Assessing lifetime stressor exposure in sport performers: Associations with trait stress appraisals, health, well-being, and performance

McLoughlin, Ella; Arnold, Rachel; Fletcher, David; Spahr, Chandler M.; Slavich, George M.; Moore, Lee J.

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102078

Cited by 13 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Greater lifetime stressor exposure has been related to poorer health (e.g., McLoughlin et al, 2022). Despite this, the relationship between stressor exposure and sporting performance is unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, 395 sport performers completed an online questionnaire assessing lifetime (nonsport and sport-specific) stressor exposure, general mental and physical health complaints, and their perceptions of their current level of sporting performance. Although lifetime (nonsport and sport-specific) stressor exposure was associated with poorer mental and physical health, no association was observed between stressor exposure and subjective sports performance (McLoughlin et al, 2022). One potential explanation for this finding could be due to the challenges associated with assessing subjective sporting performance (Arnold et al, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, stressful life events can have varying consequences for performance-related outcomes depending on their type (e.g., relationship troubles vs. career-ending injury; Sarkar et al, 2015), frequency (e.g., encountering many vs. few; Moore et al, 2018), timing (e.g., recent vs. early life; McLoughlin et al, 2021), duration (e.g., acute vs. chronic; Howells & Fletcher, 2016), and severity (e.g., more vs. less intense; McLoughlin et al, 2022). Furthermore, research in the sporting domain has largely focused on an individual event (e.g., injury) or focused solely on one type of stressor (e.g., organizational), rather than exploring the multidimensional and life course perspective of stress in sport performers (McLoughlin et al, 2022). As a result, the literature has provided relatively little insight into the combined and cumulative effect of nonsporting (i.e., personal) and sport-specific (e.g., competitive, organizational) stressors experienced over the lifespan on sporting performance.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The consensus from this body of work suggests that as lifetime stressor exposure increases, so too does the risk for ill-health (McLoughlin et al, 2021). Although some research has demonstrated that adverse life events can have positive consequences for performance (e.g., increased motivation; Howells & Fletcher, 2015), overall, the relationship between lifetime stressor exposure and sporting performance is unclear, with some studies showing little to no relationship (e.g., McLoughlin et al, 2022). Within the sporting environment, elite athletes are often required to perform optimally while being exposed to various stressors (e.g., competitive, organizational, personal) and managing those encountered previously (Arnold & Fletcher, 2021).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…One explanation for these contrasting findings could be due to the subjective nature of the stress process, whereby athletes have different response profiles (e.g., challenge and threat appraisals) across the same stressors (e.g., Moore et al, 2019). Additionally, stressful life events can have varying consequences for performance-related outcomes depending on their type (e.g., relationship troubles vs. career-ending injury; Sarkar et al, 2015), frequency (e.g., encountering many vs. few; Moore et al, 2018), timing (e.g., recent vs. early life; McLoughlin et al, 2021), duration (e.g., acute vs. chronic; Howells & Fletcher, 2016), and severity (e.g., more vs. less intense; McLoughlin et al, 2022). Furthermore, research in the sporting domain has largely focused on an individual event (e.g., injury) or focused solely on one type of stressor (e.g., organizational), rather than exploring the multidimensional and life course perspective of stress in sport performers (McLoughlin et al, 2022).…”

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confidence: 99%

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A creative nonfiction story of male elite athletes’ experiences of lifetime stressor exposure, performance, and help-seeking behaviors.

McLoughlin¹,

Arnold²,

Cavallerio³

et al. 2023

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology

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Greater lifetime stressor exposure has been related to negative health outcomes (e.g., depression, cardiovascular disease). However, the relationship between lifetime stressor exposure and sporting performance is less clear. Furthermore, while the prevalence of mental health issues among elite athletes has been relatively well established, it appears that sport performers are not effectively utilizing mental health support services, particularly male athletes. Therefore, this study explored male elite athletes’ experiences of lifetime stressor exposure and performance in their sport, as well as their perceptions of the factors influencing mental health help-seeking behavior. Nine elite male athletes (Mage = 27.44 years; SD = 3.50) participated in semistructured interviews (Mduration = 90.25 min, SD = 26.38) supplemented with photo elicitation. Interpretative phenomenological analysis developed group experiential themes. From these themes, we constructed two composite vignettes that addressed each of the research questions, respectively. The first vignette was written using a first-person narrative, allowing the reader to understand an athlete’s (i.e., Toby’s) internal thoughts and feelings, as well as his experiences with lifetime stressors and how they impacted his performance. The second vignette was written using a third-person omniscient narration (i.e., the all-knowing narrator), detailing two athletes’ (i.e., James and Mark’s) experiences of seeking help for mental ill-health. Collectively, the findings offer vital and accessible information that sporting organizations can use to develop collaborative multilevel interventions that better support elite athletes’ performance and mental health, particularly athletes who have experienced greater lifetime stressor exposure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A creative nonfiction story of male elite athletes’ experiences of lifetime stressor exposure, performance, and help-seeking behaviors.

McLoughlin¹,

Arnold²,

Cavallerio³

et al. 2023

Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology

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The tendency to appraise stressful situations as more of a threat is associated with poorer health and well‐being

McLoughlin,

Arnold,

Moore

2023

Stress and Health

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It has been argued that habitually appraising stressful events as more of a threat (i.e., situational demands exceed personal coping resources) may increase one's risk of ill‐health (e.g., depression). However, while first theorized 15 years ago, little research has tested this assertion. Thus, this study offered a novel test of the associations between trait challenge and threat appraisals and health‐related outcomes (i.e., mental health symptomology, psychological well‐being, and physical health complaints). Three hundred and ninety‐five participants (251 female, 144 male; Mage = 22.50 years, SD = 5.33) completed valid and reliable measures of trait challenge and threat appraisals, mental health (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety), well‐being (e.g., subjective vitality), and physical health complaints (e.g., respiratory illnesses). Regression analyses revealed that trait challenge and threat appraisals accounted for a significant proportion of variance in all outcomes after controlling for age and gender, with a tendency to appraise stressful events as more of a threat associated with poorer mental health (i.e., greater depression symptomology), well‐being (e.g., lower vitality), and physical health (e.g., more respiratory illnesses). Taken together, the findings highlight the importance of trait challenge and threat appraisals for health, although further research is needed using stronger designs (e.g., longitudinal) to enable a more causal understanding.

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Does Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) Syndrome Exist?

Jeukendrup,

Areta,

Van Genechten

et al. 2024

Sports Med

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Relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs) is a widely adopted model, originally proposed by an International Olympic Committee (IOC) expert panel in 2014 and recently updated in an IOC 2023 consensus statement. The model describes how low energy availability (LEA) causes a wide range of deleterious health and performance outcomes in athletes. With increasing frequency, sports practitioners are diagnosing athletes with “REDs,” or “REDs syndrome,” based largely upon symptom presentation. The purpose of this review is not to “debunk” REDs but to challenge dogmas and encourage rigorous scientific processes. We critically discuss the REDs concept and existing empirical evidence available to support the model. The consensus (IOC 2023) is that energy availability, which is at the core of REDs syndrome, is impossible to measure accurately enough in the field, and therefore, the only way to diagnose an athlete with REDs appears to be by studying symptom presentation and risk factors. However, the symptoms are rather generic, and the causes likely multifactorial. Here we discuss that (1) it is very difficult to isolate the effects of LEA from other potential causes of the same symptoms (in the laboratory but even more so in the field); (2) the model is grounded in the idea that one factor causes symptoms rather than a combination of factors adding up to the etiology. For example, the model does not allow for high allostatic load (psychophysiological “wear and tear”) to explain the symptoms; (3) the REDs diagnosis is by definition biased because one is trying to prove that the correct diagnosis is REDs, by excluding other potential causes (referred to as differential diagnosis, although a differential diagnosis is supposed to find the cause, not demonstrate that it is a pre-determined cause); (4) observational/cross-sectional studies have typically been short duration (< 7 days) and do not address the long term “problematic LEA,” as described in the IOC 2023 consensus statement; and (5) the evidence is not as convincing as it is sometimes believed to be (i.e., many practitioners believe REDs is well established). Very few studies can demonstrate causality between LEA and symptoms, most studies demonstrate associations and there is a worrying number of (narrative) reviews on the topic, relative to original research. Here we suggest that the athlete is best served by an unbiased approach that places health at the center, leaving open all possible explanations for the presented symptoms. Practitioners could use a checklist that addresses eight categories of potential causes and involve the relevant experts if and when needed. The Athlete Health and Readiness Checklist (AHaRC) we introduce here simply consists of tools that have already been developed by various expert/consensus statements to monitor and troubleshoot aspects of athlete health and performance issues. Isolating the purported effects of LEA from the myriad of other potential causes of REDs symptoms is experimentally challenging. This renders the REDs model somewhat immune to falsification and we may never definitively answer the question, “does REDs syndrome exist?” From a practical point of view, it is not necessary to isolate LEA as a cause because all potential areas of health and performance improvement should be identified and tackled.

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Assessing lifetime stressor exposure in sport performers: Associations with trait stress appraisals, health, well-being, and performance

Cited by 13 publications

References 43 publications

A creative nonfiction story of male elite athletes’ experiences of lifetime stressor exposure, performance, and help-seeking behaviors.

A creative nonfiction story of male elite athletes’ experiences of lifetime stressor exposure, performance, and help-seeking behaviors.

The tendency to appraise stressful situations as more of a threat is associated with poorer health and well‐being

Does Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) Syndrome Exist?

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