A Comparison Of Stress Levels And Coping Skills Of Collegiate Freshmen Athletes And Non-athletes

Abstract

Despite knowing the factors that increase stress levels in collegiate freshmen, there is limited research that compares the stress levels and coping mechanisms between collegiate, freshmen athletes and freshmen non-athletes. PURPOSE: To investigate differences in perceived stress levels and coping mechanisms in collegiate freshmen athletes and non-athletes. METHODS: One hundred and forty-seven NCAA Division II freshmen (nathlete = 68, nnon-athlete = 69) (nfemale = 86, nmale = 49) completed three self-report questionnaires: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Brief COPE, and demographic information questionnaire. The 10-item PSS-10 was used to measure the degree to which an individual appraises his/her situation as stressful. The 28-item Brief COPE was used to measure frequency of positive, neutral and negative coping mechanisms on fourteen different scales. An alpha level of p ≤ .05 was set for statistical significance. An independent t-test was conducted to compare mean scores of the PSS-10, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare Brief COPE scales. A Spearman’s rho correlation was used to determine relationships between perceived stress and coping mechanisms. RESULTS: Analysis revealed no statistical difference between athletes and non-athletes on perceived stress or coping mechanisms. All participants rated a high level of perceived stress on the PSS-10, (females 29 (SD = 6) males 26 (SD = 5)) out of 40 possible points, yielding a statistical difference between genders, t(133) = -3.117, p = 0.002. Of the 14 coping strategies measured, four were found to be statistically significant for females: emotional support (p = 0.001), instrumental support (p = 0.03), venting (p = 0.001), and self- blame (p = 0.05). A positive correlation exists between increased stress levels and eight coping mechanisms. The two highest correlations were disengagement rs=.422, p<.001 and self-blame rs =.523, p<.001. CONCLUSION: No difference was observed in perceived stress levels between collegiate freshmen athletes and non-athletes, all freshmen perceive high levels of stress. Females perceive higher levels of stress than males, and tend to select negative coping mechanisms. The higher levels of perceived stress, the more likely the person would be to use disengagement and self-blame as coping mechanisms.