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16Safe behavior as basis for stress tolerance in athletes
UDC 796:035
Dr. Sc. Pych., Associate Professor I.S. Krutko1 PhD, Associate Professor N.V. Popova1 I.I. Bauerl
1Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract
Objective of the study was to analyze the engineering students' attitudes to physical education and safe behavior with their competitive spirit and stress tolerance building benefits.
Methods and structure of the study. The study of youth safe behavior and the relevant addiction control competences was run in Yekaterinburg in 2021. We sampled for the study the 1-2-year Ural Federal University bachelor sporting students of different specialties. First we run a questionnaire survey of the group safe behavior with the safe behavior analysis and classification to find the key socio-didactic problems of the safe behavior styling service (February 2021, n=146). The survey was followed by a viability rating psychological tests of a vulnerable subsample (n=60) that reported high-risk experiences they failed to effectively address. The subsample was tested by a test set of our own design including the following three modules: (1) Heim stress coping strategies test; (2) S. Muddy viability test; and (3) emotionality rating unfinished phrase test. The tests were designed to rate the following key safe behavior elements: risk prediction (with the risk analyzing and rating skills); risk avoidance (with the risk knowledge component); and risk coping (the situation-specific behaviors and skills) elements.
In our prior study report we analyzed the psychological and didactic provisions to facilitate the individual safe behavior style formation efforts, with the safe behavior viewed as an integral individual characteristic and mindset of a young person. Stress tolerance should be analyzed in the safe behavior context as a fundamental personal safety resource to mitigate stress, anxiety and tension.
Results and conclusion. The study tested the sporting students sample low on the viability/ stress tolerance resource scales, with the stress coping strategies dominated by confrontational coping styles. The safe behavior style in the sporting students' perceptions was found centered on the personality component and operational component. Such primary safe behavior style provides a basis for an integrated proactive safe behavior style and safe-behavior-based stress tolerance building service for young people. The study has contributed to the Stress Tolerance Building Project with its Viability Laboratory that offers special mental conditioning games to help trainees master the safe behavior style formation basics by the high-risk situations and stress coping behavior modeling and testing role games.
Keywords: health protection technologies, sporting students, health, sport, stress tolerance, safe behavior.
Background. The growing economic, political and epidemiological crises urge the sports communities pay a special attention to stress tolerance of young people on the whole and sporting students in particular - since the latter, unlike the adult professional athletes, are more exposed to dangers due to their impulsive, emotional and ambitious agendas with special risks of anxiety, aggressiveness, spontaneity and mental volatility [3]. It should be mentioned that the national research community traditionally associates the youth safe behavior with the
concept of stress tolerance/ viability (by YG. Vol-man) [3] viewed as a quality of special importance in challenging life situations (N. M. Volobueva, T.A. Serezhko) [4].
Objective of the study was to analyze the engineering students' attitudes to physical education and safe behavior with their competitive spirit and stress tolerance building benefits.
Methods and structure of the study. The study of youth safe behavior and the relevant addiction control competences was run in Yekaterin-
burg in 2021. We sampled for the study the 1-2-year Ural Federal University bachelor sporting students of different specialties. First we run a questionnaire survey of the group safe behavior with the safe behavior analysis and classification to find the key socio-didactic problems of the safe behavior styling service (February 2021, n=146). The survey was followed by a viability rating psychological tests of a vulnerable subsample (n=60) that reported high-risk experiences they failed to effectively address. The subsample was tested by a test set of our own design including the following three modules: (1) Heim stress coping strategies test; (2) S. Muddy viability test; and (3) emotionality rating unfinished phrase test. The tests were designed to rate the following key safe behavior elements: risk prediction (with the risk analyzing and rating skills); risk avoidance (with the risk knowledge component); and risk coping (the situation-specific behaviors and skills) elements [5].
In our prior study report we analyzed the psychological and didactic provisions to facilitate the individual safe behavior style formation efforts [2], with the safe behavior viewed as an integral individual characteristic and mindset of a young person. Stress tolerance should be analyzed in the safe behavior context as a fundamental personal safety resource to mitigate stress, anxiety and tension.
Results and discussion. The sporting students questionnaire survey data showed everyone in the sample well understanding risks and crisis situations of potential threats for life, health, freedom and other key human values, with only 10% underestimating risks of extreme sports, unprotected sexual contacts and unhealthy habits/ lifestyles. Generally the sample interprets safe behavior style as free of risks for the others, and believes that their peers are prone to unsafe behavior when they have specific personality issues including mental volatility, whilst the safe behavior are facilitated by personal responsibility, sound decision-making capacity; sociability; and risk prediction ability.
Most of the sample (90%) tends to realize the risks for safety only when faces dangerous situations "under alcohol intoxication", "when I am provocative", "in strange places with strange company" etc. Around 87% of the sample reported feeling and predicting the risks; whilst 70% free themselves of responsibility for unsafe behaviors of their friends and see no point in interfering. The remaining 30% take efforts to explain abnormalities in their friends'
behaviors but confess they are seldom successful being unable to convince.
Furthermore, most of the sample interprets unsafe situations as both their personal and environmental problem and believes that some unsafe situations cannot be predicted. Almost everyone (98%) in the sporting students sample reports a need for practice, experience and effective skills to cope with challenging life situations. About one of three (30%) believes that the safe behavior style formation is a socio-pedagogical goal to develop a healthy and well-socialized young individual. The other 70% tend to consider safe behavior as an innate skill set that cannot be developed or trained and, hence, there is no point in attending, for example, personal safety courses since "they rather train you to cope with dangers that predict and avoid dangerous situations".
The stress-coping strategy tests of the vulnerable subsample having past unsafe experiences (n=60) found their stress coping strategies 13.2% better than in the whole sample. This means that the stress coping experiences help the young people find the most constructive safe behavior strategies. Most stress coping strategies in the subsample were rated relatively adaptive; whilst 77% and 90% were tested low and confrontation-driven (aggression and hostility when facing a risk) coping skills, respectively; followed by the "self-control" group (84%) prone to restrain feelings, hide them and never discuss the problems faced.
It is traditional for the modern psychology to qualify the "taking responsibility" and "social support mobilizing" skills as pivotal for the stress coping strategies efficiency and risk prevention styles [1]. Our study found only 23% of the sample prone to these adaptive stress coping strategies. The emotionality test found 80% of sporting students sample prone to emotional inefficiency in the risk situations as they tend to suppress emotions, blame themselves or vent their aggression. Relatively adaptive emotionality control stress coping models (emotional discharge, taking responsibility) were reported by 10% of the sample. About half of the sample (46%) reported coping with negative emotions on their own. Of the 20% of the sample who fairly analyze their emotions, only 5% know how to control emotions by living them through. Therefore, the sample was found dominated (95%) by the individuals unable to cope with destructive experiences.
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The stress coping tests supported the above findings, as 90% of the sample was tested low on the stress tolerance scale (26-30 points versus the provisional norm of 37); with the lowest test rates on the "risk acceptance" and "control" scales. Therefore, the study tested the safe behavior styles and stress tolerance mostly low in the sporting students sample.
Conclusion. The study tested the sporting students sample low on the viability/ stress tolerance resource scales, with the stress coping strategies dominated by confrontational coping styles. The safe behavior style in the sporting students' perceptions was found centered on the personality component (including values and psychological qualities) and operational component - i.e. knowledge and skills application abilities in practical situations. Such primary safe behavior style provides a basis for an integrated proactive safe behavior style and safe-behavior-based stress tolerance building service for young people. The study has contributed to the Stress Tolerance Building Project with its Viability Laboratory that offers special mental conditioning games to help trainees master the safe behavior style formation basics by the high-risk situations and stress coping behavior modeling and testing role games.
Therefore, the sporting students' safe behavior style formation efforts will be designed to form healthy living agendas, good stress tolerance and endurance for competitive and social progress facilitated by special training curricula need to be developed and implemented by the relevant social institutions. Findings of this study are recommended
for application in the academic bachelor and master curricula in every specialty; and particularly in the Preventive Service for Young Communities and Youth Guidance Service master courses.
References
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