Endurance athletes' coping function use during competitive suffering episodes

Abstract

Endurance athletes who realise that they are falling short of important personal goals during competition are expected to experience competitive suffering. As a negative affective state with implications for performance and personal experiences, it is important to understand how endurance athletes cope with competitive suffering. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate differences in athletes' momentary coping function use over time during a competitive suffering episode. Twenty-six runners (mean age: 35.8 years) completed a 5-km running time trial that evoked an experience of competitive suffering using false failure-oriented feedback. Momentary assessments of goal attainment feelings and coping function use were completed immediately following the running time trial using video-mediated recall. Pooled time series analysis was used to predict coping function use across several points in time (i.e. earlier and later stages of a competitive suffering episode) and at different ratings of goal attainment feelings. Analyses revealed that negative feelings about goal attainment moderately predicted problem-focused coping use, and strongly predicted emotion-focused coping use. Although it was not predicted by goal attainment feelings, avoidance coping use was decreased over time throughout suffering episodes. Overall, this study supports propositions that the coping process is continually adapted to competitive demands and identifies the roles of distinct coping functions within the total coping effort.     

Personal and situational factors that predict coping strategies for acute stress among basketball referees

The aim of this study was to establish the ways in which coping style and situational appraisals are related to the consistency of using approach and avoidance coping strategies for skilled Australian basketball referees (n = 133) after three game-related stressful events. The events, ‘making a mistake’, ‘aggressive reactions by coaches or players’ and ‘presence of important others’, were determined from previous research on sources of acute stress among basketball officials. Our findings indicated that: referees exhibited consistent avoidance, but not approach, coping styles; they used more avoidance than approach strategies; and they perceived stress to be positively correlated with approach, and negatively associated with avoidance, coping strategies. These findings suggest that individual differences exist in perceptions of stress (i.e. situational appraisals), controllability and coping styles among moderately and highly skilled basketball referees. The implications for teaching cognitive and behavioural strategies for effective coping with acute stress in basketball officiating are discussed.     

An investigation of the five-factor model of personality and coping behaviour in sport

Coping strategies are important for performance in sport and individual differences may contribute to the coping strategies adopted by athletes. In this study, we explored the main and interactive effects of the big five personality dimensions on sport-related coping and compared personality profiles of discrete groups of athletes. Altogether, 253 athletes (mean age 21.1 years, s=3.7) completed the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and the Coping Function Questionnaire for Sport (Kowalski & Crocker, 2001). Results showed that extraverted athletes, who were also emotionally stable and open to new experiences (a three-way interaction effect), reported a greater use of problem-focused coping strategies. Conscientious athletes (main effect), and athletes displaying high levels of extraversion, openness, and agreeableness (a three-way interaction effect), reported a greater use of emotion-focused coping strategies, and athletes with low levels of openness, or high levels of neuroticism (main effects), reported a greater use of avoidance coping strategies. Different personality characteristics were observed between higher-level and lower-level athletes, between men and women athletes, and between individual and team sport athletes. These findings suggest that the five-factor model of personality can help distinguish various levels of athletic involvement and can help identify the coping strategies athletes are likely to adopt during participation.     

Effects of the Big Five personality dimensions on appraisal coping,and coping effectiveness in sport

Abstract

In this study, we examined the influence of the Big Five personality dimensions (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) on the appraisal (intensity, control) of a self-selected stressor, coping, and perceived coping effectiveness. Participants were 482 athletes (305 males, 177 females) who played a variety of sports. Results indicate that the Big Five dimensions influenced coping selection, coping effectiveness, stress intensity, and perceived control of the stressors, but not the type of self-selected stressor. In particular, Neuroticism predicted higher stressor intensity and Agreeableness lower stressor intensity. Neuroticism predicted lower perceived stressor control and Conscientiousness higher perceived stressor control. Higher levels of Neuroticism were directly and indirectly associated with more emotion and avoidance coping strategies and less problem-focused coping strategies. The other four personality dimensions were also associated with the selection of coping strategies that were perceived to be effective. This study provides support for the notion that the Big Five personality dimensions directly influence appraisal, coping, and coping effectiveness among the sample. Coping was also influenced indirectly by personality through the appraisal process. The Neuroticism dimension was found to be associated with the selection of less adaptive coping strategies and lower levels of reported coping effectiveness. The other four personality dimensions were associated with more adaptive coping strategies that were rated as effective.     

游泳运动员大负荷训练中心理、生理疲劳和应对方式

采用问卷调查法和测量法跟踪调查了33名游泳运动员6周大负荷训练中的心理、生理疲劳和应对方式,目的是为教练员科学进行大负荷训练提供心理和生理依据。结果显示,POMS量表和10项自我陈述测验在一定程度上可以反映游泳运动员大负荷训练中的心理疲劳;训练中最高心率、血红蛋白、血清肌酸激酶、尿素氮等指标可以客观地反映游泳运动员大负荷训练中的生理疲劳;在大负荷训练感受中,女运动员精神疲倦显著高于男运动员;面对大负荷训练的疲劳,男运动员倾向于采用自我激励、转移注意力和解决问题及逃避等应对方式;女运动员则倾向于采用自责、宣泄、寻求支持和幻想及逃避等应对方式。     

Coping with stressors in elite sport: A coach perspective

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to supplement previous work that identified the stressors experienced by coaches and examine the coping strategies that elite-level coaches employ to overcome stressors. Three elite coaches were interviewed and were required to identify three prominent stressors that they had experienced before discussing how they attempted to cope with them. The selected stressors included both performance and organizational types, and the associated coping attempts included strategies conforming to problem-, emotion-, avoidance-, appraisal-, and approach-focused dimensions. While specific forms of coping were identified, findings also highlighted that coping strategies were employed across performance and organizational stressors, rather than being employed for one or the other. Implications for future research opportunities within the area are presented.     

Cognitive interference during competition among volleyball players with different goal orientation profiles

In this study, we examined interfering thoughts during sport competition among university volleyball players as a function of dominant goal orientation and outcome. In particular, we investigated the performance worries and thoughts of escape experienced while performing in athletes with high task and low ego orientation and athletes with high ego and low task orientation. Goal orientations were assessed before the start of a volleyball tournament, whereas cognitive interference was assessed on three different occasions after games. The results revealed no consistent differences for performance worries. In contrast, in all analyses we found that athletes with high ego and low task orientations reported more thoughts of escape when losing than when winning, and more thoughts of escape than athletes with high task and low ego orientations when winning or losing. The results support in part the suggestion that a high ego orientation, when not accompanied by a high task orientation, can be linked to motivationally maladaptive cognitions.     

Cognitive interference during competition among volleyball players with different goal orientation profiles

In this study, we examined interfering thoughts during sport competition among university volleyball players as a function of dominant goal orientation and outcome. In particular, we investigated the performance worries and thoughts of escape experienced while performing in athletes with high task and low ego orientation and athletes with high ego and low task orientation. Goal orientations were assessed before the start of a volleyball tournament, whereas cognitive interference was assessed on three different occasions after games. The results revealed no consistent differences for performance worries. In contrast, in all analyses we found that athletes with high ego and low task orientations reported more thoughts of escape when losing than when winning, and more thoughts of escape than athletes with high task and low ego orientations when winning or losing. The results support in part the suggestion that a high ego orientation, when not accompanied by a high task orientation, can be linked to motivationally maladaptive cognitions.     

Cognitive and affective components of challenge and threat states

Abstract

We explored the cognitive and affective components of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) using a cross-sectional design. One hundred and seventy-seven collegiate athletes indicated how they typically approached an important competition on measures of self-efficacy, perceived control, achievement goals, emotional states and interpretation of emotional states. Participants also indicated to what extent they typically perceived the important competition as a challenge and/or a threat. The results suggest that a perception of challenge was not predicted by any of the cognitive components. A perception of threat was positively predicted by avoidance goals and negatively predicted by self-efficacy and approach goals. Both challenge and threat had a positive relationship with anxiety. Practical implications of this study are that an avoidance orientation appeared to be related to potentially negative constructs such as anxiety, threat and dejection. The findings may suggest that practitioners and researchers should focus on reducing an avoidance orientation, however the results should be treated with caution in applied settings, as this study did not examine how the combination of constructs exactly influences sport performance. The results provided partial support for the TCTSA with stronger support for proposed relationships with threat rather than challenge states.     

A person-centered approach to achievement goal orientations in competitive tennis players: Associations with motivation and mental toughness

Background:Research on achievement goal orientations in sport has typically relied on the use of variable-centered approaches that tend to overlook population heterogeneity.In this study,we used a person-centered approach to identify subgroups of competitive tennis players according to unique combinations of achievement goal orientations and tested for subgroup differences in motivation and mental toughness.Methods:A sample of 323 competitive tennis athletes(69.35%male)between 15 and 25 years of age(17.60±2.40 years,mean±SD)completed the 3×2 Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport,Sport Motivation Scale Ⅱ,and Mental Toughness Index.Latent profile analysis was used to identify unique combinations of achievement goal orientations.Comparisons between latent subgroups on autonomous motivation,controlled motivation,and mental toughness were performed using analysis of variance.Results:Latent profile analysis supported 3 distinct patterns of achievement goal profiles that were primarily distinguishable based on valence of competence(i.e.,approach vs.avoidance).Analyses of variance indicated that athletes who were classified into subgroups that endorsed approach types of goals(regardless of the types of avoidance goals they endorsed)reported higher levels of autonomous motivation and mental toughness.Conclusion:Results indicated that athletes tend to pursue a number of achievement goals collectively rather than in isolation.Although approach goals are more commonly linked to adaptive psychological functioning and positive outcomes,avoidance goals may also be associated with desirable psychological characteristics if they are pursued in conjunction with approach types of achievement goals.     

Cold water immersion improves recovery of sprint speed following a simulated tournament

Abstract

It is a common requirement in tournament scenarios for athletes to compete multiple times in a relatively short time period, with insufficient recovery time not allowing full restoration of physical performance. This study aimed to develop a greater understanding of the physiological stress experienced by athletes in a tournament scenario, and how a commonly used recovery strategy, cold water immersion (CWI), might influence these markers. Twenty-one trained male games players (age 19?±?2; body mass 78.0?±?8.8?kg) were randomised into a CWI group (n?=?11) or a control group (n?=?10). To simulate a tournament, participants completed the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST) on three occasions in five days. Recovery was assessed at specific time points using markers of sprint performance, muscle function, muscle soreness and biochemical markers of damage (creatine kinase, CK), inflammation (IL-6 and C-Reactive Protein) and oxidative stress (lipid hydroperoxides and activity of 6 lipid-soluble antioxidants). The simulated tournament was associated with perturbations in some, but not all, markers of physiological stress and recovery. Cold water immersion was associated with improved recovery of sprint speed 24?h after the final LIST (ES?=?0.83?±?0.59; p?=?.034) and attenuated the efflux of CK pre- and post-LIST 3 (p?<?.01). The tournament scenario resulted in an escalation of physiological stress that, in the main, cold water immersion was ineffective at managing. These data suggest that CWI is not harmful, and provides limited benefits in attenuating the deleterious effects experienced during tournament scenarios.     

Approach and avoidance coping during task performance in young men: the role of goal attainment expectancies

The present study investigated approach and avoidance coping strategies as a function of goal attainment expectancies in young men. Twenty-four male students participated in an experiment consisting of two rowing tests. After the initial test, participants were divided into two experimental groups and were assigned to conditions of attainable and unattainable goals for the final test, depending on performance in the initial test and experimental condition. Participants of the two groups reported similar goal attainment expectancies before the start of the final test; however, during the task expectancies for the attainable goal group increased, whereas those for the unattainable goal group decreased. After the conclusion of the task, participants were asked to respond with regard to coping strategies they used during the latest part of the final test, when goal attainment expectancies had been differentiated. The analysis revealed significant effects for effort increase, and mental and behavioural disengagement, whereas a non-significant but considerable effect was identified for planning. The higher goal attainment expectancies group scored higher on effort increase and planning, and lower on behavioural and mental disengagement, than the lower goal attainment expectancies group. The results of the present study are in accordance with the general theoretical assumptions of the control process theory, and more particularly highlight the importance of goal attainment expectancies as a factor influencing the employment of approach and avoidance coping strategies in achievement situations.     

青少年运动员应付方式和应付效能研究

对多个运动项目的青少年运动员进行了问卷调查,结果显示:运动员在应付方式的选择上存在年龄、性别差异。随着年龄的增长,男运动员更多地选择“解决问题”等积极的应付方式,女运动员倾向于选择“幻想”、“合理化”等不成熟的应付方式,两性之间的应付策略分化明显。在应付效能方面,较大年龄组的运动员在应付方式的选择和应付效能的和谐方面比较小年龄组好,但其和谐的内在机制同样存在着性别的差异     

Comparison of the Physiological Profiles of Middle-Aged Women Distance Runners and Sedentary Women

Abstract

Extensive in-depth interviews were conducted with all 20 members of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team regarding their efforts to cope with stress experienced during the Seoul Olympics. Qualitative analyses revealed that the wrestlers employed a variety of coping strategies including (a) thought control strategies (blocking distractions, perspective taking, positive thinking, coping thoughts, and prayer), (b) task focus strategies (narrow, more immediate focus, concentrating on goals), (c) behavioral based strategjies (changing or controlling the environment, following a set routine), and (d) emotional control strategies (arousal control, visualization). In accordance with the observations of Compos (1987) and Folkman and Lazarus (1985), the coping efforts of the Olympic wrestlers were not limited to particular strategies nor to single approaches to dealing with a particular stressor but, rather, reflected a dynamic complex process involving a number of strategies, often in combination. The results also suggested that the degree to which coping strategies are well learned or automatized is related to their perceived effectiveness.     

Managing pressure: patterns of appraisals and coping strategies of non-elite and elite athletes during competition

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare moment-to-moment appraisals and coping strategies of 4 non-elite and 2 elite male trap shooters during competitions and in particular during periods of competition perceived as critical to performance. Appraisals and coping patterns of trap shooters were captured via verbal reports of thinking provided between sets of shots during major competitions. Verbal reports were coded according to an appraisal and coping typology. Coded data as well as shooting performance data were subjected to a sequential analysis of probabilities of pairs of events. Fewer reports of negative appraisals (NEGAs) and more frequent reports of problem-focused coping (PFC) were observed among both elite athletes compared to non-elite athletes. After making a NEGA, non-elite shooters often progressed to the next target without attempting to cope, whereas elite shooters used both PFC and emotion-focused coping (EFC) before proceeding to the next target. After missing a target, the non-elite athletes used more EFC than expected. These results indicate that elite athletes are more likely to cope with NEGAs than non-elite athletes using a wider variety of coping strategies. Athletes might benefit from increased awareness of the potentially detrimental impact of NEGAs on performance and by integrating coping strategies within preparatory routines.     

青少年游泳运动员比赛表现的扰动因素与应对策略研究

本研究将影响青少年游泳运动员比赛表现的扰动因素进行分类;重点研究了温度、比赛时间和地点、对手这三种主要扰动因素对运动员比赛表现的影响以及应对策略;最后,针对管理方面的应对策略,提出重视赛前准备会和赛后总结会可以有效减少扰动因素对运动员比赛表现的影响.     

武术运动员赛前情绪及临场应对方式的研究

对68名参加第七届全国大学生武术锦标赛的运动员的赛前情绪状态及其临场应激应对方式进行了调查与研究。结果表明:名次前列的武术运动员的个体失败焦虑、社会期待焦虑得分低于名次后列的运动员,且其与比赛名次呈显著相关,而在自信心与躯体焦虑因子上差异不显著,与比赛名次也不存在显著相关,赛前情绪是影响训练水平与比赛成绩之间关系的一个重要因素;名次前列与后列运动员在面对各种应激源时,4种不同的应对方式均有采用,但前者在采用进攻式应激应对策略的得分均高于后者,而在采用回避式应激应对策略的得分则是大部分都低于后者,赛前情绪各因子与临场应激应对方式各因子呈一定相关,表明两者之间存在一定的相关关系;认知-情感调控训练法、模拟应激训练法、放松训练法与控制点训练法等是几种可以改善赛前情绪状态及临场应激应对方式的有效方法与手段;武术套路运动员的赛前训练不仅是单纯的竞技技术训练,还应包括必要的、系统的心理训练内容。各种训练方法应根据具体运动员在各训练阶段的实际需要进行科学组合,使能发挥最大训练效果。