Citation

Calverley H, Davis P, Harvey J, Mesagno C. Int. J. Aquatic Res. Educ. 2020; 12(2): e4.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Bowling Green State University)

DOI

10.25035/IJARE.12.02.04

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences, between swimmer-lifeguards and swimmer-non-lifeguards, in trait and state anxiety and emotion regulation techniques in a real-life precompetitive situation with a secondary focus on gender differences. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Sport Anxiety Scale - 2 and the Mental Readiness Form - 3 were distributed to 100 participants at university swimming competitions in the United Kingdom. Swimmer-lifeguards displayed significantly lower cognitive (p=.03) and somatic state (p=.05) anxiety and cognitive trait anxiety (p=.02) than swimmer-non-lifeguards. Males reported significantly lower levels of cognitive and somatic trait anxiety (p<.01) than females. There was also a gender-group interaction, with male swimmer-lifeguards showing significantly lower somatic trait anxiety than the other groups (p<.03). Males indicated significantly greater use of reappraisal than females (p=.01); no other effects were observed. These results support previous research regarding lifeguard characteristics, however the nature of these qualities and how they originate require further exploration. © 2020 Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Cognitive anxiety; Lifeguards; Reappraisal; Somatic anxiety; Suppression