Exploratory Evidence of Coping Styles Following Acute Stress in Sport

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine evidence of coping style following eight stressful events in competitive sport. Participants consisted of 140 athletes, 102 males and 38 females, ranging in age from 18 to 43 yrs (M = 23.1 years) from New South Wales, Australia, representing a range of competition levels and sports. An inventory was generated that measured athletes' coping styles, depicted as approach (eight items) and avoidance (eight items). All 140 participants had experienced only three of the eight original sources of stress: Opponent Success, Making an Error, and Bad Call. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on athletes' coping responses to one of these stressors, Opponent Success, resulting in three factors explaining 41% to 55% of the variance. These were labelled "refocus", "contemplation", and "rationalisation" coping styles, conceptually commensurate with avoidance, approach, and avoidance coping styles, respectively. The three-factor model representing approach and avoidance coping styles was subsequently supported by confirmatory factor analyses conducted on two stressors, Making an Error and Bad Call. Cross-situational consistency coefficients of r = 0.32 (refocus), 0.39 (contemplation), and 0.47 (rationalisation) indicate that the athletes were reasonably consistent in their coping responses across three stressful situations, while also displaying a degree of variability in coping preferences. It was concluded that athletes exhibit a coping style and that approach and avoidance coping styles appear to be a valid framework within which to examine the coping process in sport.