological approach as well as bandura's social learning theory was used to clarify the relationships between the determinants and physical activity levels. Methods. The study participants were 2277 15-year-old adolescents (1086 boys and 1191 girls). selected questions and scales from HbsC's international standard questionnaire were used, including the Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity index, the self perception of body weight and body appearance question, the General self-Efficacy scale and the body Image subscale. Results. It was found that over half of the Polish 15-year-old population featured an insufficient level of physical activity. self-efficacy, body image and physical self-esteem of both body mass and body image were significant predictors of physical activity. The role of these predictors was found to be differentiated by gender. Conclusions. The physical activity levels of 15-year-old adolescents can be predicted by use of psychological variables.

The aim of the study was to compare the strategies of coping with stress during the COVID-19 epidemic in athletes involved in Olympic preparations (57 potential Olympians) and students of physical education (54 extramural students), and to determine their depending on the variable gender. The research was conducted in the form of an on-line survey in the period of April 7–28 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Four standard psychological questionnaires were used. Elite athletes and physical education students practicing sports most often dealt with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic using cognitive and behavioral coping strategies. The sports level depended on the strategies of coping with the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic more strongly than gender. The relationship between the sense of coherence (mainly comprehensibility) and the hope for success treated as a generalized immune resource with coping strategies in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic postulated by Antonovsky was confirmed.

The aim of the study was to identify coherence, hope for success and coping strategies as predictors of mood among this year’s Olympians in the context of coronavirus events. The relationships between the above variables and the mood of athletes were analysed. The study group consisted of 57 athletes – women (29) and men (28) between 18 and 39 years of age – representing various sports disciplines who were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. The research was conducted in the period of April 7-28, 2020 during the first threat of COVID-19 pandemic, following the decision to move the Summer Olympics to the year 2021. It was time of the greatest national restrictions and information about the postponement of the games had been received. As a result of the step regression analysis, three predictors of vigour were established: sense of meaningfulness, coping with stress through positive reframing, and not using the self-blaming strategy. A positive predictor of anger was the use of substances. Confusion was predicted based on the frequency of behavioral disengagement. Behavioral disengagement predicted the severity of depression. Predictors of fatigue were the sense of meaningfulness, and the strategies of positive reframing and self-blaming. The results obtained emphasize the importance of positive reframing as a factor contributing to maintaining a positive mood state. In contrast, behavioral disengagement and self-blaming were strategies that lowered the mood of elite athletes. The results confirm the importance of factors included in the salutogenic model (sense of coherence, coping strategies) as predictors of athletes’ mood during a pandemic.