Adverse life events, cardiovascular responses, and sports performance under pressure

Moore, Lee J, Young, Tom, Freeman, Paul and Sarkar, Mustafa (2018) Adverse life events, cardiovascular responses, and sports performance under pressure. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 28 (1). pp. 340-347. doi:10.1111/sms.12928

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Abstract

Research suggests that experiencing a moderate number of adverse life events can benefit future stress responses. This study explored the relationship between adverse life (i.e., non-sport) events and cardiovascular responses to, and performance during, a pressurized sporting task. One hundred participants (64 men, 36 women; Mage = 21.94 years, SDage = 4.98) reported the number of adverse life events (e.g., serious accident or injury) they had encountered before completing a pressurized dart-throwing task during which performance was recorded. Before the task, participants’ demand and resource evaluations and cardiovascular reactivity were assessed. Adverse life events did not impact demand and resource evaluations. However, participants who reported 4-7 adverse life events displayed cardiovascular responses more reflective of a challenge state (relatively lower total peripheral resistance and/or higher cardiac output) compared to those who reported a lower (<4) or higher (>7) number of events. Furthermore, participants who reported 3-13 adverse life events outperformed those who reported a lower (<3) or higher (>13) number of events. Supplementary analyses suggested that this relationship might be due to a small number of extreme values. However, after outlier analyses, a significant linear relationship remained suggesting that a higher number of adverse life events facilitated performance. The results suggest that experiencing a moderate to high number of adverse life events might have beneficial effects on subsequent cardiovascular responses and performance under pressure. Practitioners should therefore consider prior brushes with adversity when identifying athletes who are likely to excel during stressful competition.

Item Type: Article
Article Type: Article
Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Moore, Lee J and Young, Tom and Freeman, Paul and Sarkar, Mustafa (2018) Adverse life events, cardiovascular responses, and sports performance under pressure. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 28 (1). pp. 340-347., which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sms.12928/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV557 Sports
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions: Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas: Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
SWORD Depositor: Pubrouter
Depositing User: Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2017 12:51
Last Modified: 31 Aug 2023 09:08
URI: https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/4686

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