The psychological characteristics of performance under pressure in professional Rugby Union referees

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Author
Hill, Denise M.
Matthews, Nic
Senior, Ruth
Date
2016-12-01Acceptance date
2016-07-16
Type
Article
Publisher
Human Kinetics Journals
ISSN
0888-4781
1543-2793 (ESSN)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study used qualitative methods to explore the stressors, appraisal mechanism, emotional response, and effective/ineffective coping strategies experienced by elite rugby union referees during pressurized performances. Participants included seven male rugby union referees from the United Kingdom (Mage = 27.85, SD = 4.56) who had been officiating as full-time professionals for between 1 and 16 years (M = 4.85, SD = 5.42). Data revealed that the referees encountered a number of stressors, which were appraised initially as a ‘threat’, and elicited negatively-toned emotions. The referees were able to maintain performance standards under pressure by adopting proactive, problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies which managed effectively the stressors and their emotions. However, the use of avoidance-coping, reactive control, and informal impression management were perceived as ineffective coping strategies, and associated with poor performance and choking. Recommendations are offered to inform the psychological skills training of rugby union referees.
Journal/conference proceeding
The Sport Psychologist;
Citation
Hill, D.M., Matthews, N. and Senior, R. (2016) 'The psychological characteristics of performance under pressure in professional rugby union referees', The Sport Psychologist, 30(4), pp.376-387.
Description
This article was published in Sport Psychologist on 1 December 2016, available at https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2015-0109
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
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