Katherine A. Tamminen

An interpretive analysis of life skills associated with sport participation

The purpose of this study was to examine how people may learn life skills through their involvement in regular competitive sport programmes. Interviews were conducted with 40 young adults (20 males and 20 females) who were participants in competitive youth sport during their adolescence. Data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to an interpretive analysis. We present three main interpretations of participants’ experiences based around the idea that sport itself did not teach life skills. Rather, social interactions were central to how people learned life skills. First, participants learned social life skills through interactions with peers in sport contexts; these skills retained meaning in the participants’ adult lives. Second, participants’ parents used sport to reinforce values relating to sportspersonship and work ethic. Third, coaches emphasised hard work and teamwork but also had some negative influences on participants’ experiences. Overall, these findings reinforce the idea that sport can provide an educational context for acquiring life skills but highlight that interactions with key social agents (peers, parents and coaches) are crucial components of how people learn life skills through their involvement in sport. In particular, peer interactions appeared to be the most meaningful aspects of youth sport participation.

A grounded theory of positive youth development through sport based on results from a qualitative meta-study

ABSTRACT The overall purpose of this study was to create a model of positive youth development (PYD) through sport grounded in the extant qualitative literature. More specifically, the first objective was to review and evaluate qualitative studies of PYD in sport. The second objective was to analyze and synthesize findings from these studies. Following record identification and screening, 63 articles were retained for analysis. Meta-method analysis revealed strengths of studies were the use of multiple data collection and validity techniques, which produced high-quality data. Weaknesses were limited use of ‘named’ methodologies and inadequate reporting of sampling procedures. Philosophical perspectives were rarely reported, and theory was used sparingly. Results of an inductive meta-data analysis produced three categories: PYD climate (adult relationships, peer relationships, and parental involvement), life skills program focus (life skill building activities and transfer activities), and PYD outcomes (in personal, social, and physical domains). A model that distinguishes between implicit and explicit processes to PYD is presented.

A meta-study of qualitative research examining stressor appraisals and coping among adolescents in sport.

Abstract The main aim of this study was to create an integrated theoretical perspective of the qualitative adolescent sport stressor appraisal and coping literature. A secondary aim was to critique theoretical and methodological issues in the extant literature. Following database searches, 20 studies were retained for analysis. Meta-data, meta-theory, and meta-method analyses were conducted followed by a final meta-synthesis of findings. Analyses produced four themes: contextual and dynamic stressor appraisals, contextual and dynamic coping, coping resources and processes of acquisition, and social networks as assets and liabilities. Findings highlight the need for precise use of theory in the study of coping. Finally, while several data collection methods have been used, there is scope for greater methodological diversity to advance our understanding of coping among adolescent athletes.

Gender Differences in Adolescent Athletes’ Coping with Interpersonal Stressors in Sport: More Similarities than Differences?

This study examined gender differences in the types of coping strategies adolescent athletes use to manage sport-related interpersonal stress. To explain gender coping differences, the dispositional and situational gender coping hypotheses were explored (Tamres, Janicki, & Helgenson, 2002). Adolescent athletes from Western Canada (N = 524) completed measures of stress appraisal and coping-strategy use in response to a self-selected interpersonal stress source in sport. Results revealed gender differences, but only in select coping strategies. Gendered-coping was not robust across interpersonal sources of stress, providing partial support for the situational gender coping hypothesis. The results are discussed in relation to stress processes that mediate gendered coping as well as the implications for practitioner assistance in youth athletes’ stress-management.

A meta-study of qualitative research examining determinants of children’s independent active free play

PurposeTo produce a meta-study by completing a systematic review of qualitative research examining determinants of independent active free play in children.MethodFollowing systematic electronic and manual searches and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, 46 studies were retained and subjected to meta-method, meta-theory, and meta-data analyses, followed by a final meta-synthesis.ResultsIdentified determinants of independent active free play were child characteristics (age, competence, and gender), parental restrictions (safety concerns and surveillance), neighborhood and physical environment (fewer children to play with, differences in preferences for play spaces between parents and children, accessibility and proximity, and maintenance), societal changes (reduced sense of community, good parenting ideal, changing roles of parents, privatization of playtime and play spaces), and policy issues (need to give children voice). An ecological model depicting these factors, and the relationships therein, was created.ConclusionsThis comprehensive meta-study helps establish a knowledge base for children’s independent active free play research by synthesizing a previously fragmented set of studies. Parents’ perceived safety concerns are the primary barrier to children’s active free play. These safety concerns are moderated by child-level factors (age, competence, gender) and broader social issues. Interventions should focus on community-level solutions that include children’s perspectives. From a methods perspective, the reviewed studies used a range of data collection techniques, but methodological details were often inadequately reported. The theoretical sophistication of research in this area could be improved. To this end, the synthesis reported in this study provides a framework for guiding future research.

Tales of the Unexpected: Coping among Female Collegiate Volleyball Players

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of appraisal, coping, and coping effectiveness in sport. Ten players from a collegiate female volleyball team were interviewed on two occasions, first in the week before a provincial final playoff tournament and in the week following the tournament. Data were transcribed verbatim and subjected to content and idiographic analyses. Athletes generally did not predict or anticipate the stressors they actually experienced during the tournament. Subjective appraisals of effective coping were associated with consistency between proactive and actual coping attempts. Reported effective coping was associated with the attainment of personal performance goals and use of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional coping strategies in the absence of behavioral avoidance. Reported ineffective and partially effective coping was associated with not attaining personal performance goals, and the use of cognitive coping strategies with behavioral avoidance. Finally, older, more experienced athletes reported they coped better than younger, less experienced athletes during the tournament.

No emotion is an island: an overview of theoretical perspectives and narrative research on emotions in sport and physical activity

Abstract Within sport and physical activity settings emotions have typically been conceived and explored from an individualistic or intrapersonal perspective, although researchers are increasingly turning their attention to the interpersonal aspects of emotions and emotion regulation. In this paper, we provide a theoretical overview of the social or interpersonal aspects of emotions from a psychological perspective, and we also consider theoretical perspectives of emotion as intersubjective, social, performative and embodied. We then provide a review of narrative research on emotion in sport and physical activity contexts and provide suggestions for future research in this area. We suggest that narrative approaches can advance research on emotions in sport and physical activity by exploring how emotions arise within the context of social relationships; by exploring how emotional stories or narratives function and are used by athletes, coaches, and others within sport and physical activity contexts; by examining how emotions are created, recreated, and sustained through the stories people tell; by examining how collective and group-based emotions are intertwined with one’s identity and identity development; and by highlighting the ways in which social and cultural narratives within sport shape athletes’ emotional experiences. We conclude by describing some challenges we have faced in conducting qualitative research from a narrative lens, and we describe how we have navigated these issues as a way of offering some ‘lessons learned’ from our own research.

Adolescent athletes: psychosocial challenges and clinical concerns.

Purpose of review To review the recent literature (over the past 18 months) regarding psychosocial challenges and clinical concerns among adolescent athletes, and to address the advances made in understanding adolescent athletes’ coping processes. Recent findings Coping research has moved from identifying discrete stressors and coping strategies to examining the processes of coping over time. Parents and coaches play an important role in young athletes’ sport experiences and athletes’ use and development of coping strategies. In terms of clinical concerns, findings regarding the prevalence of disordered eating have been equivocal. However, disordered eating may be of greater concern among athletes participating in ‘leanness’ sports. Sport participation may contribute to increased alcohol consumption among adolescent athletes but decreased use of drugs and smoking cigarettes, while steroid use appears to be relatively rare compared with athletes’ use of alcohol and cigarettes. Summary The reviewed studies have implications for future research by identifying opportunities for intervention and education regarding clinical and nonclinical psychosocial challenges. Researchers have emphasized the importance of athletes’ social context and relationships in coping with psychosocial challenges in sport. One concern is that adolescent athletes’ disordered eating and substance use may reflect maladaptive coping. Experimental and intervention research is limited; however, incorporating members of athletes’ social network into future research and interventions may be a practical avenue to achieving positive outcomes among adolescent athletes.

Factors that influence fatigue status in Canadian university swimmers

Abstract The overall purpose of this two-part study was to examine factors that influenced fatigue status in university level swimmers. Participants were 25 swimmers (14 male, 11 female) from one university swim team. A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative data were collected using an orthostatic heart rate test and self-report questionnaire at multiple time points throughout a competitive season. Qualitative data were collected via focus groups conducted at the end of the season. Analysis of the quantitative data indicated high levels of accumulated physiological and psychological fatigue that improved with increased recovery. Specifically, heart rate indices, form, feeling, and energy level improved during taper periods and worsened during and immediately after intensive training blocks. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed that one factor (flexible structure of training programme) had a positive influence on athletes’ fatigue while two factors (teammate expectations and balancing school, work, and sleep) had a negative influence on athletes’ fatigue.

‘It’s all about modifying your expectations’: women’s experiences with physical activity during pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine women’s experiences with physical activity throughout the course of pregnancy. Nine pregnant women participated in two semi-structured interviews (total of 18 interviews) – between one and five months apart. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results revealed that participants felt the need to ‘slow down’ from their previous physical activity levels due to physical changes brought on by pregnancy such as fatigue, nausea and/or vomiting and injury potential. The women negotiated underlying tensions associated with the experience of being physically active while pregnant by changing their activities and also by changing their activity-related attitudes as pregnancy progressed. Despite these changes, activity remained important for the women as they persisted with physical activity throughout the course of pregnancy to maintain physical fitness, their health and the health of the baby, to socialise and to relieve stress. These behaviours were partially supported by the participants’ partners, family and friends; however, the women did not perceive this partial support to be constraining and sought out prenatal exercise classes to create a social network with other expecting mothers. Findings highlight the importance of considering women’s experiences when devising health-promotion interventions focused on increasing and improving women’s physical activity behaviours during pregnancy. Participants were heterosexual, highly educated, predominantly white and English speaking; thus, future studies should examine the experience of physical activity during pregnancy in more diverse populations.