Cognitive Appraisal of Sources of Stress Experienced by Elite Male Wheelchair Basketball Players

Abstract

This is the second in a two-part study that examined how Great Britain male wheelchair basketball players (n = 10) cognitively appraise sources of stress. The first part (Campbell & Jones, 2002) established 10 distinct general stress source dimensions. The second part (reported herein) describes how the players rated each source of stress on challenge, threat, harm, controllability, severity, and frequency. Data was collected by interviews. Five significant positive relationships, ranging from .64 to .71, were shown between the variables: challenge and controllability, harm/loss and threat, threat and severity, harm/loss and severity, and frequency and severity. The findings show the importance of obtaining information about stress source variables if researchers and practitioners are to fully understand the nature of the sources of stress experienced by elite athletes.