Introduction
Men and women experience stress and anxiety in many different ways in everyday life and in their respective sport. Anxiety is described as, “a negative response to a stimulus that includes both physiological (somatic) and psychological (cognitive) components”, while stress is described as, “a substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet the demand has important consequences” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011, p. 20). Taking a look into what are some of those differences and why they effect women and men differently is a key aspect of this review. This literature review examines relevant studies in the psychological field by reviewing the empirical studies conducted on the relationships among stress, anxiety and performance in a variety of contexts, with a specific focus on men and women and how they differ. Anxiety and stress represent the psychological and physiological notation and what they represent in society. There is ample amount of research to support the notation that women experience more stress and anxiety than men due to gender roles and what society deems as acceptable and unacceptable (Caballo, Salazar, Irurtia, Arias & Hofmann, 2014). This paper will examine what are some contributing factors of stress and anxiety between men and women, as well as, the effects that such stress and anxiety have on both parties. Likewise, taking a look into some different coping technique that work better for men and
They will also realize that student-athletes are responsible for taking care of their business on and off the field. There was a study that found that almost half of the male athletes and slightly more than half of the female athletes, who were involved in the study, implied that stresses like pressure to win, excessive anxiety, frustration conflict, irritation, and fear affected their mental and emotional health (Humphrey et al., 2000). This is important to know because this can later or even immediately affect a person’s confidence and self worth. Freshmen are not the only class that deals with stress, which will affect their performance. Although these stress factors are brought to their attention early in their careers, most do not seek help nor do they find a solution to their problem. It is important that coaches have sport counselors that sit in and talk with these often to insure they are doing ok. These athletes are psychologically and physiologically hurting and need
It is said that the reason for student-athletes experiencing higher stress levels are because of their extensive time-demands, pressures to achieve, physical burn-out and conflict with teammates, coaches and teachers. (J. W. 2015). In one hand I believe that this overall statement is true, but on the other hand I believe the amount of stress depends on the individual and there involvement with their academics and athletics (Sudano, L. E., Collins, G., & Miles, C. M. (2017). With social stress, the
Sports—which involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and play—provide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. research has expanded into numerous areas such as imagery training, hypnosis, relaxation training, motivation, socialization, conflict and competition, counseling, and coaching. Specific sports and recreational specialties studied include baseball, basketball, soccer,
The beneficial aspects of participating in sports are often noted but there is another side that cannot be ignored. Mental health issues among elite athletes is a topic of increasing interest and public awareness. Sport-related factors such as injury, overtraining and failure in competition are showing to influence the prevalence of mental health issues in elite athletes. Whatever the cause or reason mental health issues and concerns cannot be ignored. High performance athletes need to be provided with mental health support, despite the negative stigma of mental health issues and the concept of mental toughness in athletes. In the past, there has been a “widespread assumption has existed within the sporting world that only emotionally and mentally strong athletes are able to complete at the highest levels. Psychological disorders, such as depression, were thought to infrequently occur among elite athletes” (Hammond et al, 2013, pg.276) There may actually be an increased risk for mental health issues in athletes as they are less likely to; seek treatment, reveal symptoms, are more accustomed to work through pain, fear of showing signs of weakness and may not have developed healthy coping mechanisms to deal with failure. In addition, many athletes have not developed their identity outside of being an athlete and therefore if this role is threatened by injury or illness, they may experience a significant sense of loss. Treating a psychological ailment in athletes should be given as much importance as treating a physical
Women are twice as likely to develop this disorder as men, and children can also develop it. It is important to educate yourself about anxiety in order to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Understanding the definition, symptoms, treatment resources surrounding anxiety will help create a society of educated individuals who are less likely to judge others. Since mental illness cannot be seen by the naked eye, and is imperative to educate others.
Within sport, as throughout society, gender differences exist. The socially constructed phenomenon of gender dictates a dichotomous system whereby females are feminine and males are masculine. Focusing on females specifically, society determines the feminine traits and roles ascribed to this gender. Being domesticated, slender, passive and heterosexual are a part of the desirable appearance that society has formed surrounding femininity (Wolf, 1991). On the other side of the dichotomy is the masculine realm that sport plays into. Sport is fuelled by muscle, power and aggressiveness, which are behaviours and images associated to masculinity. Sport therefore, defies all existing female gender ideals. It would be assumed that females have no place within this institution due to the gender clash. However, female athletes do exist, and many are very successful. For this to work, sport has established and reinforced the social constructions of gender that exist in society. Female athletes are viewed as inferior and are pushed into gender appropriate sports. Furthermore, they are often labeled as masculine until they can prove otherwise, and so great attempts are made to reassert femininity. The stigma associated to being masculine or homosexual for female athletes is so great that many have become irrationally fearful of this label. The sexualisation of the female body and overt displays of heterosexuality are used in
As athletes become immersed in the sporting world, they are more prone to mental health related concerns as pressure and stress begin to build. Rigorous training, pressures to perform, media attention and large sums of money at risk all add to the damaging effects of stress on one’s mind. Dr. Barry Cripps, a chairman of sports and exercise within the British Psychological Society was noted saying, "Stress-related illnesses are extremely common in professional sports, and they are becoming more so as the pressures on athlete’s increase. The expectations are enormous and sometimes people cannot handle it" (Bran, 2012). Athletes are expected to perform to the best of their abilities and beyond and the pressures of these expectation often lead
Injury. That is why it can be beneficial to bring in the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Sport as a tool for coaches to monitor stress/recovery states ” (Tessitore, Meeusen, Cortis, and Capranica, 2007). Even in the physical state of an athlete during preseason their psychology state is
Past research has seen the relationship between athletic injuries and psychological factors as essentially stress-related (1). In this sense, stress is predicted to produce increased state anxiety and consequently alterations in attentional focus and muscular tension. It is important to note that stress does not exist outside the individual “ not all people respond negatively to
Many athletes would agree that they have felt butterflies in their stomach or a sudden rush of adrenaline before an important game. This feeling can either translate into legendary performances or monumental failures. According to Sharon D. Hoar (2007), to fully comprehend anxiety’s effect on performance, one must understand the discrimination between two unique sets of sources: trait and state anxiety, and cognitive and somatic anxiety. Anxiety symptoms are numerous and unique to every athlete. Hoar suggests that athletes might report cognitive symptoms (eg. Inability to focus), somatic symptoms (eg. Sweaty palms), or both. The author discusses a variety of sources of anxiety and argues that it can have both positive and negative effects
The whole purpose of this study is to compare the amount of stress college athletes experience to non-athletes. It is hypothesized that college athletes will experience a great amount of stress than non-athletes due to multiple reasons. Participant group, college athletes and non-athletes will complete a stress survey called “The Inventory of College Students' Recent Life
As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Man often becomes what he believes himself to be." Therefore, if you feel that you are a very stressed person or doomed to feel stressed out, then you will likely find ways to manifest that stress through your perception on life. In addition, you won 't even bother to learn how to deal with stress because you won 't believe you can.
Principal component analysis performed on the second questionnaire resulted in twelve factor-based scales: 1) Aesthetics and Femininity; 2) Danger/Risk and Violence; 3) Team Spirit; 4) Fair Play and Morals; 5) Speed; 6) Advanced Skills and Precision; 7) Commercialism; 8) Strength and Endurance; 9) Equipment; 10) Masculinity; 11) Excitement and Challenge; and 12) Cognitive Efficiency. All sports labeled as feminine scored high on scale one, Aesthetics and Femininity. Attributes such as “aesthetical”, “beauty”, “graceful”, and “sexy” loaded on the same factor as “feminine” and “womanly”. In contrast, the sports labeled as masculine scored high in Danger/Risk and Violence, Team Spirit, Speed, Strength and Endurance, and Masculinity (Koivula, 2001).
Hatamleh (2013) examined the specific difficulties and coping strategies experienced by athletes during retirement (Hatamleh, 2013). Hatamleh (2013) obtained 52 athletes, 33 males and 19 females, from various national sporting teams in Jordin. The primary measure used in this study was the Athlete Retirement Questionnaire (ARQ; Sinclair & Orlick, 1993). Results indicated that most athletes (75%) experienced moderate to high levels of stress while they were competing (Hatamleh, 2013). After retirement, however, nearly 86% of the athletes experienced moderate to high
Stress is not only affected in the work place and at home, it is also affected during sports. There is a ton of pressure in many high school sports especially individual sports. Stress is the body’s way of