Assessing Stress Appraisals and Coping Styles Among Ghana Premier League Coaches and Players

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to ascertain stress appraisals and coping styles among coaches and players in Ghana's premier league season 2020/2021. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used for the research. Using a census, 44 formally registered male coaches (Meanage = 42.30, SD =10.44) and 424 players (Meanage = 22.36, SD = 3.53) from 17 premier league clubs answered a questionnaire consisting of standardised measures on organizational stressor indicators (OSI-SP), stress appraisals (SAM), and coping methods (MCOPE). The data collected were analysed using Descriptive statistics, Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Multivariate multiple regression. The findings revealed that stressors were common among football coaches and players, with selection being the most common stressor for both coaches (i.e., picking players) and players (i.e., being selected). The controllable-by-self, challenge and controllable-by-others were the frequently used stress appraisal mechanisms adopted by coaches. The results further showed that both coaches and players used more of problem-focused coping styles. Generally, the appraisal mechanisms of football coaches and players were significantly related to their coping styles. Controllable-by-self, for example, was linked to problem-focused coping in coaches. Appraisals of challenge, controllable-by-self and controllable by-others affected participants' problem-focused coping considerably (active coping). It is recommended that team managers, sport psychologists and sport organisations in premier league clubs should recognise that coaches and players face a variety of stressors and ensure that they include designed interventions (e.g., psychological skills training) aimed at providing enough psychological help for the identified groups to improve their performance well-being.