Siv Gjesdal

• Bjørndal, Christian Thue; Gjesdal, Siv & Toering, Tryntsje Tsjitske (2022). Transforming coach education for the 21st century. In Petry, Karen & de Jong, Johan (Ed.), Education in sport and physical activity : future directions and global perspectives. Routledge. ISSN 9780367433604. p. 228–237. doi: 10.4324/9781003002666-24.
• Gjesdal, Siv; Bjørndal, Christian T. & Luteberget, Live (2022). The relationship between the perception of reduced performance due to injury or illness and basic psychological need satisfaction in Norwegian youth elite handball: a cross-lagged panel analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (SJSEP). ISSN 2596-741X. 3, p. 76–82. doi: 10.7146/sjsep.v3i.120880. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study investigated the relationship between perceived reduction in performance due to injury or illness (RPII) and basic psychological need satisfaction in youth elite handball. Participants were 174 elite youth handball players between 15 to 18 years of age, from five different sport schools. It was a quantitative study, with two time points (one week apart), resulting in a crossed-lagged structural equation model. Competence and relatedness satisfaction were found invariant across the two time points, autonomy was not. The structural model showed good fit ((S- B χ²) = [df = 130, N= 174] = 182.327, p < .0017; CFI = .96; RMSEA = .05 [.03-.06], and SRMR = .08). Competence (β= .64, 95%CI: .51, .76), relatedness (β= .77, 95%CI: .66, .88) and RPII (β= .51, 95%CI: .37, .66) showed moderate temporal stability. When accounting for previous levels of the basic psychological needs, RPII negatively predicted competence (β= -.20, 95%CI: -.35, .83) and relatedness (β= -.16, 95%CI: -.30, -.01). Taken together, these findings suggest that experiencing RPII can have implications for basic psychological need satisfaction in youth elite handball, showing that factors other than psychosocial ones may play a role therein.

• Gjesdal, Siv & Hedenborg, Susanna (2021). Engaging Minority Girls in Organized Youth Sport in Norway: A Case Study of a Project That Worked. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. ISSN 2624-9367. 3. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2021.781142. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Sport participation is considered a positive pastime endower that can offer a range of positive outcomes for children and youths. It has also increasingly been recognized as a potentially important context for fostering social inclusion for minority youths. Yet across Europe, minority girls are participating in sport to a lesser degree than their majority counterparts. Using self-determination theory (SDT) and the social ecological model as the framework, this study explored the reasons why a particular project aimed at recruiting minority girls to organized team sport succeeded in doing just that. A case study design was adopted to provide an in-depth analysis of how this project satisfied the basic psychological needs of minority girls. Nine girls, four parents, two coaches, and two project team members were interviewed about the project and sport participation in general. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Two main themes were identified, a sense of being facilitated and inclusion in the sport environment. The former emphasized the importance of aligning the participation with the girls' cultural norms and values, particularly in the beginning. It also included practical issues such as finances, reminding us that participation in sport is not just a motivational issue. The latter focused on the importance of including the girls in the general sports program, regardless of their athletic abilities at the onset of their participation and creating a mastery environment. Moreover, by removing remediable differences between the minority and majority girls, such as having the right equipment, seemed important to fostering a sense of belonging in the sports club. Additionally, establishing meaningful relationships with coaches and majority counterparts seemed to be a major motivating factor.

• Bjørndal, Christian T.; Bache-Mathiesen, Lena Kristin; Gjesdal, Siv; Moseid, Christine Holm; Myklebust, Grethe & Luteberget, Live (2021). An Examination of Training Load, Match Activities, and Health Problems in Norwegian Youth Elite Handball Players Over One Competitive Season. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. ISSN 2624-9367. 3. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2021.635103. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Talent development is integral to the policy and organizational practice of competitive sport, but has also been associated with excessive amounts of training and competition, and athlete injuries and illnesses. The lack of available prospective data on the training and match activities of youth athletes and their health problems is therefore of concern. The aim of this study was two-fold: (a) to examine the amount and frequency of training load, match activities, injury and illness incidence, and prevalence among Norwegian youth elite handball players over the course of the 2018–2019 competitive season; and (b) to explore whether the injury rates are related to the sex or competition level of players, or their membership of the youth international team. We recruited 205 handball players (64% female, 36% male), aged 15–18 years (17.2 years ± 0.9) from five different sport school programs in southeast Norway. Data were collected daily from September 2018 to May 2019, during the competitive handball season. The variables included types of athlete activities, the number of activities, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and the duration of training and matches. Injury and illness data were collected weekly using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) questionnaire. The mean number of matches per week per player was 0.9 ± 1.29; the number of weekly training events was 6.1 ± 4.4; and the mean weekly session RPE was 986 ± 1 412 arbitrary units. The players reported a total of 472 injuries, and the mean number of injuries per player was 2.3 ± 2.9. The results demonstrated a 53% weekly injury prevalence, of which 38% were categorized as substantial injuries. Male players and players who participated at the highest level of senior competition and/or the youth international team reported significantly lower weekly incidences of health problems, compared to other players. Our findings showed that players enrolled in sport school programs are exposed to high training and competition loads, and that both general and substantial health problems are common. The potential implications for talent development and future research are discussed.

• Bjørndal, Christian T. & Gjesdal, Siv (2020). The role of sport school programmes in athlete development in Norwegian handball and football. European Journal for Sport and Society (EJSS). ISSN 1613-8171. 17(4), p. 374–23. doi: 10.1080/16138171.2020.1792131. Show summary

  Norwegian sport school programmes are increasing in popularity and making significant contributions to athlete success. The aim of this study was to investigate how school coaches perceive the role of sport school programmes in Norwegian handball and football, and how coaches attempt to promote athlete development. The study was based on group and individual interviews with 25 coaches from 10 different sport programmes in upper secondary schools. The challenges and opportunities experienced by the school coaches related primarily to the interactions between athletes and the different organisational actors within the talent development system, and to the potential risks associated with these. No single stakeholder in the Norwegian system has sole responsibility for talent identification or development. Instead, athlete development in individual and team sports is located and organised within a multi-centric organisational model of club, school, regional and national association-driven activities. Policymakers and practitioners therefore need to strengthen the formal and informal lines of communication between sport school programmes and club teams. Coaches need to ensure that the academic syllabus does not constrain the opportunities available for athlete development at the individual level. Coaches should also maintain flexible approaches to athlete development and practice.

• Gjesdal, Siv; Stenling, Andreas; Solstad, Bård Erlend & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2018). A study of coach‐team perceptual distance concerning the coach‐created motivational climate in youth sport. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. ISSN 0905-7188. 29(1), p. 132–143. doi: 10.1111/sms.13306. Show summary

  The purpose of this study was to examine whether coach‐team perceptual distance regarding the coach‐created motivational climate related to achievement goal orientations and affective responses. To this end, we used polynomial regression analysis with response surface methodology. The sample consisted of 1359 youth soccer players (57.8% male; Mage = 11.81 years, SD = 1.18), belonging to 87 different teams (Msize = 16.47), and 87 coaches (94.6% male, Mage = 42 years, SD = 5.67). Results showed that team perceptions of a coach‐created mastery climate were positively related to team‐rated task goal orientation and enjoyment, whereas team perceptions of a coach‐created performance climate were positively related to team‐rated ego goal orientation and anxiety, and negatively related to team‐rated enjoyment. These relationships were generally stronger with higher levels of perceptual agreement between the coach and the team. In situations of perceptual disagreement, the most negative effects were seen when the coach held a more favorable perception of the motivational climate compared to the team. The findings highlight the importance of perceptual agreement between the coach and his/her team, contributing to the literature focusing on the effects of the coach‐created motivational climate.

• Gjesdal, Siv; Wold, Bente & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2018). Promoting additional activity in youth soccer: a half-longitudinal study on the influence of autonomy-supportive coaching and basic psychological need satisfaction. Journal of Sports Sciences. ISSN 0264-0414. 37(3), p. 268–276. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1495394. Show summary

  This study investigated the relationships between perceptions of coach autonomy support, basic psychological need satisfaction and the frequency at which youth soccer players engage in additional soccer activity outside of team sessions. We employed structural equation modelling to test a two-wave (T1 and T2) half-longitudinal study to see if basic psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between coach autonomy support and additional soccer activity across a competitive season. The sample consisted of 527 youth soccer players, aged 10–15 years. Results revealed moderate to strong temporal stability for autonomy, competence, relatedness and frequency of additional soccer activity. Furthermore, no support is offered for mediation as T1 coach autonomy support was not related to any of the three basic needs at T2 when accounting for their T1 levels. However, a positive relationship between T1 autonomy and T2 additional soccer activity emerged. This suggests that those who experience high levels of autonomy in the team setting at the start of the season report an increased frequency of additional activity at the end of the season. Results are discussed in light of the Self-Determination Theory and the Trans-Contextual Model.

• Gjesdal, Siv; Haug, Ellen & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2018). A Conditional Process Analysis of the Coach-Created Mastery Climate, Task Goal Orientation, and Competence Satisfaction in Youth Soccer: The Moderating Role of Controlling Coach Behavior. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. ISSN 1041-3200. 31(2), p. 203–217. doi: 10.1080/10413200.2017.1413690. Show summary

  The purpose of this study was to investigate controlling coach behavior as a boundary condition for the relationship between a mastery climate, task goal orientation, and competence satisfaction in youth soccer. Latent conditional process modeling was conducted with a sample of 1,119 female and male youth soccer players 10–15 years of age. Results indicated that the interaction between controlling coach behavior and coach-created mastery climate accounted for 4% variance in task goal orientation. Furthermore, the indirect link between coach-created mastery climate and competence, through task goal orientation, was significant at all levels of controlling coach behavior, yet decreased from low (–1 SD; B = .40, 95% confidence interval [CIBC] [.28, .52]), to moderate (M; B = .35, 95% CIBC [.26, .46]), to high levels (+1 SD; B = .31, 95% CIBC [.22, .41]). Findings are interpreted as supporting the idea that controlling coach behavior abates the internalization of mastery values, thereby undermining the relationship between the coach-created mastery climate and players’ competence satisfaction.

• Gjesdal, Siv; Appleton, Paul R. & Ommundsen, Yngvar (2017). Both the “What” and “Why” of Youth Sports Participation Matter; a Conditional Process Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. ISSN 1664-1078. 8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00659. Show summary

  This study builds on previous research combining achievement goal orientation from Achievement Goal Theory and motivational regulation from Self-Determination Theory. The aim was to assess the combination of the “what” and “why” of youth sport activity, and how it relates to the need for competence and self-esteem. Achievement goal orientation, specifically task and ego, was employed to represent the “what”, whilst intrinsic and external regulation reflected the “why”. Based on a sample of 496 youth sports participants, structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure was used to examine whether the indirect relationship between achievement goal orientation and self-esteem was conditional to motivational regulation. The results show partial support for the conditional process models. Specifically, task orientation was indirectly linked with self-esteem through competence need, and the relationship was stronger with higher levels of intrinsic regulation for sport. Furthermore, ego orientation was negatively associated with self-esteem through a positive relationship with competence frustration. However, this relationship emerged only for those higher in intrinsic regulation. External regulation did not emerge as a moderator, but presented a positive relationship with competence frustration. Findings are discussed in light of both Achievement Goal Theory and Self-Determination Theory, and underline the importance of considering both the “what” and “why” when attempting to understand motivation in youth sport.

View all works in Cristin

• Sjølie, Emilie Scholten; McKay, Carly; Gjesdal, Siv; Grindem, Hege; Myklebust, Grethe & Bjørndal, Christian Thue [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2024). Targeting injury prevention behavior in youth handball and football: perspectives from 528 players and 337 coaches - a cross sectional study.
• Sjølie, Emilie Scholten; McKay, Carly; Gjesdal, Siv; Grindem, Hege; Myklebust, Grethe & Bjørndal, Christian Thue [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2024). Injury prevention behavior in youth handball and football: perspectives from 528 players and 337 coaches - a cross sectional study.
• Sjølie, Emilie Scholten; McKay, Carly; Gjesdal, Siv; Grindem, Hege; Myklebust, Grethe & Bjørndal, Christian Thue [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Similar injury prevention behavior in youth handball and football: a cross-sectional study of 865 coaches and players.
• Sjølie, Emilie Scholten; Gjesdal, Siv; McKay, Carly; Grindem, Hege; Myklebust, Grethe & Bjørndal, Christian Thue [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2022). Holdninger og atferd: skader og skadeforebygging.
• Berntsen, Hedda & Gjesdal, Siv (2015). Bredde er topp! NIH-bloggen.

View all works in Cristin