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Coping with stress and social support: A comparison between chess players and non-chess players
Jana Krivec
Full text (pdf) | Views: 47 | Written in Slovene. | Published: September 8, 2005
Abstract: Stress situations continue to represent an important factor of everyday life. The significance and role of stress are even greater in competitive sports. If not dealt with effectively, the pressure and demands of stress can reach proportions that seriously endanger the competitor. In the present study I examined the types of strategies chess players use in coping with stress situations during a single game aswell as through an entire tournament. In order to attain success, they need to overcome all stress factors. I further examined, to what extent and in what way chess players' coping strategies are effected by the support they have at hand in their social environment. Results obtained were compared with a group of non-chess players. The results have shown that chess players use a specific method of coping, which is, unexpectedly, directed more "away from the problem". The main reason for this may be that a loss of a chess game represents a situation, which is stressful and at the same time unalterable. Social support(emotional and practical) attainable if need be, is perceived to a far greater extent by chess players than by non-chess players. The results attained from this study can be beneficial in the field of sport psychology, which frequently deals with similar performance patterns.
Keywords: chess, stress, coping behaviour, social support
