Original article

Systematic review on pre-competitive stress and its manifestations in football players

0000-0001-7022-8551Nelly Alejandra Gancino Bustamante^{1  *} 

¹Universidad Central del Ecuador, Facultad Cultura Física, Quito, Ecuador.

Abstract

Sports psychology is responsible for the study of states, processes, interpretation and optimization of the psychic life of the athlete, depending on the achievement of an optimal state for training and competitions. Stress is a psychological manifestation that reflects the behavior of the person for various causes. This article illustrates the analysis of the theoretical references on pre-competitive stress and its manifestations in the actions of female soccer players. It is a documentary investigation, with the use of mapping, index, analytical - synthetic and inductive - deductive, among other methods; for the treatment of relevant information from indexed electronic journals.

Key words: Sports psychology; stress; pre-competitive stress.

Introduction

Sports psychology covers all psychical aspects of people who are into sports or fitness activities. In other words, this science deals with processes associated with athlete’s performance in the social, mental, and emotional areas, which will help them improve their interaction with others and orient their participation in other sports ^{(Cox, 1941)}.

The criteria of ^{Issurin (2018)}, regarding psychological training point to a maximum between the capacity of athletes in their actions and their performance. Accordingly, it can be inferred that the above component or training direction is relevant, on one hand in forming personality so it behaves harmoniously, morally stable, and motivated; on the other, through the acquisition and optimization of cognitive skills to provide athletes with the necessary and effective tools seeking proper self-regulation, emotional and psychophysiological states.

An essential factor in the pedagogy of sports training is systematic, organized, and planned work in the psychological aspects of the personality, at different training sessions and competitions, that can ensure an optimum expression of psychical predisposition, along with increased performance during the most emotionally tense moments, and as a comprehensive requirement of training.

Overlooking this area can lead to several inconveniences in athlete engagement. For instance, being unable to control the presence of stress and show Type-A behavioral traits (inappropriate conduct) ^{(Pallarés & Rosel, 2001)}. According to ^{Guillén (2001)}, stress is manifested in three main aspects: physiological, psychological, and behavioral. In describing behavior, the above author notes that failing to control their emotional states, athletes show concern, pressure, and confusion, including more frequent blinking, shaking, anticipated acts, and rambling.

Certain authors have offered similar concepts when coping with the nature of stress and the adjustments made by individuals. (González, 2001, ^{González et al., 2015}, ^{Flores et al., 2017}, ^{González et al., 2017)}. In turn, this study will assume the concept of ^{Cárdenas (2012)}, who identifies pre-competition stress as a psychological expression of athletes before competing, caused by the insufficient training that leads to manifestations of anxiety, uncertainty, and fear of facing an adversary. In other words, stress is a psychological manifestation mediated by several stimuli, which depends on how a person reacts to them (positive or negative).

Additionally, several psycho-pedagogical proposals of intervention during athlete training are published in the literature, particularly associated with the treatment of stress states. ^{(Pallarés & Rosel, 2001}; ^{Ferreira, Valdés, & Arroyo, 2002}; ^{Olmedilla, Prieto, & Blas, 2011}; ^{Fenoy & Campoy 2012}; ^{Pérez, Buceta, López, Gimeno, & Ezquerro 2013}; ^{Abián, Báguena, & Abián, 2015}; ^{González, Valdivia, Cachón, Zurita, & Romero, 2017)}.

An essential factor in the process of psychological training is the creation of an optimum state of psychic predisposition that athletes must face, with the quality, training, and competitions demanded. According to ^{Nuñez and Milanés (2012)}, the competitive actions “established among competitors over victory, “... entails a high level of comprehensive sports preparation, which must be supported by a complex and long process of bio-adjustment to stimuli and physical and mental loads.”(p.1). Hence, there is a need of proper organization and psychological planning for every period or moment of macrostructure of sports training.

It is a complex pedagogical process that integrates several different types of preparations: theoretical, physical, technical, tactical, and psychological. As to their relevance, “knowing the importance of psychology is critical, since... facing athletes or teams with the same training levels, the best mentally prepared athletes have conquered victory” ^{(Moas, Dopico, 2013, p.1)}.

Despite the number of research studies and scientific papers related to the psychological training of athletes, studies of pre-competition stress in female soccer players are still insufficient, which leads to the need of responding to the following research question: what is the theoretical rationale and evidence presented by scientific studies that support the behavior of pre-competition stress states in female soccer players and the actions to cope with it?

That way, emphasis is made on the theoretical systematization of pre-competition stress manifestation in sports, particularly in female soccer, as well as the psychological strategies for intervention.

Considering the above aspects, the aim of this paper is to analyze the existing theoretical referents on pre-competition stress and its manifestations in female soccer.

Materials and methods

This research relies on a review of the scientific bibliography that initially used index mapping, according to ^{Hernández, Fernández & Baptista (2014)}. These authors see Mapping as “... the design of a conceptual map to organize and create the theoretical frame” (p. 76)

The index method helps determine specific topics through the information collected. ^{Hernández et al. (2014)} note that:

It consists in developing a tentative, overall, or general index first. Then it can be fine-tuned until it becomes highly specific, and the information is added (references) in the corresponding site within the scheme. This operation can be called “vertebration” the frame of theoretical perspective (generating the backbone). (p.78)

These methods were used for theoretical systematization of pre-competition stress and related psychological aspects of sports training. The main results offered by them included the review of six electronic books, 11 scientific articles from electronic indexed journals, two graduate theses, one postgraduate thesis, and two doctoral theses. The primary information created the basic premise for the design of instruments like bibliographic and content cards. ^{(Alzaraki, 2007)}

The bibliographic search through databases and indexed journals relied on descriptors such as sports psychology, psychological training, sports stress, stress in soccer, psychological interventions of stress, and pre-competition stress, which lead to a search in databases like Dialnet, Scielo, Scopus, and Redalyc.

Moreover, theoretical methods like analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction were used for the process and systematization of the previously mentioned reference sources. These methods facilitated the collection of important methodological concepts about pre-competition stress and its manifestations, which helped determine characteristics, irregularities, and tendencies about the topic studied. These steps aided in considering important generalities throughout the research.

Results and discussion

Information collection offered relevant data from scientific papers published in electronic indexed journals (50 %) (Figure 1).

Made by: Bachelor Nelly Gancino

Fig. 1. - Search of theoretical systematization 

The percentage analysis of databases used in the information search revealed that Dialnet is the most frequently used database for the scientific relevance it possesses (Figure 2).

Made by: Bachelor Nelly Gancino

Fig 2. - Databases 

The search of relevant related articles relied on various descriptors, whose application percentages can be verified (Figure 3).

Made by: Bachelor Nelly Gancino

Fig. 3. - Descriptors 

A number of 11 papers were chosen out of their valuable information, and their empirical and bibliographic excellency to support this study (Table 2)

Table 1. - Scientific articles 

No.	Databases	Title of the original article	Journal	Descriptor
1	Dialnet	Estrés pre-competitivo en jugadores adolescentes de bádminton	Psicología del Deporte	Pre-competition stress
2	Dialnet	Estrés en jugadores de fútbol: una comparación Brasil & Cuba	Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte	Stress in Soccer
3	Dialnet	La autoconfianza y el control del estrés en futbolistas: Revisión de estudios	Iberoamericana de Psicología del Ejercicio y el Deporte	Stress in Soccer
4	Dialnet	Relaciones entre estrés psicosocial y lesiones deportivas en tenistas.	Universitas Psychologica	Sports stress
5	Dialnet	Patrón de conducta Tipo-A y estrés en deportistas adolescentes: algunas variables mediadoras.	Psicothema	Psychological intervention in stress
6	Dialnet	El cuestionario "Características psicológicas relacionadas con el rendimiento deportivo" (CPRD): un estudio con la escala de control del estrés.	Electrónica de Motivación y Emoción	Psychological intervention in stress
7	Dialnet	La influencia del estrés y la ansiedad en el rendimiento deportivo durante la competencia en tenis de campo.	EFDeportes	Sports stress
8	Redalyc	Rendimiento deportivo, estilos de liderazgo y evitación experiencial en jóvenes futbolistas almerienses.	Psicología del Deporte	Stress in Soccer
9	Redalyc	Fuentes, síntomas y estrategias de afrontamiento al estrés competitivo en nadadores.	Psicología del Deporte	Sports stress
10	Scielo	Síntomas de estrés precompetitivo en adolescentes deportistas de balonmano.	Brasileña de Ciencias del Deporte	Pre-competition stress
11	Scopus	Influencia del control del estrés en el rendimiento deportivo: la autoconfianza, la ansiedad y la concentración en deportistas.	Retos	Sports stress

Made by: Bachelor Nelly Gancino

Conclusions

The information search was based on databases and indexed journals using descriptors for each topic.

The abstracts of all the articles collected were analyzed to gather relevant information for this research.

The information was filtered using several theoretical methods, to make a final selection of 11 papers, according to their scientific excellence.

Each article deals with methodological concepts of pre-competition stress and its manifestations, which helps readers consider important aspects for application in the pedagogy of training and competitions of female soccer players, as an effort to meet high competition goals.

Referencias bibliográficas

Abián, J., Báguena, J. I., & Abián, P. (2015). Estrés pre-competitivo en jugadores adolescentes de bádminton. Revista de Psicología del Deporte, 24(2), 217-224. https://repositorio.comillas.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11531/14815/Estr%c3%a9s%20pre-competitivo%20en%20jugadores%20adolescentes%20de%20b%c3%a1dminton..pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Alzaraki, R. (2007). Elaborar fichas . En Klein, L. (Ed.), El taller del escritor universitario (págs. 84-90). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Prometeo Libros. http://centrodeescritura.uandes.cl/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ficha-bibliografica.pdf

Cárdenas, B. (2012). Análisis del estrés pre competitivo y su incidencia en la obtención de resultados de los deportistas del club de Tae Kwon Do de la Espe. Propuesta Alternativa. Escuela Politécnica del Ejército, Carrera en ciencias de la actividad física, deportes y recreación, Sangolguí. http://repositorio.espe.edu.ec/xmlui/bitstream/handle/21000/5227/T-ESPE-033258.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Cox, R. H. (1941). Psicología del deporte: conceptos y sus aplicaciones (Sexta ed.). Columbia, Estados Unidos: Ed. Médica Panamericana. https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=Kd-gACAIW0IC&pg=PA18&dq=Psicolog%C3%ADa+deportiva&hl=es&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjw7oj1yZbsAhVFx1kKHSyFAjQQ6wEwAHoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Fenoy, J., & Campoy, L. (2012). Rendimiento deportivo, estilos de liderazgo y evitación experiencial en jóvenes futbolistas almerienses. Revista de Psicología del Deporte, 21(1), 137-142. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/2351/235124455017.pdf

Ferreira, M. R., Valdés, H., & Arroyo, M. (2002). Estrés en jugadores de fútbol: una comparación Brasil & Cuba. Revista Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 2(1), 7-14. https://revistas.um.es/cpd/article/view/100731/96081

Flores, P. J., Pérez, S. L., Salazar, C. M., Manzo, E. G., López, C. J., Barajas, L. T., & Medina, E. J. (2017). Fuentes, síntomas y estrategias de afrontamiento al estrés competitivo en nadadores. Revista de Psicología del Deporte, 26(2), 199-209. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=235152045027

González, G., Valdivia, P., Cachón, J., Zurita, F., & Romero, O. (2017). Influencia del control del estrés en el rendimiento deportivo: la autoconfianza, la ansiedad y la concentración en deportistas. Revista RETOS. Nuevas Tendencias en Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación(32), 3-6. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/3457/345751100001.pdf

González, G., Valdivia, P., Zagalaz, M. L., & Romero, S. (2015). La autoconfianza y el control del estrés en futbolistas: Revisión de estudios. Revista Iberoamericana de Psicología del Ejercicio y el Deporte, 10(1), 95-101. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/32817/La_autoconfianza_y_el_control_del_estr%c3%a9s_en_futbolistas.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Guillén García, F. (2001). Problema Emergente en el Deporte Competitivo Infantil: el estrés de los jóvenes deportistas. Edición Especial XVIII Congreso Panamericano de Educación Física. 31, Caracas: Kinesis. https://www.personales.ulpgc.es/fguillen.dps/docs/El_estres_de_los_jovenes_deportistas.pdf

Hernández, R., Fernández, C., & Baptista, M. (2014). Metodología de la Investigación (6ta ed.). México DF: Interamericana Editores.

Issurin, V. (2018). Entrenamiento Deportivo: periodización en bloques. Editorial Paidotribo. ISBN 8499108962, pp. 420https://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=bNetDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=Concepto+del+Entrenamiento+Deportivo&ots=nKhz5dxHJ1&sig=ylUdoAktu0jlQwiCVI8bOUamOEM#v=onepage&q=Concepto%20del%20Entrenamiento%20Deportivo&f=false

Moas, E & Dopico, H. (2013). La preparación psicológica en el contexto del entrenamiento deportivo. Revista digital EfEdeportes, (18)184. https://efdeportes.com/efd184/la-preparacion-psicologica-en-el-entrenamiento-deportivo.htm

Nuñez, C. & Milanés, V. (2012). Bases teórico-metodológicas de la preparación táctica de los taewondistas. Entorno al concepto. Revista digital EfEdeportes, (17)171. https://www.efdeportes.com/efd171/bases-de-la-preparacion-de-los-taekwondistas.htm

Olmedilla, A., Prieto, J. M., & Blas, A. (2011). Relaciones entre estrés psicosocial y lesiones deportivas en tenistas. Revista Universitas Psychologica, 10(3), 909-922. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/647/64722377021.pdf

Pallarés, J., & Rosel, J. (2001). Patrón de conducta Tipo-A y estrés en deportistas adolescentes: algunas variables mediadoras. Psicothema, 13(1), 147 - 151. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/727/72713121.pdf

Pérez, M. C., Buceta, J. M., López, A., Gimeno, F., & Ezquerro, M. (2013). El cuestionario "Características psicológicas relacionadas con el rendimiento deportivo" (CPRD): un estudio con la escala de control del estrés. Revista Electrónica de Motivación y Emoción, 5(11-12). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28060278_El_cuestionario_%27Caracteristicas_psicologicas_relacionada_con_el_rendimiento_deportivo%27_CPRD_un_estudio_con_la_escala_de_control_del_estres

Received: September 29, 2021; Accepted: October 13, 2021

^*Autor para la correspondencia: [e-mail]

La autora declara que no posee conflictos de intereses respecto a este texto.

Los autores han participado en la redacción del trabajo y análisis de los documentos.