PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF HUNGARIAN ATHLETES AND SPORTS PROFESSIONALS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN HUNGARIAN SPORTS SECTOR – SUMMARY

The Part II of this issue of Health Problems of Civilization (4/2022) includes exclusively the works by the team of the researchers from the University of Pécs, Hungary, led by Prof. Pongrác Ács, PhD. The articles deal with the topics related to physical activity and mental well-being of the professional group that includes athletes and sports professionals in Hungary. In this context, the manuscripts also present the challenges and problems that the Hungarian sports sector is currently facing; and at the same time, they describe opportunities for the development of sports in the country.
The first article by Derkács et al. aims to analyze the changing exercising frequency, the well-being, the mental health, as well as the social relationships before and during the curfew of the COVID-19 first wave. The data collection was May-June in 2020 via an online questionnaire survey amongst the sportsmen and professionals in the sports sector. The sample was classified into four sectors: elite sportsmen, recreational sportsmen, sports professionals and multiple roles. There was a significant difference at the exercising frequency before and during the curfew between the sectors. The well-being, the mental health and the social relations did not show any significant differences. Regarding physical activity, there were decreases in weekly average in every category. The authors concluded that the curfew of the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the exercising frequency and physical activity amongst the sportsmen and professionals in the sports sector.
The issue of mental health is also raised in the second article by Bite-Trpkovici et al. Playing sports entails numerous forms of stress that athletes need to be able to manage in order to deliver the desired performance. It is also important that they release any accumulated tension in a way that would enable them to be more assertive. The research sample consisted of 147 athletes. Based on the results, the authors concluded that the trait aggression had a positive correlation with state anxiety and trait anxiety as well. A positive correlation has been found between verbal aggression and trait anxiety and state anxiety. A positive correlation can also be found between physical aggression and trait anxiety and state anxiety. Trait anxiety has been found higher in female athletes than in males. Taking the results into consideration, the authors state that there is a strong correlation between anxiety and aggression. Therefore, it would be important for athletes to be able to manage their anxiety and develop effective coping strategies that allow them to deal with the challenges posed by high-stakes situations.
The third work by Hoffbauer et al. presents the opportunities for the development of the Hungarian sports sector taking into account the economic context. Sports can function in a number of contexts in society, therefore government-related financial contribution can be justified. The resource allocation decisions of the contributor are always a relevant topic. The authors thus aim to create a modified portfolio matrix tool for resource allocation purposes, which can be used at the national, regional, municipal or organizational level. The study consists of two researches conducted with the use of Google Forms. Two target groups (sports clubs from Baranya County and outstanding sports clubs in Hungary) were taken into consideration. During the interviews in each group of sports clubs, 40 and 52 sports respectively were evaluated. The 12 most important sports were selected for this study. The authors conclude that there is no significant difference between the regional and national rankings of sports. Outstanding sports clubs evaluated the given sports higher overall than regional sports clubs with regard to both categories: “the future vision of sport” and “the current impact”. The authors argue that the sport portfolio matrix can serve as the basis for the resource allocation decisions, but it has to be complemented with other funding schemes as this tool incentivizes mostly present performance, whereas strategic considerations should have another platform.
The last manuscript in this section by Tóth et al. explores the topic of significant challenges faced by the women’s football in Hungary. The current situation experienced by football clubs in the Hungarian women’s first division was analyzed. At the beginning of the study, it was assumed that: one of the obstacles for the development is the presence of non-skilled sports experts; all the foreign players achieve better results than the Hungarians; and the foreign players are older than the Hungarians on average. Moreover, the authors compared the qualifications of the coaches in women’s football with those in the men’s first division. They also studied the number of games played, performance statistics and average age amongst the players. The results confirmed that non-skilled sports experts are in fact one of the obstacles for the development of this sport in Hungary. According to the performance analysis, the foreign players achieve better results. The Hungarian players have better results only in terms of the number of games, the number of performances in the starting lineup and the number of seasons played in the first division. In this article, the authors prove the examined problems in Hungarian women’s football. All the areas of women’s football considered in the study require development, especially in terms of the academic qualities of the coaches, which widely affect the team’ performance.
When considering aspects of well-being, among other things in sports, we can distinguish its three essential dimensions which include: the physical dimension along with the experience of bodily health; the psychological dimension, that is, subjective mental well-being; and the social dimension that refers to the interaction between people. In the era of increasing globalization, the accelerating pace of life and the drive to overcome more barriers, especially in sports, the activities undertaken by researchers in various fields of life, as exemplified by the results of the above mentioned studies, make the issues of ensuring multidimensional well-being crucial. The exchange of experiences between different countries, such as Poland and Hungary, can bring much better final results and allow much more accurate conclusions to be drawn for the future.