teenagers / en 茄子直播 research is helping adolescent athletes cope with stress /news/u-t-research-helping-adolescent-athletes-cope-stress <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">茄子直播 research is helping adolescent athletes cope with stress </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/sports-stress.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=U67xA-9K 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/sports-stress.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TismZu7l 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/sports-stress.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=L81jrp1v 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/sports-stress.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=U67xA-9K" alt="High school students playing soccer"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lavende4</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-09-20T12:26:01-04:00" title="Tuesday, September 20, 2016 - 12:26" class="datetime">Tue, 09/20/2016 - 12:26</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">A high school soccer game: adolescent athletes often experience stress (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/katie-babcock" hreflang="en">Katie Babcock</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Katie Babcock</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/youth" hreflang="en">Youth</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/teenagers" hreflang="en">teenagers</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/stress" hreflang="en">Stress</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>If your adolescent athlete has a difficult soccer game, do you tell them not to worry about it? Or do you suggest they speak to their coach for tips on how to improve? How do you know if your words of wisdom are helping or harming?&nbsp;</p> <p>Over the years these questions have plagued many parents, but now researchers from 茄子直播鈥檚 Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education are finding ways for parents to help their children cope with sport-related stress. Their findings were recently published in the&nbsp;International Journal of Sport Psychology.</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檝e found that the things parents say and do have an impact on the way athletes deal with stress in sport,鈥 says assistant professor <strong>Katherine Tamminen</strong>, lead author of the study. 鈥淲hen parents talk directly to their child about active coping in sport, the athlete is more likely to use those strategies to deal with stress.鈥</p> <p>When athletes use active coping, including practicing their sport skills or asking a coach or teammate for help, they鈥檙e more likely to enjoy their sport and improve their performance. These skills can also translate into future success 鈥 adolescence is a key time when athletes are developing coping patterns and these techniques can reduce anxiety when facing stress in school and at work.&nbsp;</p> <p>Being able to effectively manage stress depends on choosing the right strategy for the right situation 鈥 sometimes it鈥檚 best to put in extra effort to deal with a problem, but in other cases it can help to take a step back from a problem. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for parents to help athletes find ways to develop their own solutions to solve their problems rather than telling them what to do or that a problem isn鈥檛 important.鈥</p> <p>During the study 85 pairs of athletes and parents completed online surveys. Athletes reported levels of parental pressure or support and how they coped with stress, and parents described the type of advice they had given to their children about dealing with stress in sport.&nbsp;</p> <p>Tamminen鈥檚 research, which is supported by the Connaught New Investigator Award,&nbsp;has shown that the foundation to helping athletes develop coping skills is for parents to establish a positive, supportive relationship with their child. When young athletes feel pressure from their parents, they鈥檙e more likely to avoid difficult situations and not deal with the stress effectively.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淚f an athlete didn鈥檛 perform well and their team lost, they probably already feel pretty bad about it,鈥 says Tamminen. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to give the athlete some time to think things through and allow them some control over how and when they talk about their performance and to help them see things in a broader perspective.鈥</p> <p>Undergraduate student<strong> Kristi Riseley</strong>, former captain of the Varsity Blues women鈥檚 hockey team, agrees.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淎t the beginning of my university athletics career I wanted more ice time, so I would vent to my parents. They encouraged me to talk to my coach and told me to not be afraid to ask questions and ask for feedback. That was great advice because then I knew what I could do to improve.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>In the fall, Tamminen and her team are delivering a coping intervention workshop for parents and athletes to test the recommendations they have developed.</p> <p>鈥淲e鈥檙e really excited to apply our research to real life situations and give parents the skills they need to help their children,鈥 says Tamminen. 鈥淧arents are such a strong influence on young athletes and through our research we want to improve athletes鈥 experiences and set them up for future success.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:26:01 +0000 lavende4 100486 at