Abstract
Research on ice hockey player development has largely focused on technical, tactical, and physical aspects, with limited attention to psychosocial development. This scoping review aimed to examine the literature on psychosocial development in male ice hockey players. Using a PRISMA-based approach, five databases were searched for articles published in the last 20 years. As development is a ‘blurry’ term across the literature, the search strategy was intentionally broad. More specifically, the initial search term used was “Hockey” (but not “ball” OR “field” OR “sledge” hockey) to capture as many articles as possible. Following duplicate removal, 6223 articles were extracted. Titles and abstracts were screened according to the following inclusion criteria: a) written in English, b) sample described as male or mixed-sex ice hockey players, c) psychosocial focus, and d) competitive sport sample. Seventy-seven articles were included in the final dataset, and were coded for variables such as study-design, country, sample size, age, psychosocial tool/measurement, and psychosocial foci. The findings highlight that 66% of studies examining psychosocial components of hockey players employ cross-sectional designs, 56% are concentrated in North America, 27% used 201-500 participants, and 36% involve adolescent hockey players (age 12-17). The results identified motivation, anxiety, and depression as the most explored psychosocial foci across the literature. The findings have potential to identify key factors affecting player behaviour both on and off the ice, and inform directions for future research to benefit athletes, coaches, and other stakeholders involved in athlete development.
