Coping Strategies - C 4.2

Stressor

• Causes psychological strain

• can be positive (looking forward to an opportunity) or negative (fearing an outcome)

• can be controllable or uncontrollable

Coping strategies

Any method used to deal with a stressor to lessen its negative impact

Problem focused

attempts to influence the person-situation relationship (problem)

Emotion focused

Attempts to manage the emotional consequences of the stressor (emotion)

Avoidance strategies

behavioural or psychological efforts to disengage from a stressful situation

Past stressor

something that has happened

Future stressor

something the individual thinks might happen

Coping

any thought or behaviour that is used to attempt to manage a stressor

Four implications of coping

• can involve thoughts and/or behaviour

• can be in response to internal demands (self-doubt, injuries)

• Individuals have their own perception of the balance of demand and resources (self-efficacy)

• about making efforts to manage an outcome

Appraisal

a process where a person evaluates whether a particular encounter with the environment is relevant to their well-being

Transactional model of stress

• how people respond to situations is partly dependent on the transaction between them and the source of stress

• explains why two individuals might experience the same situation in different ways based on how they evaluate the meaning of the situation

Primary appraisal phase

• individual evaluates whether the situation is relevant to them and whether it is stressful

• if the situation is stressful then what kind of stressor is involved

Secondary appraisal phase

• individual evaluates whether they are able to control the transactional relationship between themselves and the environment

• is an individuals coping resources sufficient to meet the demands of the environment

Coping strategies examples

• mental imagery

• seeking social support

• self talk

mental imagery

a psychological skill used as a coping technique or to mentally rehearse specific action sequences

Seeking social support

social support from coaches, players, or family can affect cognitive, emotional, and behavioural aspects of an athletes life

Self-talk

• can be used to

  • direct attention to instructional cues

  • affect motivational state or generate emotions

• is most effective during fine motor tasks

3 phases of copying strategy learning

adopt - understand the basic skill or technique, develop motivation to use and practice this skill

adapt - review and reflect on how it worked, what to change, and individualise it

adept - become proficient in using the skill, in less time and under increasing demands

Effective coping strategy

• often involves a balance of problem-focused and emotion-focused approaches

Problem-focused social support

• when an athlete gets help from coaches, trainers, or sports psychologists to work on specific challenges or improve performance

Emotion-focused social support

• managing emotions and psychological responses to stressors rather than directly fixing the stressor itself

• asking for help from friends, family, coach, or teammates