Coping Processes in Competitive Gymnasts: Gender Differences

Abstract

The Ways of Coping with Sport questionnaire was used to investigate coping with performance problems in a sample of 115 adolescent gymnasts. The coping processes reported most frequently by the total sample of gymnasts were Increased Effort and Resolve, Wishful Thinking, Seeking Social Support, and Problem-focused Coping. Analysis of gender differences by multivariate analysis of variance indicated that, compared with males, the female gymnasts were more likely to use Seeking Social Support to cope with slumps in performance. The findings were consistent with previous research on coping in sporting and nonsporting populations.