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A limitation of the sport psychology coping literature is the amount of time between a stressful episode and the recall of the coping strategies used in the stressful event (Nicholls & Polman, 2007). The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a technique to measure acute stress and coping during performance. Five high-performance adolescent golfers took part in Level 2 verbalization think aloud trials (Ericsson & Simon, 1993), which involved participants verbalizing their thoughts, over six holes of golf. Verbal reports were audio-recorded during each performance, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using protocol analysis (Ericsson & Simon, 1993). Stressors and coping strategies varied throughout the six holes, which support the proposition that stress and coping is a dynamic process that changes across phases of the same performance (Lazarus, 1999). The results also revealed information regarding the sequential patterning of stress and coping, suggesting that the golfers experienced up to five stressors before reporting a coping strategy. Think aloud appears a suitable method to collect concurrent stress and coping data.

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Seven active exercisers with MS participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their exercise experiences since diagnosis. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA; Smith  & Osborn, 2003 ). Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The results and interpretations of narratives revealed a number of functional limitations due to the severity of MS symptoms, which were found to have a major effect on the ability of the participants to exercise. Furthermore, psychological problems and the heightened behavioural adjustments to the progressive disability led to re-appraisal of ability to exercise. Previous, relevant exercise experience made participants more determined to continue to be able to exercise after diagnosis. The wider exercise experience narratives were related to concerns about safety, dependability on others to overcome the challenges, and potential environmental hazards. The loss of spontaneous opportunities to exercise because of these actual and perceived barriers was key to this population. This research highlighted the need to rethink the health and social service arrangements in relation to exercise provision for individuals with MS.

The aim of this study was to examine stressors, coping, and coping effectiveness as a function of gender, type of sport, and skill. The sample consisted of 749 undergraduate athletes (455 males, 294 females) aged 18-38 years (mean= 19.8 years). Skill was classified as international/national, county, university, and club standard. Participants completed a stressor and coping concept map (Novak & Gowin, 1984). The results revealed gender, type of sport, and skill differences in relation to stressor frequencies, coping strategy deployment, and coping effectiveness. In contrast to previous research, females used a variety of problem-focused (e.g. planning, communication, technique-orientated coping) strategies more frequently than males. Team sport athletes reported a variety of sport-specific stressors relating to the demands of playing in a team environment. The group of national/international athletes reported using more planning, blocking, and visualization, and also reported that their coping was more effective than that of less-skilled athletes.

In this study, we examined the relationship between home and away matches on mood. In addition, the relationships between game location, game outcome, behavioural factors, and mood were investigated among 12 professional English rugby league players competing in the Super League. Participants completed daily diaries for 27 days. The diary consisted of six analogue scales measuring mood (relaxed-tense, energetic-weary, depressed-elated, tired-alert, anxious-calm, cheerful-miserable) as well as behavioural factors and self-rated performance. There were no significant differences in self-reported mood states leading up to home or away matches except for players feeling more tired when playing away. Significant relationships between mood and behaviours (e.g. sleep and eating) and subjective performance were observed. The outcome of the match was found to influence mood, with a defeat resulting in decreased mood. Our results show that game location did not influence mood and therefore does not provide an explanation for the home advantage.

The aim of this paper was to systematically review the literature on coping in sport, examining evidence for both the trait and process perspectives, the types of coping strategies used by athletes, gender differences, age-related differences, and coping effectiveness. A comprehensive literature search of SPORTdiscus, PsychLIT, and PsychINFO in November 2004 yielded 64 studies spanning 16 years (1988 - 2004). The results indicated that athletes use a variety of coping strategies. Forty-six papers supported or adopted the process perspective (Lazarus, 1999; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). There were also gender and age-related differences. Evidence was found to support three of the different models of coping effectiveness (goodness-of-fit approach, choice of coping strategy, and automacity). Based on this evidence, future research should address some of the methodological and measurement limitations of the sport psychology coping literature. In particular, prospective research designs that minimize the time delay between recall and the stressful experience are required to assess how coping changes over time. More attention to developmental issues to guide the formulation of sport-specific models to enhance our theoretical understanding is also required. Finally, coping effectiveness should be examined both in the short and long term, as a greater understanding of coping effectiveness has the potential to make a significant impact on applied practice.