What enables elite athletes to maintain vigour during a pandemic? The importance of personal resources in coping with stress

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between the level of vigour during the first wave of the COVID -19 pandemic and selected personal resources for coping with stress : sense of coherence, hope for sucess and coping strategies. Participants of research were 57 individual sports players have been preparing for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, including 29 women and 28 men (aged 18 to 39 (M = 26.61, SD = 5.562). Methods: in the study conducted in April 2020, the following questionnaires were used: Profile of Mood State (POMS), The Hope for Success Questionnaire (HSQ), The Life Orientation Questionnaire (SOC- 29), The Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (Mini COPE).
 Results: Significant relationshipp between vigour and two components of the sense of coherence were established: the sense of meaningfullness (r=0.566; p<0.001) and the sense of manageability (r=0.478; p<0,001), both dimensions of hope for success: willpower (r=0.485; p<0.001) and the ability to find sulutions (r=0.49; p = 0.001), helplessness strategy (r = -0.456; p <0.001).)
 Conclusions: Strong relationships between vigour and the components of the sense of coherence confirm its important role in coping with stress by athletes during a pandemic, especially in maintaining a positive mood. Maintaining vigour by the athletes of the elite is fostered by hope for success, understood as a personality disposition. Active stress management strategies can be an effective way to maintain positive effect during the stressful period of a pandemic. Helplessness, in turn, can lower its level.