Internal markers of stress-coping strategies in junior athletes

Abstract

The aim is to statistically identify and theoretically justify the internal markers of junior athletes' stress coping strategies. Methods: The research used a random sample representative of the general population, consisting of n = 100 junior athletes enrolled in sports schools of the Olympic reserve for children and youth in Ukraine. The respondents were members of U-15, U-17, and U-19 junior teams from leading national clubs and participants in national and international sports competitions. The respondents were 15 to 19 years old (М = 17.93; SD = ± 3.22). Valid and reliable psychodiagnostic tools were used to measure relevant parameters reflecting the research subject. Results. Internal correlations of the parameters of strategies for coping with stress were recorded in three domains: the domain of relationships – two correlations with “assertive behavior” (p < .001) and “cautious actions” (p ≤ .050); the domain of sports activities – two correlations with “assertive behavior” (p ≤ .050) and “avoidance” (p ≤ .050); the domain of health and trauma – with “impulsive actions” (p ≤ .050). The assertive strategy was found to be the most loaded in the correlation matrix. It was substantiated that assertiveness in juniors' relationships is a productive strategy for coping with stress that involves the competency to constructively defend one's needs and rights without humiliating others and becoming a victim of manipulations. A comparison between the levels of internality as the grouping variable showed significant superiorities in the identical domains: the domain of relationships, the domain of sports activities, and the domain of health and trauma. It was found that the productive coping strategy “assertive behavior” and two unproductive coping strategies, “impulsive actions” and “avoidance”, are the most effective in the aforementioned domains. The principal component method with Varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization was used to identify six factors: assertive coping with stress (F 1), asocial coping with stress (F 2), non-productive coping with stress (F 3), cautious coping with stress (F 4), manipulative coping with stress (F 5), and aggressive coping with stress (F 6). Discussion and Conclusions. It was substantiated that strategies for coping with stress operationalized by the grouping variables regarding the areas of activity are the projections of junior athletes' intentions in relevant domains. The identified internal markers in the context of coping strategies added novelty to the theoretical clarification of coping strategies and defense mechanisms at the stage of the junior athlete's personal development.