The organisational stressors encountered by athletes with a disability

Organisational stressors have been found to be prevalent and problematic for sport performers, with research identifying demographic differences in the stressors encountered. Nevertheless, extant sport psychology research on the topic of stress has generally focused on able-bodied athletes; whilst that which has been conducted on performers with a disability has typically recruited relatively small samples to explore a narrow selection of organisational stressors, or examined other components of the stress process. The purpose of the present study was to explore the various organisational stressors that athletes with a disability encounter. The sample comprised 18 elite athletes with a disability (10 male, 8 female) who had a classified disability and experience of competing at a major championships in their sport (e.g., Paralympic Games, World Championships). Participants took part in a semi-structured interview which was analysed by drawing from grounded theory procedures. A total of 316 organisational stressors were identified, which were abstracted into 31 concepts and four, previously conceptualised, exploratory schemes: leadership and personnel issues, cultural and team issues, logistical and environmental issues, and performance and personal issues. This study not only provides the first illustration of the prevalence of organisational stressors for athletes with a disability, but also significantly points to salient similarities and distinct differences between the stress experiences of performers with and without a disability.     

Communicating Prevention: The Effects of the keepin’ it REAL Classroom Videotapes and Televised PSAs on Middle-School Students’ Substance Use

This study sought to determine if exposure to two communication-oriented activities, videotapes and public service announcements, accounts for changes in substance use among adolescents participating in the Drug Resistance Strategies Project's keepin’ it REAL adolescent substance use prevention curriculum. Middle-school students (4,734, 72% Latino) responded to questionnaires related to these analyses. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model was fit separately to six substance use outcomes. The results suggested that intervention students who saw four or five videos engaged in less substance use in the past month than did students who saw fewer videos. Having seen the PSAs one or more times did not predict the reported change in substance use.     

And Cinderella Shall Go to the Ball...

Abstract

Education and CD‐ROM may seem as natural a pairing as the accounting profession and spreadsheets ‐‐ but ensuring a smooth take up of new technologies is never straightforward. This article is an account of the unfolding of a deliberate central strategy for deploying CD‐ROM in British schools over the last three years.     

Performers' responses to stressors encountered in sport organisations

Abstract

We investigated athletes' responses to organisational stressors. Ten sport performers (five males and five females) were interviewed with regard to the organisational-related demands they had encountered and their responses to these stressors. The main emotional responses that were revealed were anger, anxiety, disappointment, distress, happiness, hope, relief, reproach and resentment. The main attitudinal responses were beliefs, motivation and satisfaction. The main behavioural responses were categorised as verbal and physical. The data indicate that performers generally respond to organisational stressors with a wide range of emotions, attitudes and behaviours. The findings are discussed in relation to the extant literature and in terms of their implications for applied practice and future research. Consultants should employ reactive strategies alongside proactive approaches to ensure that performers are psychologically prepared to manage and cope with any demands that are not eliminated. Future research should focus on performers' cognitive appraisals of the organisational stressors they encounter.     

Performers' responses to stressors encountered in sport organisations

We investigated athletes' responses to organisational stressors. Ten sport performers (five males and five females) were interviewed with regard to the organisational-related demands they had encountered and their responses to these stressors. The main emotional responses that were revealed were anger, anxiety, disappointment, distress, happiness, hope, relief, reproach and resentment. The main attitudinal responses were beliefs, motivation and satisfaction. The main behavioural responses were categorised as verbal and physical. The data indicate that performers generally respond to organisational stressors with a wide range of emotions, attitudes and behaviours. The findings are discussed in relation to the extant literature and in terms of their implications for applied practice and future research. Consultants should employ reactive strategies alongside proactive approaches to ensure that performers are psychologically prepared to manage and cope with any demands that are not eliminated. Future research should focus on performers' cognitive appraisals of the organisational stressors they encounter.