Sources of acute stress and coping strategies in elite and non-elite adolescent tennis players

170 Pages·2014·1.98 MB·English

University of Wollongong
Research Online
University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections
1996
Sources of acute stress and coping strategies in elite
and non-elite adolescent tennis players
Paul Gary North
University of Wollongong
Recommended Citation
North, Paul Gary, Sources of acute stress and coping strategies in elite and non-elite adolescent tennis players, Master of Arts (Hons.)
thesis, , University of Wollongong, 1996. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/2264
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SOURCES OF ACUTE STRESS AND COPING
STRATEGIES IN ELITE AND NON-ELITE ADOLESCENT
TENNIS PLAYERS
by
PAUL GARY NORTH
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of
Master of Arts (Honours)
University of Wollongong
1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 Literature Review 1
1.1.1 Stress in Sport 1
1.1.2 Arousal, Anxiety and Stress 2
1.1.3 Chronic versus Acute Stress 4
1.1 4 Effects of Acute Stress on Sport Performance 4
1.1.5 Sources of Stress 5
1.1.6 The Need to Identify Stress Differences Between Sports 13
1.2 Coping with Stress 14
1.2.1 Appraisal 16
1.2.2 Coping Styles 22
1.2.3 Situational Factors in Coping 31
1.2.4 Coping in Adolescence 34
1.2.5 Gender Differences and Coping 37
1.2.6 Coping Strategies in Sport 39
1.2.7 Coping Styles and Sport 42
1.2.8 Coping Interventions in Sport 44
1.2.9 Summary 45
1.3 Significance of the Study 46
1.4 Statement of the Problem 49
1.5 Research Hypothesis 49
1.6 Operational Definitions 52
1.7 Assumptions 53
1.8 Limitations of the study 53
Chapter 2: Method 56
2.1 Participants 56
2.1.1 Participant pool 56
2.1.2 Informed consent 58
(ii)
Page
2.2 Materials 59
2.2.1 Instruments 59
2.3 Procedure 60
2.3.1 Conceptual Development 60
2.3.2 Pilot Study 61
2.3.3 Implementation and Interview Schedule 63
2.4 Data Analysis 66
2.4.1 Sources of Stress 66
2.4.2 Coping 68
Chapter 3: Results and Discussion 72
3.1 Sources of Stress 72
3.1.1 Negative Aspects of Competition 73
3.1.2 Personal Struggles 83
3.1.3 Negative Relationships with Others 87
3.2 Coping Strategies 90
3.3 Quantitative Data Analysis for Sources of Stress and Coping
Strategies 106
Chapter4: General Discussion 110
4.1 Sources of Stress 110
4.2 Coping Strategies 114
4.3 Conclusion and Future Directions 122
References 124
Appendixes 137
Appendix A: Consent Form 138
Appendix B: Interview Format 140
Appendix C: Interview Response Form 143
Appendix D: Coping Strategies Response Form 145
Appendix E: Introductory Letter 148
(iii)
Page
Appendix F: Operational Definitions of Acute Stress and Coping 150
Appendix G: The COPE Scale 152
Appendix H: Categorisation of Coping Responses 156
List of Tables
Table 1 Percentage and number of participants within each source of
stress for the complete sample and separated by sex and
competitive level. 74
Table 2 Breakdown of raw data themes, high order themes and
general dimensions for negative aspects of competition. 76
Table 3 Breakdown of raw data themes, high order themes and
general dimensions for personal struggles. 85
Table4 Breakdown of raw data themes, high order themes and
general dimensions for negative relationships with others 87
Table 5 Mean stress intensity level and sample size for each higher
order theme. 89
Table 6 Percentage and number of participants within each coping
strategy for the complete sample and separated by sex and
competitive level. 91
Table 7 Percentage of coping strategies used for each source of
stress. 93
(iv)
Table 8 Percentage, mean level of success, range of success and
number of participants who used the two most common
coping strategies relative to source of stress and skill level. 96
List of Figures
Figure 1 Lazarus and Folkman's (1984b) model of coping and
cognitive appraisal. 18
Figure 2 Flow chart of the interview process 63
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
The review of literature is divided into two sections. The
first section defines and explores the concept of stress in
relation to sport, addressing the sources and the effects of
stress on sport performance and emotion. The second component of
the review defines coping and explores this concept in terms of
its multidimensional aspects, particularly in a sport context.
1. 1.1 STRESS IN SPORT
The concept of stress has been defined inconsistently in the
sport psychology literature. Lazarus and Folkman (1984a) define
stress as "a particular relationship between the person and the
environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding
his or her resources and endangering his or her well being" (p.
19). This definition is widely accepted by the sport science
community as evidenced by its frequent reproduction in the
literature (e.g., Anshel, 1990a; Carver, Scheier & Weintraub,
1989; Scanlan, Ravizza & Stein, 1991). However, Lazarus and
Folkman's (1984) definition of stress implies that all stress is
negative and does not recognise positive stressful appraisals.
This is in contrast to Selye (1980), who contends that there are
two types of stress; eustress, which is positive and distress,
which is negative. Similarly, Anshel (1990b), states that only
those stressors that are appraised as taxing or exceeding a
persons resources are negative. Anshel (1990b) cites examples
where stress may benefit a person by having a positive effect on
their incentive to learn and achieve goals or to reach and
maintain optimal levels of arousal, provided the individual has
the resources to contain the stress. Hence stress, in amounts
- 2 -
that are manageable, "is a necessary feature of health, well-being
and productivity" (Anshel 1990b, p. 1) .
1. 1. 2 AROUSAL, ANXIETY AND STRESS
Some writers have erroneously applied the concept of stress
interchangeably with arousal (e.g., Cox 1985; Landers & Boutcher,
1986) and with anxiety (Landers & Boutcher, 1986; Scanlan &
Passer, 1978, 1979; Scanlan, Stein & Ravizza, 1991). Arousal is a
physiological process characterised by changes in the autonomous
nervous system such as increases in sweating, oxygen consumption
and heart rate (Williams, 1986). The arousal-performance
relationship has in the past been explained from the
unidimensional perspective of the "inverted U" hypothesis (Yerkes
& Dodson,1908). That is, as arousal levels increase so does
performance to an optimal point, whereas further increases in
arousal reduce sporting performance.
More recently, Jones (1991) and Jones and Hardy (1989) have
advocated the adoption of multidimensional models of arousal to
explain the sport/performance relationship. The underlying
assumption of each of these models is that arousal is the product
of physiological processes such as changes in respiration, skin
conductance and blood pressure as well as changes in the overt
activity of the person. Anxiety, on the other hand, results from
the experience of cognitive processes such as negative visual
images about poor performance or the perception of negative self
statements.
- 3 -
Current related research explains anxiety from a
bidirectional perspective, recognising that anxiety consists of
somatic as well as cognitive components. According to Weinberg
(1990)
I
"Somatic anxiety is characterised by the perception of such autonomic
responses as tense muscles, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate and
clammy hands where as cognitive anxiety is reflected by worry,
negative self talk and inappropriate focus of attention" ( Weinberg
1990, p. 23).
The fundamental difference that distinguishes anxiety from
arousal is that anxiety is never a positive emotion (Beck & Emery,
1985). It is typically an "unpleasant emotional state
characterised by unpleasant feelings such as ntension or
nervousness, and by physiological symptoms like palpitations,
tremor, nausea and dizziness", (p. 9). Although anxiety may at
times be desirable, even necessary for successful performance it
is never enjoyable. Arousal, on the other hand, can be a positive
experience. Consider the situation in which a tennis player has
just won a tournament. Whereas the athlete would be experiencing
a heightened state of arousal, this type of arousal would
generally be viewed by the athlete as pleasant.
Hence, anxiety and arousal are not coterminous nor are they
necessarily synonymous with stress. Stress is a much broader
experience of which varying degrees of anxiety and/or arousal may
be a component. Nevertheless, in this study, stress in sport will
be operationally defined as experiences and feelings that are
appraised by the tennis players as unpleasant.