Research has indicated that sporting officials experience perceived psychological stress from a variety of sources. The reported magnitude of that stress has been mixed depending on the sport. The present study examined the sources and magnitude of perceived psychological stress among 353 American high school volleyball officials in a midwestern state. Principal component analysis witih varimax rotation identified four factors: fear of failure, time pressure, interpersonal conflict, and fear of physical harm. 57% of the officials reported “none” or “very little” stress associated with volleyball officiating. Recommendations for further research are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnshelM. H. (1990) A model for coping with acute stress in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 21, 58–83.
2.
AnshelM. H.WeinbergR. S. (1995) Sources of acute stress in American and Australian basketball referees. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 11–22.
3.
CohnP. J. (1990) An exploratory study on sources of stress and athlete burn-out in youth golf. The Sport Psychologist, 4, 95–106.
4.
DunlapP. (1991) Youth sport: Addressing competitive stress in junior tennis players. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 62(1), 59.
5.
GoldsmithP. A.WilliamsJ. M. (1992) Perceived stressors for football and volleyball officials from three rating levels. Journal of Sport Behavior, 15, 106–118.
6.
GouldD.WeinbergR. (1985) Sources of stress in successful and less successful intercollegiate wrestlers. Journal of Sport Behavior, 8, 115–127.
7.
KaissidisA. N.AnshelM. H. (1993) Sources and intensity of acute stress in adolescent and adult Australian Basketball referees: A preliminary study. The Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 25, 97–103.
8.
Kaissidis-RodafinosA.AnshelM. H.PorterA. (1997) Personal and situational factors that predict coping strategies for acute stress among basketball referees. Journal of Sports Sciences, 15, 427–436.
9.
KellbyB. C. (1994) A model of stress and burnout in collegiate coaches: Effects of gender and time of season. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 65, 48–58.
10.
KellmannM.KallusK. W. (1994) Interrelation between stress and coaches' behavior during rest periods. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, 207–210.
11.
ParcelliL. C. (1990) Mike Ditka and stress or … the case of the exploding coach. The Physician and Sportsmedicine;18, 126–128.
12.
RaineyD. W. (1994) Magnitude of stress experienced by baseball and Softball umpires. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, 255–258.
13.
RaineyD. W. (1995) Sources of stress among baseball and softball umpires. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 1–10.
14.
RaineyD. W.HaadyL. (1997) Ratings of stress by rugby referees. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 84, 728–730.
15.
RaineyD. W.SchweickertG.GritoV.PullellaJ. (1990) Fans' evaluations of major league baseball umpires' performances and perceptions of appropriate behavior toward umpires. Journal of Sport Behavior, 13, 122–129.
16.
RaineyD. W.WinterichD. (1995) Magnitude of stress reported by basketball referees. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81, 1241–1242.
17.
ScanlanT. K.PasserM. W. (1979) Sources of competitive stress among young female athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology, 1, 151–159.
18.
SmollF. L.SmithR. E. (1990) Psychology of the young athlete: Stress related maladies and remedial approaches. The Pediatric Clinics of North America, 37, 1021–1046.
19.
StewartM. J.ElleryP. J. (1996) Amount of psychological stress reported by high school volleyball officials. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 83, 337–338.
20.
StewartM. J.ElleryP. J. (1997) Sources and magnitude of stress among intramural basketball officials. National Intramural-Recreational Sport Association Journal, 21, 18–21.
21.
TaylorA. H.DanielJ. V. (1988) Sources of stress in soccer officiating: An empirical study. In ReillyT.LeesA.DavidsK.MurphyW. J. (Eds.), Science and football: Proceedings of the First World Congress of Science and Football. London: Spon, 538–544.
22.
TaylorA. H.DanielJ. V.LeithL.BurkeR. J. (1990) Perceived stress, psychological burnout and paths to turnover intentions among sport officials. Applied Sport Psychology, 2, 84–97.
