Individual Paper(s)
Personality, coping, and challenge and threat states in athletes
Mark S. Allen
London South Bank University
Daniel Frings
London South Bank University
This study explored the relationship between personality,
motivational (challenge and threat) states, and sport-related coping. Thirty
one currently competing athletes (Mage=25.26, SD=7.23; 24 men, seven women) were asked to imagine and talk about a possible
upcoming competition (sport specific speech) and the events that had transpired
that morning (control speech). During the speeches a number of hemodynamic
parameters were recorded (heart rate, ventricular contractility, cardiac output
(CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR)) to give an index of task
engagement and challenge and threat. Athletes’ personality and coping
strategies were assessed using the NEO-FFI and the Coping Function
Questionnaire for sport. Findings demonstrated that cardiac reactivity was
similar across the two scenarios suggesting that the goal-relevant sport
specific speech was not effective in inducing challenge-threat responses above
those of general speech giving. However, general cardiovascular patterns across
conditions were correlated with personality and coping strategies.
Specifically, lower CO and higher TPR were associated with more problem- and
emotion-focused coping and higher levels of extraversion and conscientiousness.
Findings suggest that a simple test of cardiac output and peripheral vascular
resistance in a moderately stressful (non-related) situation may be sufficient
to predict personality traits and sport-related coping.
