Publication details
Long-term fatigue and depressivity in elite chess players, athletes and non-athlete adolescents
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | The study examines aspects of long-term fatigue and overtraining syndrome, which may be caused by excessive loads resulting from training and from participation in tournaments. The aim of the study was to compare the degree of symptomatic long-term fatigue and depressivity in three adolescent groups: players engaging in cognitive sports (top-level chess players), players engaging in physical sports and a control group of people not engaging in sports at all, hereinafter referred to as “non-athletes” (matching, n = 42). The methods used were: a questionnaire on long-term fatigue (19 items) and the Children’s Depression Inventory method (13 items). Comparisons between the groups revealed significant differences in the area of depressive states (defined by anhedonia and reduced self-esteem), as well as in all three areas of long-term fatigue (performance-related, mental, physical), where the highest scores were surprisingly found in chess players. The results were interpreted in relation to certain specifics of the sport of chess (high degree of uncertainty, high frequency of matches, emotional load), so-called chess personality (relativism, suspiciousness), and were put in a relation with the likely predominant sedentary behaviour of chess players and its negative effects on health. Some symptoms are characteristic for the entire studied group and are generated by the nature of the development stage (increased sleepiness, mood swings). The research was realized with the support of GA MU, reg. no. MUNI/A/0839/2016. |
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