The role of social support in post adversity growth among female collegiate athletes

The relationship between Post Adversity Growth (PAG) and Social Support among 348 female collegiate athletes (FCAs) in the United States was explored. FCAs logged on to an online survey and completed four questionnaires. Participants provided background information after which they described a sport related acute stressor they experienced in the past 2 years, excluding the last 6 months. They completed the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire (PSSQ) that assessed the perceived availability of different types of social support (i.e., emotional, esteem, informational, and tangible) the FCAs had with respect to the adversity they described. Finally, they completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) that measured the degree of change they felt as a result of the stressor. Correlation analyses were completed and no meaningful relationships between PAG and social support were observed. Further investigation is required in order to understand the mechanism by which social support facilitates PAG

Ironic and Overcompensating Processes Under Avoidance Instructions in Motor Tasks

Thought-suppression research showed, when asked to suppress a given thought (e.g., a white bear), people ironically report thinking more of the suppressed thought. Testing motor performance given avoidance goals (e.g., avoid putting the ball short of the target in golf) represents an interest to transfer thought-suppression findings to motor tasks. However, instead of revealing an ironic process, motor studies showed mixed results, suggesting a coexistence of ironic and overcompensating processes. The present study investigates the coexistence of ironic and overcompensating processes induced by avoidance goals in motor tasks. Adopting a dual-process framework, an Attention Imbalance Model (AIM) was proposed to conceptualize such a coexistence. Four golf-putting experiments were conducted to test the AIM by manipulating the degree of attentional imbalance. Results indicated the factor of attentional imbalance moderates the likelihood between ironic and overcompensating processes in golf putting, and such a moderating effect demands task-specific considerations. In addition, performance feedback confounded the putting performance by reducing the likelihood of overcompensating process. The implications of the AIM are discussed in an extended context of motor performance under avoidance goals and thought suppression