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Thesis-2012-Arnold. (3.81 MB)
The assessment and examination of organizational stressors in sport performers
thesis
posted on 2012-11-15, 09:56 authored by Rachel ArnoldOrganizational stressors are prevalent within competitive sport participation and can elicit a
number of undesirable consequences for sport performers who encounter them if they are not
sufficiently addressed. It is, therefore, imperative that psychologists have evidence-based
research that can inform their understanding of the organizational stressors that sport
performers encounter, so that psychologists can, ultimately, help sport performers to address
such stressors. To provide such research, the purpose of this thesis was to assess and examine
the organizational stressors that sport performers encounter via a series of seven related
studies. Following an introduction to the thesis, Chapter Two provides a literature review of
the concepts, definitions, and theories of stress, and the psychometric issues evident in
organizational stressor research. Chapter Three (Study One) reports a meta-interpretation of
the studies that have identified the organizational stressors encountered by sport performers,
and presents the findings as a taxonomic classification. This synthesis with taxonomy
illustrates the large number and wide range of organizational stressors that sport performers
encounter and provides the most accurate, comprehensive, and parsimonious classification of
organizational stressors to date. In addition, the findings are valid, generalizable, and
applicable to a large number of sport performers of various ages, genders, nationalities,
sports, and standards. In the context of the thesis, Chapter Three is of primary importance in
shaping and informing the research in the later chapters. For example, Chapter Four (Studies
Two to Five) describes the development and validation of an Organizational Stressor
Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP), which is conceptually underpinned by the findings
of Study One. In Chapter Four, Study Two reports the development of the indicator via the
recruitment of an expert and usability panel to assess the content validity and applicability of
an initial item pool. Study Three analyses the subsequent 96 items forwarded from Study
Two with exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) and the results illustrate a five-factor structure
(viz. Goals and Development, Logistics and Operations, Team and Culture, Coaching,
Selection) and 33 items. Using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), Studies Four and Five
provide support for this five-factor structure. Study Five also provides evidence for the
concurrent validity of the indicator and its invariance across different groups. A main
conclusion of Chapter Four is that the OSI-SP is a valid and reliable measure of a
comprehensive range of organizational stressors that sport performers encounter. Using this
indicator, a series of multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) were conducted in
Study Six to examine sport performer’s individual demographic differences in organizational
stressors. This study is reported in Chapter Five and reveals that individual demographic
differences do affect the dimensions of goals and development, logistics and operations, team
and culture, coaching, and selection organizational stressors. Specifically, significant
differences are evident between males and females; team, individual, and team and individual
based sport performers; and individuals competing at national or international, regional or
university, and county or club levels. Expanding the focus from stressors to the wider stress
process, Chapter Six (Study Seven) reports an investigation of the moderating effect of
coping on the relationship between organizational stressors encountered in competitive sport
and the outcomes that individuals experience. Multiple regression in this study indicated the
following main effects: the dimensions of many organizational stressors had a main effect on
negative affect; problem-focused coping had a main effect on positive and negative affect;
emotion-focused coping had a main effect on negative affect; and avoidance coping had an
inverse main effect on positive affect. The moderated hierarchical regression analyses
conducted in this study revealed one significant interaction between emotion-focused coping
and the frequency and duration of stressors on intensity of stressors; and three significant
interactions between avoidance coping and the frequency and duration of stressors on
positive affect. These findings provide an insight into which coping styles buffer the impact
of organizational stressors at different stages of the stress process. Following this final study,
Chapter Eight provides a summary of the studies presented in this thesis; a discussion of the
theoretical contributions, practical implications, strengths and limitations, and future research
directions; and a conclusion. Overall, this programme of research provides a greater
understanding of organizational stressors and their relationships with other constructs and
further components of the stress process; therefore, advancing theoretical and scientific
knowledge in this area. Practically, the findings presented in this thesis can be incorporated
into stress management interventions to, ultimately, address the heightened prevalence of
organizational stressors in competitive sport and, in doing so, negate the undesirable
consequences that they can create.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Publisher
© R. S. ArnoldPublication date
2012Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.Language
- en