<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="static/style.xsl"?><OAI-PMH xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/OAI-PMH.xsd"><responseDate>2026-09-29T06:37:38Z</responseDate><request verb="GetRecord" identifier="oai:skemman.is:1946/51028" metadataPrefix="dim">https://skemman.is/oai/request</request><GetRecord><record><header><identifier>oai:skemman.is:1946/51028</identifier><datestamp>2025-06-19T10:55:35Z</datestamp><setSpec>com_1946_6867</setSpec><setSpec>com_1946_6001</setSpec><setSpec>col_1946_34318</setSpec></header><metadata><dim:dim xmlns:dim="http://www.dspace.org/xmlns/dspace/dim" xmlns:doc="http://www.lyncode.com/xoai" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.dspace.org/xmlns/dspace/dim http://www.dspace.org/schema/dim.xsd">
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" lang="is">Háskólinn í Reykjavík</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" qualifier="author">Guðjón Árni Antoníusson 1983-</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="advisor">Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir 1979-</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" lang="is">Lokuð vegna birtingar</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="abstract" lang="en">Objectives: This study aimed to examine (i) gender differences in 2024 playing levels among Icelandic youth footballers assessed in 2020/21, (ii) whether psychological skills (PS), mental toughness (MT), and competition anxiety (CA) differed across playing levels, (iii) how gender and playing levels interacted with PS, MT, and CA scores, and (iv) whether PS, MT, CA, and gender could predict playing levels in 2024.&#xd;
Methods: A total of 826 youth Icelandic footballers (mean age: 15.7; 75.7% male) completed the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) og Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2)questionnaires in 2020/21. Playing levels were retrieved from the Football Association of Iceland (KSI) website late 2024. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and binary logistic regression.&#xd;
Results: Male players were more likely to continue playing and reach higher levels, while female players were more likely to retire (59.9% vs. 44.8%). Retired athletes scored significantly lower on MT and PS and higher on CA than those playing at elite levels. Gender differences and interactions with playing level were found in anxiety. Regression analysis showed that youth national team experience was the strongest predictor of the 2024 playing level. MT approached significance; PS and CA were not significant predictors.&#xd;
Discussion: Psychological characteristics were associated with playing level, but not robust predictors of progression. This suggests that long-term success in football is influenced by multiple factors, including physical, technical, and environmental aspects. Still, early attention to psychological development, especially among female athletes, remains vital.&#xd;
&#xd;
Keywords: Football, psychological skills, mental toughness, competition anxiety, gender differences</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="abstract" lang="is">Markmið: Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að skoða (i) mun á getustigi árið 2024 milli íslenskra kvenna og karla í knattspyrnu sem tóku þátt í rannsókn árin 2020/21, (ii) hvort munur væri á hugrænni færni (PS), andlegum styrk (MT) og keppniskvíða (CA) milli leikmanna á ólíkum&#xd;
getustigum, (iii) hvort samvirkni væri milli kyns og getustigs við PS, MT og CA, og (iv) hvort PS, MT, CA og kyn gætu spáð fyrir um getustig leikmanna árið 2024.&#xd;
Aðferð: Alls tóku 826 íslenskir knattspyrnuiðkendur (meðalaldur:15,7; 75,7% karlar) þátt árin 2020/21 og svöruðu spurningalistunum Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ) og Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2). Gögn um leikstig árið 2024 voru fengin á vefsíðu KSÍ. Notuð voru tölfræðiprófin kí-kvaðrat, tvíþátta&#xd;
fjöldreifigreining (MANOVA), einföld dreifigreining (ANOVA) og tvíkosta&#xd;
aðhvarfsgreining.&#xd;
Niðurstöður: Karlar voru líklegri til að halda áfram og ná hærra getustigi, en konur líklegri til að hætta (59,9% kvenna hættu samanborið við 44,8% karla). Þeir sem voru hættir skoruðu marktækt lægra á MT og PS og hærra á CA miðað við leikmenn á efri getustigum. Munur og samvirkni fundust í kvíða milli kynja og leikstiga. Þátttaka í úrtakshóp fyrir unglingalandslið spáði sterkast fyrir um áframhaldandi þátttöku og hátt getustig. MT nálgaðist marktækni en PS og CA voru ekki marktækir spáþættir.&#xd;
Umræður: Þó að hugrænir eiginleikar tengist leikstigi, virðast þeir einir og sér ekki nægilegir til að spá fyrir um langtímaárangur. Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar endurspegla mikilvægi fjölþættra þátta í íþróttaþróun. Mikilvægt er að huga að hugrænum þáttum snemma, sérstaklega hjá stúlkum.&#xd;
Leitarorð: Knattspyrna, hugræn færni, andlegur styrkur, keppniskvíði, kynjamunur</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="sponsorship" lang="is">Knattspyrnusamband Íslands</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="accessioned">2025-06-19T10:55:33Z</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="available">2025-06-19T10:55:33Z</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="issued">2025-06-19T10:55:35Z</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="submitted">2025-06-15T09:08:30Z</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="published">2025-06</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="identifier" qualifier="uri">https://hdl.handle.net/1946/51028</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="language" qualifier="iso">en</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Íþróttafræði</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Meistaraprófsritgerðir</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Knattspyrna</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Hugræn fræði</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Kvíði</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Kynjamunur</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="is">Psychological studies</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en">Sport science</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en">Football</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en">Soccer</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en">Gender difference</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en">Anxiety</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="title" lang="en">Can psychological attributes predict the playing level of Icelandic footballers four to five years later?</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="type">Thesis</dim:field>
<dim:field mdschema="dc" element="type" qualifier="degree">Master's</dim:field>
</dim:dim></metadata></record></GetRecord></OAI-PMH>