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Stressors and affective states among professional rugby union players
Author(s) -
Nicholls A. R.,
Backhouse S. H.,
Polman R. C. J.,
McKenna J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2007.00757.x
Subject(s) - overtraining , stressor , athletes , affect (linguistics) , psychology , medicine , adjective check list , clinical psychology , physical therapy , social psychology , communication , personality
The purpose of the present study was to examine (a) the sources of sport and non‐sport stress and their associated symptoms on rest days, training days, and match days and (b) the temporal aspects of sources and symptoms of stress and affective states. Professional male rugby union players ( n =16) completed the Daily Analysis of Life Demands in Athletes (DALDA) and the Activation Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD ACL) for 28 days. On match days players reported that few stressors were “worse than normal.” Most stressors were “worse than normal” on training days followed by rest days and more stressors were “worse than normal” on the day after a match than on match days. Further, players reported an unpleasant, low activation state across the three analysis days, suggesting they were in an overtrained state. The findings of this study demonstrate that professional rugby players experience negative affect and a multitude of sport and non‐sport stressors. Early detection of stressors and negative affective states could help prevent symptoms of overtraining and burnout and facilitate optimal training and sporting performance. Coaches and practitioners are encouraged to integrate the DALDA and AD ACL in their training and performance monitoring regimes.