Coping and Sport-motivation of Adolescent Handballers in Debrecen

Abstract

Abstract The aim of study was to examine coping and motivation of adolescent handball players in Debrecen. Forty-six male and thirty-one female handball players completed the questionnaires, furthermore eighteen male and eighteen females were participated in focus groups. The purpose of this study was to measure gender differences in sport motivation, psychological immune system and athletic coping skills in a population of adolescent handball players. The applied psychological measure method was the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS-28), four subscales of Psychological Immune System Inventory, and the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28). Results revealed that males have a better self-efficacy and athletic coping skills and have a higher level of intrinsic motivation too. The outcome of the survey confirm that adolescence boys have a better self-efficacy and coping which can be seen on the sport ground as well. Other way focus groups were indicated the measure anxiety on sport ground, the applied coping strategies, and the motivation viewpoints of playing handball at the beginning of the activity and currently. at the Results has showed that at the beginning of playing handball participant have extrinsic motivation (e. g. the stimulation of their parents) but currently the reason of the activity is intrinsic motivation (e. g. health, future). Additionally, during the match there is a significant difference between the perceived anxiety against hard and weak teams at the beginning, in the middle and in the end of the match; furthermore, females have a higher level of anxiety during the match, against hard and weak teams too, but the difference is not significant. Finally, there is no significant difference between males and females in the applied coping strategies and it doesn’t have any effects on anxiety.