Stress in College Athletics: Causes, Consequences, Coping

by Stevens; Robert E

• ISBN13: 9780789009340
• ISBN10: 078900934X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-05
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Stress in College Athletics: Causes, Consequences, Coping addresses the causes and consequences of stress in college sports and offers effective coping mechanisms that will help individuals understand and control stressors and emotions in their environment. Athletic administrators, coaches, student athletes, parents of athletes, educators, and social and behavioral science researchers will benefit from this examination of what stress is, the different types of stress, and what factors can contribute to anxiety. Containing insight from hundreds of student athletes, coaches, and administrators, this vital book offers you proven research, clear explanations, and recommended suggestions that will enable you to cope with stress and not let it affect your job or your game. Examining how both males and females perceive stress, Stress in College Athletics explores developmental differences between the genders to explain the ways in which the two groups react to and deal with stress. Discussing the challenges that you deal with every day, this valuable book offers you several proven suggestions and methods to help reduce stress, including: Using coping techniques, such as physical exercise (other than the sport you play), recreational activities, muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and meditation Doing things for others and looking to your own spirituality in order to alleviate anxiety Eliminating factors such as fatigue and inferior health in order to avoid the negative emotions of jealousy, fear, and anger that can lead to tension and anxiety Learning how to relieve stress in your immediate environment (on the sidelines, in the audience, or during a test) through simple, effective, and inconspicuous exercises Adapting procedures for self-modification of behavior, such as identifying a behavior you want to change, thinking about the result of that behavior and how often it occurs, and reforming that conduct Through practical research, theories about stress and its causes and effects, and insight from peers, this excellent resource offers suggestions for further inquiry in the field of college athletics and stress. Complete and thorough, Stress in College Athletics will provide you with the necessary tools to help you create a personal stress management system that will improve your well-being in and out of the athletic forum.

Author Biography

James H. Humphrey, EdD, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland in College Park Deborah A. Yow, PhD, DHum, is Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Maryland William W. Bowden, EdD, PhD, is founder and president of Strategic Management Consultants

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Terry Holland
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Understanding Stress	1	(18)
The Meaning of Stress and Related Terms	1	(5)
Theories of Stress	6	(2)
Reactions to Stress	8	(3)
Classifications of Stress	11	(6)
Causes of Stress	17	(1)
Effects of Stress	17	(2)
Perceptions of Stress in College Athletics	19	(16)
Perceptions of Coaches	19	(6)
Perceptions of Athletic Directors	25	(3)
Perceptions of Athletes	28	(4)
Summary	32	(3)
Stress Among College Athletes	35	(14)
Gender Differences	35	(6)
Causes of Stress Among College Athletes	41	(1)
Consequences of Stress Among College Athletes	42	(2)
Coping with Stress Among College Athletes	44	(5)
Stress Among Coaches and Athletic Directors	49	(22)
Stress Among Coaches	49	(13)
Stress Among Athletic Directors	62	(9)
Dealing with Emotions in College Athletics	71	(22)
Factors Related to Emotional Stability	74	(10)
Emotional Reactivity of Coaches Under the Stress of Competition	84	(4)
Opportunities for the Development of Emotional Stability in the Athletics Environment	88	(1)
Evaluating Influences of the Environment on the Development of Emotional Stability	89	(2)
Emotionally Healthy Persons	91	(2)
A Healthful Stress-Management Lifestyle	93	(22)
The Meaning of Health	94	(5)
A Lifestyle That Encompasses the Health and Fitness Triangle	99	(16)
Reducing Stress Through Relaxation	115	(14)
The Meaning of Relaxation	115	(3)
Progressive Relaxation	118	(5)
The Quieting Reflex	123	(3)
Mental Practice and Imagery in Relaxation	126	(3)
Reducing Stress Through Meditation	129	(12)
Types of Meditation	131	(3)
A Procedure for Meditating	134	(2)
Scientific Evidence Supporting the Benefits of Meditation	136	(5)
Reducing Stress Through Biofeedback	141	(6)
The Meaning of Biofeedback	141	(2)
Biofeedback Instrumentation	143	(4)
Reducing Stress Through Self-Modification of Behavior	147	(20)
Toward an Understanding of Self	148	(3)
Self-Concerns That Can Induce Stress	151	(2)
Processes of Behavioral Adjustment	153	(1)
Some General Procedures for Self-Modification of Behavior	154	(7)
Systematic Self-Desensitization	161	(6)
Afterword	167	(2)
Notes	169	(6)
Suggestions for Further Reading	175	(2)
Index	177