Research Interests
- Personality and psychological predictors of sport climbing performance
- Cognitive and affective benefits of practising sport in nature
- Sport anxiety and mental health in elite athletes
- Emotions and cognitions in sport performance
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Maria Stefania Ionel, PhD
Researcher
Sport & Exercise Psychology (SEP) Group
RIDDLE Lab
Department of Psychology
Babeș-Bolyai University
Republicii Str., 37, Cluj-Napoca, 400015, Romania
E-mail: mariastefaniaionel@psychology.ro
Professional career
2025 – 2028: Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the project “Stress and Personality: The Unexpected Consequences of Stress Appraisal and Emotion Regulation Fizzles (SAPER)”, AID Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania.
2024 – present: Adjunct Lecturer, “Psychological Resilience in Elite Sport” (MSc in Sport Psychology), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania.
2023 – present: Medical & Anti-Doping Commission member, World Climbing, Italy.
2023 – present: Communications Officer, International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), Sport Psychology Division 12, USA.
2023 – 2024: President, International Association of Psychologists in Climbing (IAPSYC), Austria.
2021 – 2024: Head of Mental Health, Climbing Psychology, Austria.
2020 – 2021: Adventure Therapist, Asociación Experientia: Terapia a través de la aventura, Spain.
2019 – present: Founder and Coordinator, Researcher, Sport & Exercise Psychology (SEP) Group, RIDDLE Lab, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2016 – present: Clinical & Sport Psychologist in Private Practice, Psiholog Dr. Maria Stefania Ionel, Romania.
Academic career
2017 – 2024: Ph.D. in Psychology (Summa cum Laude), Doctoral School of Applied Cognitive Psychology, RIDDLE Lab, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. Thesis: “Personality, Mental Health and Performance Anxiety in Outdoor Sports: The Case of Rock-Climbing”. Supervisor: Prof. dr. habil. Laura Visu-Petra.
2013 – 2015: M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. Thesis: “Cognitive and affective benefits of exposure to natural versus artificial stimuli when performing indoor cycling”.
2006 – 2010: B.Sc. in Psychology, Faculty of Social Humanistic Science, University of Oradea, Romania.
2006 – 2009: B.A. in International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of History, Geography, and International Relations, University of Oradea, Romania.
Grants and Awards
2025 May 27-29: Grant “Mental Health and Emotion Regulation in Climbing: Understanding Burnout and Performance in High-Risk Sports”. Bavarian Higher Education Funding Programme for the Initiation and Strengthening of International Research Collaborations (Funding Reference BayIntAnTUM202582, €2,729).
2022 January – June: Erasmus scholarship, PhD-stage mobility at the Experimental Psychopathology Lab (EP Lab), University of Padova, Italy.
2020 January – June: Erasmus scholarship, PhD-stage mobility at the NeuroPGA Lab, University of Lleida, Spain.
2018: Young Investigators Award for the Best Poster Presentation, 9th International Mountain and Outdoor Sports Conference, Prague, Czech Republic.
2015 – 2016: Erasmus scholarship, MA-stage mobility at the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, University of Granada, Spain.
2015 September: Scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), “Human Action Control Summer School”, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Publications
Neméti-Fehér, Z., Ionel, M. S.*, Gherghișan, A., Iliescu, D., & Ion, A. (2026). Insights from the Romanian Version of the International Olympic Committee Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 (IOC SMHAT-1) in Elite Athletes. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2026.2687387
Trașcă, A. G., Ionel, M. S.*, & Visu-Petra, L. (2026). Unmasking gender roles in sports: Differences in athletic identity and pain coping ability in martial arts. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 57(3), 215-238. https://doi.org/10.7352/IJSP.2026.57.215
Mancin, P., Ionel, M. S., Cerea, S., Riva, E. F., Rapisarda, M., & Ghisi, M. (2025). Riding with the flow: study on intrinsic motivation, dispositional flow, and sensation seeking among Italian motorcycle racers. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, 1501123. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2025.1501123
Ionel, M. S., Ion, A., & Visu-Petra, L. (2025). Personality and rock-climbing performance progression: a 12-months follow-up. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 23(1), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2293935
Ionel, M. S., Ion, A., Iliescu, D., & Visu-Petra, L. (2024). Climbing Anxiety Scale (CAS-20): Preliminary Development and Validation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 73, 102635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102635
Ionel, M. S., Visu-Petra, L., & Rueda, M. R. (2024). Simulating Nature?! The Impact of Indoor Exercising on Cognitive and Affective Functioning: A Randomized Crossover Trial. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 20(1), 64-79. https://doi.org/10.5709/acp-0416-3
Ionel, M. S., Ion, A., & Visu-Petra, L. (2023). Personality, grit, and performance in rock-climbing: down to the nitty-gritty. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(2), 306-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2022.2044368
Other peer-reviewed papers (BDI, CNCSIS B+ category)
Bîrle, D., Crișan, D., & Ionel, M. S. (2013). Adolescents’ tolerance towards the level of morality/immorality of moral values. Scientific Research and Education in the Air Force – AFASES, 15, 139-149. EBSCO indexed volume.
White papers and Preprints
Hall, L. H., Ionel, M. S.*, Gude, A., Trașcă, A. G., Murray, H., & Gridley, N. (2023). The Associations between Climbing and Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Mixed-Methods Scoping Review (Preprint). https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/f735b. [Joint first authors]
Williams, R., Crane, M., Markovič, M., Vardy, J., Howard, S., Santolaya, M., … & Ionel, M. S*. Consensus Statement on Eating Disorders in Climbing. IAPSYC. www.iapsyc.com
Translations
Bulbuc, A. A., Dumitru, M., & Ionel, M. S.* (2024). Romanian translation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) Clinical Assessment Tool Version 2 (IOC REDs CAT2) and IOC REDs CAT2 Scoring Tool.
Gherghișan, A. I., Bulbuc, A. A., & Ionel, M. S.* (2023). Romanian translation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 (SMHAT-1) and IOC Sport Mental Health Recognition Tool (SMHRT-1).
Moldovan, M., Ionel, M. S., & Visu-Petra, L. (2019). Autorănirea nonsuicidară [Nonsuicidal Self-Injury]. In Enea, V. (coord.). Intervenții psihologice în școală. Manualul consilierului școlar [Psychological Interventions in School. The School Counselor’s Handbook], Editura Polirom, Iași. ISBN: 978-973-46-6358-3
Other professional activities and training
2026: Member of the Scientific Committee, 18th European Congress of Sport and Exercise Psychology (FEPSAC), Timișoara, Romania.
2025: Member of the Scientific Board, 7th International Rock Climbing Research Association (IRCRA) Congress, Prague, Czech Republic.
2024 – present: Reviewer for the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IJSEP), Taylor & Francis Group.
2023 – present: Member of the Medical & Anti-Doping Commission, World Climbing (WC), Italy; contributor to the IFSC Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) Health Certification and Health Screening Rules guidance for national federations.
2023 – present: Member of the Mental Health, Safeguarding and Applied Sports Psychology Working Group, Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR).
2022 – present: Member, International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP); Communications Officer, Sport Psychology Division 12 (2023 – present).
2021 – present: Certified Associate Member, Romanian Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies (APCCR).
2020 – present: Founding Member, International Association of Psychologists in Climbing (IAPSYC); President (2023 – 2024).
2020 – present: Member, European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC).
2020 – present: Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip) in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, The Psychotherapy of the Disorders of Self, International Masterson Institute, Australia.
2018 – present: Member, International Rock Climbing Research Association (IRCRA).
2014 – present: Registered Specialist Psychologist, Romanian College of Psychologists (CPR; www.verificapsiholog.ro/16081-maria-ionel).
Riddle Lab