Abstract
Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine depression and coping relating to the stagnation of game results in order to clarify the influence of such a stagnation on depression in Japanese sports university students.
Participants : Participants in this study comprised 545 Japanese sports university students. The valid response rate of this study was 89%. The total number of valid data sets was 487 (321 males and 166 females). The participants' sports were track and field, swimming, basketball, volleyball, and so on. The average age of participants was 19.84 (SD=1.23) years old.
Methods : This study was carried out with Japanese sports university students in 2004. The questionnaire of this study was composed of items relating to the degree of the stagnation of game results, an Athletic Stressor Measure (for Stagnation of Results Situations), and a Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS).
Results : In the results of comparison of the “stagnation” and “non-stagnation” groups in SDS (t-test), it was proven that the score for the “stagnation” group was significantly higher for “melancholy (p<.01)”, “trouble with sleep (p<.05)”, “fatigue (p<.001)”, “decreased psychomotor activity (p<.05)”, “hopelessness (p<.05)”, “indecision (p<.05)”, “low self-evaluation (p<.001)”, “aeriality (p<.001)”, and “dysphoria (p<.001)” than those for the “non-stagnation” group. In fact, “avoidance orientation” coping in males and females and “obsession with honor orientation” coping in females showed significant positive correlations with some of these SDS items (r≥.20, p<.05), and other coping factors showed significant negative correlatios with certain items (r≤-.20, p<.05).
Conclusions : (1) This study showed that depression in SDS, such as “fatigue, ” “hopelessness”, “lowness of self-evaluation”, and so on, occurred under the situation of the stagnation of game results. (2) The “avoidance orientation” coping in males and females and “obsession with honor orientation” coping in females had a negative effect on depression in SDS. (3) The “prompting of self-confidence orientation” coping and “acceptance” coping in males and “problem solving orientation” coping and “changing to positive thought orientation” coping in females had a positive effect on depression, especially in SDS.
