{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:59:08Z","timestamp":1760147948472,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]],"date-time":"2023-03-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1678752000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FCT\u2014Portugal National Agency","award":["UIDB\/04643\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04643\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["EJIHPE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The outbreak and pandemic of COVID-19 forced people into extreme isolation and social distancing, with significant limitations on various activity sectors, including sports. This study aimed to assess the psychological health status of athletes during sports lockdown. Additionally, we intend to verify the mediating role of sleep disorders in stress perception and subjective happiness. Our sample was composed of 1492 Portuguese athletes from eight different team sports. During sports lockdown, athletes were found to have high stress levels and low subjective happiness levels and experience sleep disorders. Finally, these results conclude that sports lockdowns harm athletes\u2019 psychological health and well-being. Pay cuts to athletes are an extra stress factor that exacerbate these adverse effects on psychological health. Finally, sleep is a mediator variable between stress perception and subjective happiness levels. This study\u2019s significant contributions, limitations, and future directions are discussed in the conclusion.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe13030047","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]],"date-time":"2023-03-14T06:57:11Z","timestamp":1678777031000},"page":"613-625","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From Passion to Abyss: The Mental Health of Athletes during COVID-19 Lockdown"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6008-3475","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliana","family":"Pitacho","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Set\u00fabal, Escola Superior de Ci\u00eancias Empresariais, Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias Empresariais (CICE-IPS), 2910-761 Set\u00fabal, Portugal"},{"name":"INTEC\u2014Instituto de Tecnologia Comportamental, 1600-772 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Patr\u00edcia Jardim","family":"da Palma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INTEC\u2014Instituto de Tecnologia Comportamental, 1600-772 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto Superior de Ci\u00eancias Sociais e Pol\u00edticas, Universidade de Lisboa, 1300-663 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"CAPP\u2014Centro de Administra\u00e7\u00e3o e Pol\u00edticas P\u00fablicas, Instituto Superior de Ci\u00eancias Sociais e Pol\u00edticas (ISCSP), Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-019 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3111-9843","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Correia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"INTEC\u2014Instituto de Tecnologia Comportamental, 1600-772 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Institute for Legal Research (UCILeR), University of Coimbra, 3000-018 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0831-7892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o Pedro","family":"Cordeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Set\u00fabal, Escola Superior de Ci\u00eancias Empresariais, Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias Empresariais (CICE-IPS), 2910-761 Set\u00fabal, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2020.03.004","article-title":"The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak: What we know","volume":"94","author":"Wu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"WHO (2020, September 30). WHO Director-General\u2019s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/dg\/speeches\/detail\/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Correia, P., Mendes, I., Pereira, S., and S\u00fabtil, I. (2020). The Combat against COVID-19 in Portugal, Part II: How Governance Reinforces Some Organizational Values and Contributes to the Sustainability of Crisis Management. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12208715"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weinberg, A., and Cooper, C. (2012). Stress in Turbulent Times, Palgrave Macmillan.","DOI":"10.1057\/9780230306172"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"962","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jrp.2009.05.012","article-title":"The mediating role of positive relations with others in associations between depressive symptoms, social skills, and perceived stress","volume":"43","author":"Segrin","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Res. Personal."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Correia, P., Mendes, I., Pereira, S., and S\u00fabtil, I. (2020). The Combat against COVID-19 in Portugal: How State Measures and Data Availability Reinforce Some Organizational Values and Contribute to the Sustainability of the National Health System. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12187513"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113419","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2020.113419","article-title":"Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects of stay-at-home policies, social distancing behavior, and social resources","volume":"293","author":"Vine","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"100340","article-title":"Sports in time of COVID-19: Impact of the lockdown on team activity","volume":"56","author":"Casals","year":"2020","journal-title":"Apunts Sport. Med."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"WHO (2021, January 04). Stay Physically Active during Self-Quarantine. Available online: https:\/\/www.euro.who.int\/en\/health-top-ics\/health-emergencies\/coronavirus-covid-19\/publications-and-technical-guidance\/noncommunicable-diseases\/stay-phys-ically-active-during-self-quarantine."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"608","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2020-102884","article-title":"Mental health management of elite athletes during COVID-19: A narrative review and recommendations","volume":"55","author":"Reardon","year":"2021","journal-title":"Br. J. Sport. Med."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1080\/1612197X.2020.1754616","article-title":"Sport psychology services to high-performance athletes during COVID-19","volume":"18","author":"Schinke","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101796","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychsport.2020.101796","article-title":"Confinement during the COVID-19 outbreak modifies athletes\u2019 self-based goals","volume":"51","author":"Mascret","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol. Sport Exerc."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1123\/ijsc.2020-0236","article-title":"COVID-19 and Youth Sports: Psychological, Developmental, and Economic Impacts","volume":"13","author":"Sanderson","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Sport Commun."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"567966","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.567966","article-title":"The 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic as a Change-Event in Sport Performers\u2019 Careers: Conceptual and Applied Practice Considerations","volume":"11","author":"Samuel","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Henriksen, K., Schinke, R.J., Noce, F., Poczwardowski, A., and Si, G. (2020). Working with athletes during a pandemic an social distancing: International Society of Sport Psychology Corona Challenges and Recommendations. Int. Soc. Sport Psychol. (ISSP), Available online: https:\/\/www.issponline.org\/index.php\/component\/k2\/item\/49-issp-co-rona-challenges-and-recommendations."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"79","article-title":"The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived stress and psychosocial states in Italian athletes","volume":"20","author":"Costa","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sleep.2020.11.027","article-title":"Changes in sleep timing and subjective sleep quality during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy and Belgium: Age, gender, and working status as modulating factors","volume":"77","author":"Cellini","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sleep Med."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Droit-Volet, S., Gil, S., Martinelli, N., Andant, N., Clinchamps, M., Parreira, L., Rouffiac, K., Dambrun, M., Huguet, P., and Dubuis, B. (2020). Time and COVID-19 stress in the lockdown situation: Time free, \u00abDying\u00bb of boredom and sadness. PLoS ONE, 15.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0236465"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1007\/s10902-008-9104-7","article-title":"Stressed and happy? Investigating the relationship between happiness and perceived stress","volume":"11","author":"Schiffrin","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Happyness Stud."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"789","DOI":"10.1111\/jpm.12142","article-title":"Hardiness, perceived stress, and happiness","volume":"21","author":"Abdollahi","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Psychiatry Ment. Health Nurse"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"771263","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.771263","article-title":"Resilience and Stress as Mediators in the Relationship of Mindfulness and Hap-piness","volume":"13","author":"Bajaj","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1080\/15402002.2019.1629443","article-title":"Perceived Stress and Sleep Quality in Midlife and Later: Controlling for Genetic and Environmental Influences","volume":"18","author":"Hu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Behav. Sleep Med."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"689","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2021.05.019","article-title":"Explaining socioeconomic disparities in health behaviours: A review of biopsychological path-ways involving stress and inflammation","volume":"127","author":"Kraft","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1207\/s15402010bsm0304_1","article-title":"Associations between sleep and cortisol responses to stress in children and adolescents: A pilot study","volume":"3","author":"Capaldi","year":"2005","journal-title":"Behav. Sleep Med."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.2478\/eoik-2019-0014","article-title":"Can Sleep Duration Help Explain Differences in the Happiness Index Across Nations?","volume":"7","author":"Kamal","year":"2019","journal-title":"Economics"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.4103\/ijoth.ijoth_7_19","article-title":"To investigate the association between sleep and happiness among nurses with different personality traits: A cross-sectional study","volume":"51","author":"Sarang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Indian J. Occup. Ther."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Okamura, H., Mihara, K., Tsuda, A., Morisaki, T., Tanaka, Y., and Shoji, Y. (2020). Subjective Happiness Is Associated with Objectively Evaluated Sleep Efficiency and Heart Rate during Sleep: An Exploratory Study Using Non-Contact Sheet Sensors. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12114630"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"370","DOI":"10.1037\/h0054346","article-title":"A theory of human motivation","volume":"50","author":"Maslow","year":"1943","journal-title":"Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"546","article-title":"Employees\u2019 financial insecurity and health: The underlying role of stress and work-family conflict appraisals","volume":"9183","author":"Matthews","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Occup. Organ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"692","DOI":"10.1080\/00224545.2016.1270892","article-title":"The existential cost of economic insecurity: Threatened financial security undercuts meaning","volume":"157","author":"Abeytaa","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Soc. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.5334\/pb.1064","article-title":"Mental Health Inequalities During COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Financial Insecurity and Attentional Control","volume":"61","author":"Claes","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol. Belg."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"385","DOI":"10.2307\/2136404","article-title":"A global measure of perceived stress","volume":"24","author":"Cohen","year":"1983","journal-title":"J. Health Soc. Behav."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1006824100041","article-title":"A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation","volume":"46","author":"Lyubomirsky","year":"1999","journal-title":"Soc. Indic. Res."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1186\/s12995-017-0170-9","article-title":"The Portuguese long version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II)\u2014A validation study","volume":"12","author":"Azevedo","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Occup. Med. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"Hayes, A. (2021). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach, Guildford Press. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.14195\/1647-8606_53_17","article-title":"Estudo das propriedades psicom\u00e9tricas da Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) na popula\u00e7\u00e3o portuguesa","volume":"53","author":"Trigo","year":"2010","journal-title":"Psychologica"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"157","article-title":"Valida\u00e7\u00e3o transcultural da Escala de Felicidade Subjectiva de Lyubomirsky e Lepper","volume":"13","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psicol. Sa\u00fade Doen\u00e7as"},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Sousa, C. (2013). A Paix\u00e3o pelo Surf e o Impacto na Motiva\u00e7\u00e3o e Felicidade dos Praticantes. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Santar\u00e9m]. Available online: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10400.15\/1280."},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"Boas, D. (2016). Subjective Happiness Scale: A Portuguese Adolescent Validation. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Universidade do Minho]. Available online: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/1822\/42847."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1184","DOI":"10.1177\/0033294120936195","article-title":"The Many Faces of Stress: Three Factors that Predict Physical Illness in Young Adults","volume":"124","author":"Barron","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychol. Rep."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1353","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4086","article-title":"Mechanisms of stress in the brain","volume":"18","author":"McEwen","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat. Neurosci."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"23","article-title":"Estr\u00e9s, enfermedad cardiovascular e hipertensi\u00f3n arterial","volume":"119","author":"Armario","year":"2002","journal-title":"Med. Cl\u00edn."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1007\/s10865-017-9872-9","article-title":"Psychological generators of stress-headaches","volume":"41","author":"Berry","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Behav. Med."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"413","DOI":"10.1249\/JSR.0000000000000418","article-title":"Sleep and Athletic Performance","volume":"16","author":"Watson","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr. Sport. Med. Rep."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1177\/0143034313485850","article-title":"The effects of sleep disturbance on school performance: A preliminary investigation of children attending elementary grades","volume":"35","author":"Reale","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sch. Psychol. Int."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"729","DOI":"10.1080\/15402002.2018.1483368","article-title":"Chronic sleep loss and risk-taking behavior: Does the origin of sleep loss matter?","volume":"17","author":"Rusnac","year":"2019","journal-title":"Behav. Sleep Med."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1080\/00221320903218331","article-title":"Possible Insomnia Predicts Some Risky Behaviors Among Adolescents When Controlling for Depressive Symptoms","volume":"170","author":"Carrett","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Genet. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.2147\/NSS.S134864","article-title":"Short- and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption","volume":"9","author":"Medic","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. Sci. Sleep"},{"key":"ref_49","unstructured":"Reich, J.W., Zantra, A.X., and Hall, J.S. (2010). Handbook of Adult Resilience, The Guilford Press."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.29252\/jhsme.7.2.27","article-title":"Predicting Resilience in Students based on Happiness, Attachment Style, and Religious Attitude","volume":"7","author":"Pourkord","year":"2020","journal-title":"Health Spirit. Med. Ethics"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"219","DOI":"10.2307\/2136617","article-title":"An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample","volume":"21","author":"Folkman","year":"1980","journal-title":"J. Health Soc. Behav."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1037\/a0015952","article-title":"Happiness unpacked: Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience","volume":"9","author":"Cohn","year":"2009","journal-title":"Emotion"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"427","DOI":"10.1123\/ijsc.2020-0229","article-title":"When Sports Event Work Stopped: Exposure of Sport Event Labor Precarity by the COVID-19 Pandemic","volume":"13","author":"Sheptak","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Sport Commun."}],"container-title":["European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2254-9625\/13\/3\/47\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T18:54:45Z","timestamp":1760122485000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2254-9625\/13\/3\/47"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]]},"references-count":53,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3]]}},"alternative-id":["ejihpe13030047"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ejihpe13030047","relation":{},"ISSN":["2254-9625"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2254-9625"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,14]]}}}