Coping profiles of young Athletes in their everyday life: A three-wave two-month study

Abstract

Young athletes in intensive training settings are confronted with a series of daily stressors although they have a smaller and less flexible coping repertoire than adults. Moreover, previous studies neglected the multivariate nature of coping. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to first identify coping profiles of young athletes in response to daily stressors related to their competitive sport involvement. Second, the study examined: (a) if such profiles were similar across the three waves, (b) how many participants belonged to the same profile along the three waves, and (c) whether individuals from distinct profiles differed on burnout, stress, and recovery. One hundred and forty-seven young table-tennis players involved in intensive training settings completed the CICS, RESTQ-Sport, and ABQ three times during a 2-month period. Cluster analyses indicated three similar clusters across the three waves: task-oriented coping, distraction- and disengagement-oriented coping, and low coping profiles. The distribution of athletes significantly varied across waves. Burnout, stress, and recovery significantly differed across the coping profiles. Athletes from the task-oriented coping profile were characterized by the best psychological adjustment (high scores of recovery and low scores of stress and burnout). In contrast, athletes from the distraction- and disengagement-oriented coping profile were characterized by the worst psychological adjustment (high scores of stress and burnout and low scores of recovery). These findings highlighted that the coping profiles allow examining coping within a holistic approach, teasing out the complex associations with key outcomes, such as burnout, stress, and recovery.