So far in my sports psychology mini-series, using my sports psychology textbook (see Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications, 5th edition, Richard Cox), I’ve looked at motivation, as well as personality and mood. Now, I’m going to draw on those discussions to think about the different kinds of coping strategies that athletes use when the going gets tough.
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Coping strategies and coping styles
Let’s kick off by making a distinction between coping strategies and coping styles. these are actually quite difficult to tease apart and they even get confused and argued about in the literature.
Coping strategies are generally methods that are adopted with the express purpose of coping with a given problem or set of circumstances. A strategy used to deal with the problem of continually missing an opening squat in powerlifting might be to set your opener lower in competition and to perform the same opening lift the week before in the gym.
Coping styles are generally tendencies that an athlete gravitates towards in coping with the same issues.
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Coping strategies
Coping strategies are usually divided into two categories, depending on whether they are problem-focused or emotion-focused.
- Problem-focused strategies – these centre on removing the actual issue that it causing the athlete distress. In our squat example above, setting a lower opening squat weight and proving that it could be lifted by performing the same lift in the gym the week before, was a problem-focused strategy.
- Emotion-focused strategies – these centre on addressing the athlete’s emotional state at the time that the stress or issue raises its head. In our squat example above, keeping the opener the same but focusing on stress-management, breathing and anxiety-reduction techniques would be an example of an emotion-focused strategy instead.
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Coping styles
Coping styles are also divided into two type, depending on whether they are an example of approach-coping or avoidance-coping.
- Approach coping – approach coping involves tackling problems head-on, and is usually assumed to underpin most effective coping strategies.
- Avoidance coping – avoidance coping is generally regarding as being unhealthy and is also referred to as repression, disengagement or rejection.
It was interesting for me to read about the two different coping styles, as I like to think that I take an approach-coping tack most of the time. However, I have to admit that there are certain situations that make me put my head in the sand. Knowing that this is regarded as unhealthy will hopefully make me more accountable in future…
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The dynamic nature of coping
Many studies have looked at whether athletes use the same coping strategies for all of the problems that they face. Most conclude that athletes have a range of different techniques that they use for different purposes at different times.
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Factors that enable coping approaches to be generalised
Although athletes use a range of different coping strategies at different times, it does appear that the ability to use the toolbox of coping strategies flexibly for new problems does appear to be a strength.
Consequently, scientists have looked at what factors seem to allow athletes to pick coping tools out of their toolbox and use them for new problems. They found that the following factors were important:
- Recognition of generality – where athletes recognised that many problems have similar causes, they were more successful at applying various coping tools to new problems
- Broadness of coping skill - where athletes’ coping tools had broad applications (such as relaxation skills, or anxiety management skills), the athletes were more successful at applying these across the board
- Significance of coping skill – where a coping tool had a large impact on an athlete’s ability to cope, the athlete was more effective at using it for different applications
- Ownership of coping skill - where an athlete believed strongly in a coping tool and took ownership of it, they were more successful in using it more widely
- Learned resourcefulness – where an athlete has learned that resourcefulness pays off, they are more effective at using old tools for new tasks
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Coping strategies used by elite athletes
Researchers have found that athletes who have a big toolbox of coping strategies that are effective and flexible are more successful. Tomorrow, I’ll have a look at a study that goes into more detail about the different kinds of coping strategies that elite athletes use. You might find it surprising what works for them…
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You can find other posts on similar topics on my sports psychology page.
