A repeated-measures examination of organizational stressors, perceived psychological and physical health, and perceived performance in semi-elite athletes

Abstract

Organizational stressors can undermine the psychological well-being and performance of athletes. Less is known, however, about how these relationships unfold over time and whether organizational stressors can impact upon perceived physical health. The current study, therefore, used a repeated-measures design to examine relationships between organizational stressors with components of perceived psychological (anxiety and depression) and physical (illness symptoms and missed training days via illness) ill-health, and perceived performance at the within-person level. Twenty-three semi-elite female rowers completed monthly measures of study variables for six-months. Multilevel models indicated that selection-related stressors positively predicted symptoms of perceived psychological and physical ill-health, and negatively predicted perceived performance. Conversely, coaching stressors negatively predicted symptoms of perceived psychological ill-health. Logistics and operations stressors positively predicted perceived performance, whereas goals and development stressors negatively predicted perceived performance. These findings demonstrate for the first time that, with a repeated-measures design, organizational stressors can predict components of perceived physical and psychological ill-health, and perceived performance at the within-person level in athletes. From a practical perspective, practitioners should incorporate these findings when diagnosing the need for, developing, and optimally implementing primary and secondary stress management interventions.

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

“…Other studies (e.g. Arnold et al, 2017a;Bentzen et al, 2020;Roberts et al, 2019;Simms et al, 2020;Tamminen et al, 2019) demonstrated the positive and negative impact of organizational stressors and other related variables (i.e. appraisals, emotions) on subjective well-being (i.e.…”

“…Thirteen quantitative papers examined organizational stressors (Arnold et al, 2016;Arnold et al, 2017a;Bartholomew et al, 2017;Bentzen et al, 2020;Kristiansen et al, 2012a;Larner et al, 2017;Nicholls et al, 2007;Roberts et al, 2019;Simms et al, 2020;Tamminen et al, 2019;Wagstaff et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2021) and two papers used mixed methods, (Kristiansen et al, 2019;Tabei et al, 2012) which have been grouped herein due to the similarity of reported findings within their quantitative components. The most commonly employed measure was the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (n = 9; OSI-SP; Arnold et al, 2013; see Tables S3-4).…”

“…The most commonly employed measure was the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (n = 9; OSI-SP; Arnold et al, 2013; see Tables S3-4). Three key themes were reflected by quantitative examinations of organizational stressors: the influence of organizational stressors for burnout and health-related outcomes (n = 9; Arnold et al, 2017a;Bentzen et al, 2020;Roberts et al, 2019;Simms et al, 2020;Tabei et al, 2012;Tamminen et al, 2019;Wagstaff et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2021), the role of demographic differences (n = 2; Arnold et al, 2016;Nicholls et al, 2007), and the role of motivational climates (n = 2; Kristiansen et al, 2012aKristiansen et al, , 2019. First, some studies (e.g.…”

“…subjective well-being and life satisfaction) and performance satisfaction. Seven papers used quantitative methods (Arnold et al, 2017a;Bentzen et al, 2020;Didymus & Fletcher, 2017a;Roberts et al, 2019;Simms et al, 2020;Tamminen et al, 2019) and three adopted a qualitative approach (Baldock et al, 2021;Didymus & Fletcher, 2017b;Sohal et al, 2013). Within the quantitative papers, a variety of questionnaires were used including: The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson et al,1988); the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (Dass-21; Antony et al, 1998); the subjective vitality scale (Ryan & Frederick, 1997), and various performance satisfaction scales (e.g.…”

Prediction of Mental Well-being and General Health Based on Perceived Stress and Body Image with Mediating the Role of Self-compassion in Women Athletes in Tehran

“…Eventually, it became clear that selfcompassion alone could not mediate body image and general health. It is likely that the health of female athletes and their body image is adequately stimulated by exercise and physical activity, while self-compassion is not capable of mediating an axial role in this regard(Simms, Arnold, Turner, & Hays, 2021). This study had some limitations, as it was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results may have been influenced by the negative consequences of the disease (AlOmari et al, 2020).…”