Coping Strategies and Perceiving Stress among Athletes during Different Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Data from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has affected numerous aspects of human functioning. Social contacts, work, education, travel, and sports have drastically changed during the lockdown periods. The pandemic restrictions have severely limited professional athletes’ ability to train and participate in competitions. For many who rely on sports as their main source of income, this represents a source of intense stress. To assess the dynamics of perceived stress as well as coping strategies during different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, we carried out a longitudinal study using the Perception of Stress Questionnaire and the Brief COPE on a sample of 2020 professional athletes in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The results revealed that in all three countries, the highest intrapsychic stress levels were reported during the fourth wave (all, p < 0.01) and the highest external stress levels were reported before the pandemic (p < 0.05). To analyze the data, analyses of variance were carried out using Tukey’s post hoc test and η2 for effect size. Further, emotional tension was the highest among Polish and Slovak athletes in the fourth wave, while the highest among Romanian athletes was in the pre-pandemic period. The coping strategies used by the athletes in the fourth wave were more dysfunctional than during the first wave (independent t test and Cohen’s d were used). The dynamics of the coping strategies—emotion focused and problem focused—were also discussed among Polish, Romanian, and Slovak athletes. Coaches and sports psychologists can modify the athletes’ perceived stress while simultaneously promoting effective coping strategies.

The Personality and Resilience of Competitive Athletes as BMW Drivers—Data from India, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain

“…However, sometimes “the fierce struggle for winning in competition and the win-at-all-costs philosophy ” [ 82 ] can generate violent behaviors, mostly in the case of young athletes [ 83 ]. If, in this context, it can be added to a higher score for neuroticism—athletes are less emotionally stable and experience more negative effects, including irritability, anger, or anxiety [ 63 ]—the negative impact of such situations on athletes’ mental health and overall quality of life is ensured.…”

“…Regarding the 20-item Mini-IPIP questionnaire and the scale for measuring resilience (SPP-25), the final versions, in each language, were created through retroversion—a procedure used, also, in earlier studies [ 63 ].…”

Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Sleep, and Psychology of Endurance Athletes– CAESAR Study

“…A particularly difficult time in the lives of EAs and other people is the COVID-19 pandemic. EAs from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia had the highest level of mental stress during the fourth wave [8]. EAs also adopted different coping strategies that affected mental health differently.…”

O efeito da quarentena Covid-19 na massa corporal de atletas de brazilian Jiu-jitsu

“…No entanto, também em caso de cumprimento rigoroso dos protocolos, não pode ser garantido um risco de 100% de não contágio. Ainda, o estresse e o impacto psicológico do distanciamento social 10,17 , assim como a redução de treinamento e contexto de competição impactaram em redução de performance 18 e ganho de massa corporal em atletas de combate 26 .…”