Psychological Self-Report Questionnaires Are Not Associated With Decrements in Physical Performance Following Special
Jeremy A Ross1, Don L Rooks, Joshua D Winters
1Sports Medicine Research Institute, Lexington, Kentucky.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
|July 23, 2026
Summary
Psychological self-report questionnaires did not strongly correlate with physical performance changes in Special Operations Forces (SOF) during intense training. While some links were found, caution is advised when using these tools to screen for nonfunctional overreaching (nFOR) in SOF operators.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Military Performance
- Psychological Assessment
Background:
- Special Operations Forces (SOF) training can lead to nonfunctional overreaching (nFOR).
- Psychological self-report (PSR) tools are often used to detect nFOR.
- The effectiveness of PSR tools for screening nFOR in SOF settings is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate performance decrements in SOF operators following an 8-month training phase.
- To examine the correlation between changes in physical performance and PSR measures.
- To determine the utility of PSR questionnaires in identifying nFOR in SOF training.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-four male SOF operators completed physical performance tests (e.g., agility, vertical jump, sprints) and PSR assessments (e.g., depression, sleep quality, pain) before and after training.
- Spearman's rank correlations analyzed the relationship between changes in performance and PSR scores.
- Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Main Results:
- SOF operators showed declines in body fat, agility, vertical jump, anaerobic capacity, and sprint times, but improved isometric midthigh pull.
- Agility changes correlated with alertness and pain affecting mood/stress; aerobic capacity changes correlated with alertness.
- Post-training PSR showed correlations between agility and depression, anaerobic capacity and pain, and sprint times and sleep quality.
Conclusions:
- While SOF training may induce nFOR, psychological self-report tools have limited utility as standalone screens for this population.
- Coaches should exercise caution when using PSR to monitor SOF operators for nFOR.
- Further research is needed to identify more sensitive screening methods for nFOR in SOF settings.
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