Abstract
<jats:p>This chapter presents the results of a theoretical and empirical study of the psychological characteristics of students integrating academic and athletic activities in a higher education setting. The relevance of the study stems from the contradiction between the high social demand for well-rounded professionals and the insufficient understanding of the psychological mechanisms of student-athlete development in the university educational environment. The aim of the study is to identify and characterize the psychological determinants, structure, and dynamics of students' personal characteristics in the context of physical education and sports activities and to identify areas for optimizing psychological and pedagogical support for this category of students. The methodological framework is based on a subject-activity approach, the concept of personal potential, and the theory of coping behavior. The study was implemented using a combination of psychodiagnostic methods: the Self-Organization of Activity Questionnaire, the Differential Reflection Diagnostic Method, the Personality Self-Determination Scale, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire, the Keirsey Method, and the «Self-Portrait» projective technique. The sample included 140 students (50 highly skilled athletes and 90 students not involved in professional sports). Statistically significant differences in the structure of students' personal potential were identified depending on their involvement in sports activities. It was shown that athletes demonstrate higher levels of self-organization, self-determination, and a preference for constructive coping strategies. Specific personality profiles of athletes practicing aesthetic sports were identified, characterized by extroversion, perfectionism, workaholism, and demonstrativeness. A theoretical structural and functional model, «Personality Determinants of the Effectiveness of Students' Physical Education and Sports Activities,&quot; was developed. Directions for personalizing psychological and pedagogical support are substantiated, differentiated based on students' sports specialization and individual psychological characteristics. The materials in this chapter can be used in the activities of university psychological services and in the training of coaches and teachers.</jats:p>