The purpose of this study was to clarify the structure of high school student athletes’ views on sport rivalry and to further clarify the relationship between achievement orientation and views on sport rivalry. We extracted categories of maladaptive views on sport rivalry using a preliminary survey with a focus group interview. The extracted categories were added to Ota’s (2004) rivalry scale as question items. Ota’s rivalry scale and Wakayama et al.’s (2002) sport achievement orientation scale were then administered to 351 high school athletes. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the rivalry scale, and four factors were extracted: bidirectionality and reciprocity, environment-induced rivalry, competitive awareness, and anti-morality. A path analysis of the effects of the four factors of achievement orientation on the four factors of sport rivalry was conducted. It revealed that high task goal orientation and competitive participation orientation led to bidirectional and reciprocal views on sport rivalry. It was also found that high victory orientation led to an anti-moralistic view on sport rivalry. Therefore, aiming to achieve task goals and enjoying participating in competition, rather than aiming solely for victory, can enhance adaptive competitiveness between sport rivals.

Student-athletes prioritize athletic activities over physical and psychological well-being, important social events, and personal commitments such as weddings, funerals, academic studies, and certification exams. Against this background, this study defines presenteeism among athletes as “participating in practice despite having physical or psychological issues and engaging in a practice without taking part in desired social activities.” Building upon previous research, we investigated whether presenteeism behavior predicts the physical and psychological health, as well as the subjective performance, of student athletes. A three-time-point longitudinal survey was conducted with 156 high school and university athletes in Japan’s Kanto region. Structural equation modeling using a cross-lagged model revealed that presenteeism behavior at Time 1 positively predicted somatic symptoms and burnout at Time 2. Subsequently, the somatic symptoms predicted performance decline at Time 3; the indirect effects indicate that presenteeism behaviors contribute to performance decline through somatic symptoms. Furthermore, somatic symptoms and performance decline showed a cyclical relationship; presenteeism behaviors may initiate a spiral of somatic symptoms and performance decline. Moving forward, identifying athletes who exhibit presenteeism behavior and implementing targeted interventions to address their physical symptoms will be crucial. Such support may help mitigate the negative effects of presenteeism and ultimately enhance athletic performance.

In adaptive walking, research has used a task in which participants cross obstacles while walking. The effects of footwear on the embodiment process of motor-adaptation strategies are not clear, mainly because the footwear is not considered to be a major factor in motor-adaptation strategies. This study aimed to examine how wearing shoes affects obstacle-crossing strategies and the adaptive processes during walking by comparing foot clearance between shod and barefoot conditions. Nineteen healthy young adult females performed a 0.10 m obstacle-crossing task under two walking conditions: barefoot and wearing shoes. Foot clearance, defined as the vertical distance from the plantar region of foot to the obstacle, was calculated, and changes in foot clearance were analyzed across trials, between the lead and trail limbs, and between barefoot and wearing shoes conditions. The results showed no significant differences in foot clearance between barefoot and shoes conditions for either limb, and thus the embodiment process of footwear during obstacle crossing was not confirmed. In contrast, a learning effect was suggested only in the trail limb, as its foot clearance decreased progressively with repeated trials, unlike the lead limb. These findings provide insight not only into addressing societal issues such as fall prevention in older adults, but also into applications in sports science. They may help clarify skilled motor control in athletes from the perspective of tool embodiment during obstacle-avoidance tasks.

Interpersonal violence committed by sports coaches has been studied and discussed across multiple subject areas. However, conceptual and methodological issues remain in this area of research in Japan and detailed quantification of victimization frequency is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Japanese version of the Violence Toward Athletes Questionnaire-Coach (VTAQ-Coach-J), which measures a wide range of interpersonal violence victimization by coaches. Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) identified the four-factor structure for the VTAQ-Coach-J: “physical violence,” “psychological violence and neglect (coercion-oriented),” “psychological violence and neglect (control-oriented),” and “sexual violence.” All subscales demonstrated sufficient internal consistency. Examined in relation to validity indices, the VTAQ-Coach-J showed robust positive partial correlations with similar concepts of coach harassment and sexual harassment, as well as with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) directly attributable to victimization. Positive partial correlations with disturbance of self-organization (DSO), psychological and physical stress reactions, and general depressive reactions differed across subscales of the VTAQ-Coach-J. This study provided evidence to validate the VTAQ-Coach-J in terms of content, structure, generalizability, and external dimensions. Based on these findings, basic and applied studies of the VTAQ-Coach-J are expected in the future, including the development of a cross-national study on interpersonal violence in sports.