Brief Communication

Ger J Exerc Sport Res Petra Jansen https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-021-00712-y Faculty of Human Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany Received: 31 August 2020 Accepted: 29 January 2021 © The Author(s) 2021 Self-compassion and repetitive thinking in relation to depressive mood and fear of the future An investigation during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in semiprofessional football players

Supplementary Information parts of self-kindness vs. self-judgment, effect of worry on anxiety was higher mindfulness vs. overidentification and than the rumination aspect. Theonlineversionofthisarticle(https://doi. common humanity vs. isolation (Neff, Regarding the sport context, it has org/10.1007/s12662-021-00712-y)contains 2003). Tere has been evidence that the been shown that low self-compassion (as supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. trait self-compassion consistently pre- well as higher fears of compassion and dicts psychological well-being (Neff & higher feelings of inadequacy) predicted Germer, 2017). In a German population psychologicaldistressinathletesofdiffer- Introduction the negative scale of self-compassion ent competitive levels (Walton, Baranoff, was related with measures of distress Gilbert, & Kirby, 2020). Furthermore, Te coronavirus pandemic has a great im- (Coroiu, Kwakkenbos, Moran, Tombs, self-compassion was negatively corre- pact on everyone’s life. In general, a lot of &Albani,2017). lated with self-criticism in female athletes (but not all) people react to pandemics Rumination and worry are consid- (Killham, Mosewich, Mack, Gunnel, & with maladaptive behaviors, emotional ered as two types of repetitive think- Ferguson, 2018)andpositivelycorre- distress, and defensive responses (Tay- ing. While ruminating includes the lated to eudaimonic well-being in young lor, 2019). Wang et al. (2020)already pondering of possible causes for some female athletes (Ferguson, Kowalski, demonstrated a strong association be- failures (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Mack, & Sabiston, 2014). Regarding tween physical symptoms and psycho- Lyubormirsky, 2008), it can deepen repetitive thinking, firstly a direct rela- logical impacts on the coronavirus pan- a depressed mood (e.g. Watkins, 2008). tionship between rumination and action demic (see also Cao et al., 2020). In Ger- Whereas rumination is mostly focused orientation in competitive athletes has many, during the beginning of the pan- on past events, worrying is described been demonstrated (Kröhler & Berti, demic, organizational sports have been as repeated thinking about prospective 2019). Secondly, between 27 and 36% of forbidden, a restriction that might affect risks and uncertainties (Watkins, 2008). thevarianceinskiflyingresultscouldbe athletes immensely. Tus, the main fo- Rumination and worry share common accounted for by the amount of worry cus of this study is to investigate whether processes, but they also differ in their (Sklett, Loras, & Sigmundsson, 2018). psychological trait variables of self-com- past and future orientation (Raes, 2010). However, until now the concepts of self- passion and repetitive thinking are re- In a study with healthy students, compassion and repetitive thinking have lated to negative state variables during Raes (2010) investigated the two aspects not been related in the sport context. the coronavirus pandemic in semipro- of repetitive thinking (rumination and fessional football players. worry) as mediators of the relationship Purpose and hypothesis between the trait variables of self-com- Self-compassion and repetitive passion on the one hand and depression Raes (2010) provided evidence for a rela- thinking in athletes and anxiety on the other. Te rela- tionship of self-compassion and the me- tionship between self-compassion and diating effect of repetitive thinking to Self-compassion describes compassion anxiety was mediated through the aspect the trait concepts of anxiety and de- toward oneself, while suffering and can of brooding from the rumination scale pression. However, this relationship has be differentiated into the three positive and worrying, whereas the mediating not been investigated with regard to the aspects with three negative counter- state variables of depressive mood and

German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research Brief Communication

Table 1 Demographic data of the participants Responses for the 26 items had to be Men Women P givenonascalefrom1(almostnever) Age 23.91 (5.15) 22.83 (6.71) 0.502a and 5 (almost always). Since for the Years of playing football 17.87 (5.03) 16.00 (6.83) 0.251a German scale the total score was not Frequency of training (per week) 2.90 (1.24) 2.43 (0.90) 0.132a justified, the positive and negative scale Number of competitions (per year) 22.21 (18.9) 24.67 (17.97) 0.649a were separately used according to the Mindfulness activity (Yes/No) *21.87% *8.7% 0.193b recommendation of Coroiu et al. (2017). Cronbach’s alpha in this study for the Do you like to be alone? (Yes/No) *40.62% *30.43% 0.438b positive scale (negative scale) was 0.87 For age, years of playing football, frequency of training per week and number of competitions per year, both with respect to the participation in the semiprofessional leagues, mean and standard deviation (0.90) which is in accordance (positive were presented scale 0.88, negative scale 0.87) with the *For mindfulness activity and the loneliness-question the frequencies for the Yes-answer were given study of Coroiu et al. (2017). at-test b Chi-square Rumination–Reflection Questionnaire Te Rumination–Reflection Question- fear of the future in a challenging situ- mood (anxiety) was r= –0.55 (r= –0.75) naire (RRQ; German version: König, ation. Tis study will be conducted in (Raes, 2010), we assume an effect size 2012) has been developed by Trapnell the sport context because the concepts of of r= 0.55, an alpha-level of p< 0.005 and Campbell (1999)toexaminehow self-compassion (e.g. Mosewich, 2020) (Bonferroni corrected) and a power of ofen the participants ruminate and re- and repetitive thinking play an important 1– β = 0.95. A power analysis (G-Power, flect on their past. Cronbach’s alpha for role in this area (e.g. Kröhler & Berti, Faul, Erdfelder, Lang, & Buchner, 2007) the rumination scale, with a maximum 2019). Semiprofessional football players for the correlation resulted in a total of of 60 points reflecting a high rumina- were chosen because it has been shown N= 50 to detect significant effects regard- tion, was 0.90. Cronbach’s alpha for the that in this group the anxiety values were ing the correlation between self-compas- German rumination scale was 0.68 in higher compared to the normal values sion, rumination, and worry on the one this study. in nonathletes of the same age group hand and fear of the future, depressive indicating a vulnerable group for neg- mood, and loss of interest on the other. Penn State Worry Questionnaire ative psychological symptoms (Jansen, Fify-six out of 95 semiprofessional Te Penn State Worry Questionnaire Lehmann, Fellner, Huppertz, & Loose, footballplayers(league 5–7)fromalarger (PSWQ; German version: Glöckner- 2019). sample completed the questionnaires Rist & Rist, 2014) consists of 16 items Te following hypotheses will be in- and55wereincludedintheanaly- measuring worry (Meyer, Miller, Met- vestigated: sis (32 men [mean age = 23.91, range zger, &Borkovec, 1990). Avaluebetween According to Coroiu et al. (2017)and 16–35 years, SD = 5.15] and 23 women 1 (almost never) and 5 (almost always) Raes (2010), a negative correlation be- [mean age = 22.83, range 16–46 years, is assigned to a response depending tween the negative scale of self-compas- SD = 6.71]; . Table 1). upon whether the item is worded posi- sion and the state variables of depressive tively or negatively. Te test comprises mood and fear of the future as well as Material 16 items. A maximum of 80 points could a positive correlation between this scale be achieved and reflects a high worry. and the two aspects of repetitive thinking Demographic questionnaire Cronbach’s alpha for the PSWQ was 0.72 is assumed. In the demographic questionnaire, gen- in this study. In an exploratory manner it is inves- der, age, how long they practice football tigated if the state variable of depressive in years, the training frequency per week, Depressive mood—questions mood can be predicted by self-compas- the number of competitions in one year, With two questions, participants were sion and repetitive thinking. the attendance to mindfulness activities, asked if they felt depressed (1 = yes, 2 = AccordingtoRaes(2010), itishypoth- and the preference to be alone were reg- no) and were burdened by lack of interest esizedthattherelationofself-compassion istered (. Table 1). (1=yes,2=no).Tosetwoquestions and fear of the future is mediated by the were taken from a primary care evalua- worry aspect of repetitive thinking. Self-Compassion Scale tionofmental disordersand showed good Te Self-Compassion Scale (SCS; Ger- sensitivity and reasonable specificity for Methods man version: Hupfeld & Ruffieux, 2011) screening for depression (Arroll, Khin, comprises the three positive elements &Kerse,2003). In this study, the sensi- Participants of self-kindness, common humanity, tivity and specificity were 80% and 85%, and mindfulness, and the three nega- respectively. Because the effect size of the correlation tive aspects of self-judgment, isolation, between self-compassion and depressive and over-identification (Neff, 2003).

German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research Abstract

Fear of the future—questions nificant when zero was not included in Ger J Exerc Sport Res Te fear of the future was retrieved with the confidence interval. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-021-00712-y the following three questions: © The Author(s) 2021 4 How anxious do you feel in the Results coronavirus pandemic situation? P. J a n s e n 4 How worried are you about the Correlations Self-compassion and future? repetitive thinking in relation 4 How much do you think corona will Correlations are presented in . Table 2. to depressive mood and fear influence your future life? Only the negative scale of self-compas- of the future. An investigation sion correlated significantly with the de- during the 2020 coronavirus Responses were provided using a Likert pressive mood, loss of interest and fear of pandemic in semiprofessional scale from 1 (not at all) to 7 (very much). the future questions and was considered football players Temeanofthe three answerswascalcu- in the following analyses. lated for the total score. Cronbach’s alpha Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has had of this short questionnaire was 0.76. Logistic regression a high impact on mental health. Also, semiprofessional football players are Procedure Two logistic regressions were performed strongly affected by the coronavirus disease to ascertain the effects of the nega- 2019 (COVID-19) because training during the Participants completed the measures tive scale of self-compassion, rumi- lockdown phase has been forbidden. It was the primary goal of this study to investigate during the lockdown period between nation, and worry on the likelihood if those athletes suffer from a depressive the 1st and 14th of May 2020. Te online that participants show (a) a depres- mood and fear of the future. Furthermore, study has been implemented at SoSciSur- sive mode, and (b) a loss of interest. the question was asked whether the vey (drop-out rate 41.1%). Participants Te logistic regression model for the psychological variables of self-compassion were recruited through a newsletter depressive mood was statistically sig- and repetitive thinking are related to this. A χ2 p total of 55 semiprofessional football players from the Bavarian football association. nificant (3)= 10.89, = 0.012. Te completed a demographic questionnaire Tey subsequently completed the tests model explained 25% (Nagelkerke R2) with questions related to depressive mood in the order presented: the demographic of the variance in depressive mood and fear of the future, and a rumination-, questionnaire with the depressive mood and correctly classified 72.7% of cases. worry- and self-compassion scale. The and fear of future questions, the Self- Only self-compassion (p= 0.045) but results show an association between the p negative scale of self-compassion and Compassion Scale (SCS), the Rumina- not rumination ( = 0.950) and worry depressive mood as well as fear of the future. tion-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ) (p= 0.830) reached significance. Also, Whereas depressive mood was predicted by and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire the logistic regression model for the loss self-compassion, fear of the future was only (PSWQ) of interest was statistically significant indirectly predicted by self-compassion by χ2 (3)= 14.20, p= 0.003. Te model ex- the mediating effects of repetitive thinking. Also, in semiprofessional football, self- Statistical analysis plained 33.0% (Nagelkerke R2) of the compassion interventions might be a useful variance in loss of interest and cor- tool in difficult times. First, correlations (Pearson and point- rectly classified 78.2% of cases. Again, biseral)betweenthe positive and negative only self-compassion (p= 0.037), but Keywords scale of self-compassion and (a) rumi- not rumination (p= 0.967) and worry Rumination · Worry · Anxiety · Soccer · Mindfulness nation, (b) worry, (c) depressive mood, (p= 0.629) reached significance. (d) loss of interest, and (e) fear of the future were conducted. Mediation model Second, logistic regressions were cal- and rumination ab = –0.3719, 95% CI culated for the “depressive mood” and A mediation analysis was performed to [–0.751, –0.047]. “loss ofinterest” questions with self-com- analyze whether self-compassion pre- passion, rumination, and worry as pre- dicts fear of the future and whether the Discussion dictors. Tird, a mediation analysis using perceived rumination and worry would the Process Analysis of Hayes (2018)was mediate the direct path. An effect of Te results carved out that the depressive conducted with rumination and worry self-compassion on the fear of the future mood and loss of interest was predicted as predictors. Tis analysis uses ordinary was not observed β = 0.354, p= 0.115, by the negative scale of self-compassion. least squares regression, yielding unstan- but on rumination β = 6.82, p< 0.001, According to the hypothesis, the relation dardizedpathcoefficientsfortotal, direct, and worry, β = 11.19, p< 0.001. Self- of self-compassion and the fear of the and indirect effects. Bootstrapping with compassion has only an indirect effect futurewasmediatedbytheworryaswell 5000samplestogetherwithheteroscedas- of the fear of the future due to the me- as the rumination aspect of repetitive ticity consistent standard errors were em- diation effects of worry ab = 0.794, 95% thinking, which is in line with the study ployed. Te effects were regarded as sig- confidence interval (CI) [0.325, 1.359], of Raes (2010).

German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research Brief Communication

Table 2 Correlations between the psychological variables – Self-Compassion Self-Compassion RRQ PSWQ Depressive Loss of interest Fear of the future positive negative mood Self-Compassion 1 –0.297* –0.268* –0.327* 0.247 0.220 –0.025 positive Self-Compassion – – 0.569** 0.691** –0.425** –0.475** 0.433** negative RRQ – – 1 0.686** –0.243 –0.247* 0.188 PSWQ – – – 1 –0.329* –0.397** 0.528** Depressive mood – – – – 1 0.617** –0.523** Loss of interest – – – – – 1 –0.366** Fear of the future – – – – – – 1 RRQ Rumination–Refection Questionnaire, PSWQ Penn State Worry Questionnaire *signifcant, p<0.05; **signifcant, p<0.01

Self-compassion as a psychological those who completed the questionnaires Corresponding address tool in an uncertain time for could be included in the study, which semiprofessional athletes caused a selection bias and hindered the Prof. Dr. Petra Jansen examination of possible existing gender Faculty of Human Science, Te conclusion that the negative scale differences (Amemiya & Sakairi, 2020). University of Regensburg Universitätsstr. 31, of self-compassion predicts depressive Furthermore, depressive mood and loss 93053 Regensburg, Germany mood and loss of interest fits well with of interest were only investigated with the [email protected] the result that high (total) self-compas- help of a validated screening instrument; sion was related to a lower depression the reliability of the German rumination Funding. Open Access funding enabled and orga- rate (Bakker, Cox, Hubley, & Owens, scale is questionable. Despite the corre- nized by Projekt DEAL. 2019). Tus, it might be worth to con- lational nature of the study (we could not sider the reduction of the negative scales be sure that the depressive mood and the of self-compassion as a relevant inter- fear of the future are due to the coron- Compliance with ethical vention during other critical times, like avirus pandemic and is independent of guidelines injuries (Jansen et al., 2019)orchangeof the family and work situation as well as clubs or the status for semiprofessional the time of data acquisition during pan- Conflict of interest. P.Jansen declares that she has athletes. Tis can be trained for exam- demic), causal conclusions could not be no competing interests. ple by the realization and changing of drawn. All procedures were in accordance with the ethical negative beliefs (Neff & Germer, 2019). However, the results give a hint that standards of the national research committee and However, our results also showed that practical strategies resulting from the with the 1975 Helsinki declaration andits later amend- repetitive thinking and self-compassion concept of self-compassion, as calming ments or comparable ethical standards. All partici- pants were informed of the goal and the anonymity are related and that the relation between one-self down or journaling emotion of the study and the anonymity of the data storage. the negative scale of self-compassion and can be applied in the sport context1 Furthermore, information was provided of the right the fear of the future was indirectly me- (Frentz, McHugh, & Mosewich, 2020). to refuse to participate in the study or to withdraw consent to participate at any time without reprisal. diated by repetitive thinking. Tis result Furthermore, it would be interesting to All participants gave their informed consent prior to is in line with the study of Raes (2010)in investigate the relationship of psycho- inclusion in the study in the online survey by clicking healthy students. According to the study logical trait variables as self-compassion “accept”. of Coroiu et al. (2017), the use ofthe posi- and repetitive thinking and psychologi- Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative tive and negative scale of self-compassion cal state variables in professional football Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which provides different results in the German players who experience greater pressure permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and re- production in any medium or format, as long as you sample. Further studies should be con- on the one hand but have received more give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and ducted which investigate the relationship assistance from the government on the the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons li- of both scales to positive psychological other hand, for example through the per- cence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included states as for example positive affect. mission to begin training using hygiene in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless in- concepts. dicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If Limitations and conclusion material is not included in the article’sCreative Com- mons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, Beside the above mentioned strength of you will need to obtain permission directly from the the study limiting factors exist. Te first 1 For practical application see supplementary copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. is the selection of the participants. Only material.

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German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research