Testing the buffering hypothesis: Perceptions of coach support and pre-competitive anxiety among male and female high school athletes

Abstract

Research suggests that social support moderates or "buffers" the impact of stress on the individual and thus indirectly affects emotional well-being (Cohen and Wills, 1985). The present study sought to extend the "buffering hypothesis" to competitive sport by examining the influence of perceived coach support on competitive state anxiety among young athletes (N = 270). Results from confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) substantiated the validity of the sport-modified Social Provisions Scale (Russell and Cutrona, 1984;Ryska and Yin, 1994). Structural equation modeling analyses revealed a significant support-anxiety effect in the high trait-anxious model only (r = -.27, p < .05). The present results suggest that perceived coach support represents an important mediating factor in the sport stress process among highly anxious athletes.A recent proliferation of social psychology research has investigated the role of social support in reducing ill-health effects due to life stress. Studies conclude that individuals who receive high levels of social support tend to suffer fewer negative health consequences following stressful events than those receiving less support (Dean and Lin, 1977;Davis-Sacks et al., 1985). However, social support has minimal impact on an individual's physical or psychological status in the absence of life stress (Argyle and Little, 1972;Cassel, 1974). This "buffering effect" of social support has been demonstrated in a variety of contexts such as life crises (Lepore et al., 1991), unemployment and job stress (Gore, 1978;Richman, and Rosenfeld, 1987), physical and mental illness (Hammer, 1981;Leavy, 1983), and transitional to parenthood (Cutrona, 1984).Although the mechanisms underlying the support-stress relationship have not been clearly identified, Taylor's (1985) cognitive adaptation model provides a possible explanation of the stress-buffering role of social support. In order to cope with threatening events, an individual must arrive at a personal meaning of the event, regain control over themselves, and maintain an adequate level of self-esteem. Although social support plays an integral role in each of these cognitive processes for threatened individuals, it has less impact for those individuals who do not perceive their environment as particularly stressful.For most young athletes, competitive sport represents an enjoyable process of self-discovery. It is common for young sport participants to develop positive goal-oriented behavior and self-confidence as they strive to improve their sport ability.

The Associations Among Social Support, Stress, and Life Satisfaction as Perceived by Injured College Athletes

“…There are studies in which the relationship between stress and social support in the injured athletes has been specifically examined (Bone & Fry, 2006;Quackenbush & Crossman, 1994;Ryska & Yin, 1999) but the present study differs from these investigations in that the studies already mentioned were not focused on the associations among social support, stress, and life satisfaction as perceived by the injured athletes. For a variety of reasons, it is important to know the factors influencing the perception of life satisfaction of injured athletes as life satisfaction is viewed as a major adaptive outcome of coping and an important indicator of quality of life.…”

Well-being in competitive sports—The feel-good factor? A review of conceptual considerations of well-being

“…For example, in their introduction section Kerr and Goss (1997) elaborated on the possibility that a sense of control among young elite athletes was related to physical, psychological and social well-being overall, but explicitly explored the relationships between locus of control, self-esteem, and trait anxiety. Similarly, Millard (1996) and Ryska and Yin (1999) briefly acknowledged that factors of coaching behavior and social support might impact athletes' well-being, but carried on to explicitly investigate questions of coaching behavior as it may relate to gender and the association between coach support and anxiety. Thus, until the early 2000s there was a flaw in studies investigating well-being among competitive athletes as a specific, defined and assessed variable.…”

Comparative Study of Social Support among Individual, Team and Dual Sports Athletes

“…Social support has also been defined as a those social interactions or relationships that individuals with actual assistance or that embed individuals within a social system believed to provide love, caring or sense of attachment to a valued social group (Hobfoll, 1988). Generally, social support refers to knowing that one is loved and cared for and that others will do all they can when a problem arises (Sarason, 1990 Research Article among adjustment, social support, and psychological wellbeing or life satisfaction (Hardy et al, 1991;Malinauskas, 2008;Petrie, 1992Petrie, , 1993Ryska and Yin, 1999;Smith et al, 1990). …”