Stress and Mental Well-Being Experiences of Professional Football Coaches

Abstract

The stress experiences and their impact upon the daily lives and mental well-being of English Premier League professional (soccer) football coaches were explored using an in-depth qualitative design. Eight participants were interviewed using a semi-structured approach with thematic and causal network analysis revealing that (a) a range of contextually dependent demands were experienced and interpreted in relation to their situational properties; (b) many demands were appraised and emotionally responded to in a negative manner; (c) a range of coping strategies were adopted to cope with stress experiences, with many reported as ineffective; and (d) stress experiences often led to negative implications for their daily lives and eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. Positive adaptations to some demands experienced were reported and augmented perceptions of mental well-being. The findings of this study make a novel and significant contribution to understanding the interrelationships between the principal components of the stress process and the prospective links between stress and mental well-being.

Organizational stress and well-being in competitive sport: a systematic review

“…Subsequently, coaches often made sacrifices to their work-life balance (i.e. workload; Potts et al, 2019) and relationships with significant others (Baldock et al, 2021) and, thus, experienced various categories of organizational stressors (i.e. environmental and logistical, personal, and interpersonal issues) simultaneously.…”

“…Further studies (e.g. Baldock et al, 2021;Didymus, 2017) explored the factors underpinning organizational stressors among coaches and found that situational properties (e.g. ambiguity, imminence) determine the potential for a stressful evaluation of a demand.…”

“…Within the included sample, there was a total of 15 studies (10 qualitative and five quantitative) that explored appraising among athletes (n = 12; Bartholomew et al, 2017;Didymus & Fletcher, 2012, 2014Fletcher et al, 2012a;Hanton et al, 2012;Miles et al, 2016;Neil et al, 2011;Rumbold et al, , 2020Roberts et al, 2019;Tamminen et al, 2019), coaches (n = 3; Baldock et al, 2021;Didymus, 2017; and support staff (n = 1; . In addition to highlighting the important role of appraisals within stress transactions (e.g.…”

“…Bartholomew et al, 2017), three important points are reflected by the studies in this area: the personal relevance and significance of organizational stressors for athletes and coaches (n = 15; e.g. Baldock et al, 2021;Fletcher et al, 2012a), athletes' evaluations of coping resources (n = 3; Bartholomew et al, 2017;Hanton et al, 2012;Tamminen et al, 2019), and the ways in which individuals may re-evaluate stressful situations using reappraisal techniques (n = 3;Hanton et al, 2012;Neil et al, 2011;.…”

“…Didymus & Fletcher, 2012Miles et al, 2016;Neil et al, 2011) and coaches (e.g. Baldock et al, 2021;Didymus, 2017; to assess the significance and relevance of an organizational stressor (Fletcher et al, 2012a). Some studies also found that such transactional alternatives (i.e.…”