Strong Bodies, Strong Minds? The Relation Between Coping Style and Physical Health Outcomes Among Special Olympic Athletes
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2020-09-25
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Abstract
Background: Intellectual disability (ID) affects one to three percent of the global population (Harris, 2009) and is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition with limitations in cognitive functioning and adaptive behaviour beginning in the developmental period (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Individuals with ID are known to have poorer health and greater health needs, including co-occurring physical and mental health conditions; however, the latter is less understood. Despite this, the link between the mental and physical health among individuals with ID is not well known. In the general population, how individuals cope with stress, and active coping strategies in particular, has been linked to both improved well-being and physical health. This thesis addressed this substantial gap by investigating the types of coping strategies reported by elite Special Olympic (SO) athletes and their subsequent relation to body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure. Methods: For this exploratory study, a secondary data analysis was conducted using the Special Olympic Healthy Athlete’s database from the World Games in Abu Dhabi in March 2019. Specifically, de-identified records were obtained and analysed for elite SO athletes who participated in Strong Minds and Health Promotion health screenings. Coping style was obtained by a single open-ended question. In the first study, the types of coping strategies reported by SO athletes who attended Strong Minds screenings were described by available sample demographics (age, gender, and geographical world region). In the second study, a subsample of athletes who attended both Strong Minds and Health Promotion screenings were included. Differences between coping style (active, avoidant, neither/no coping styles) on two physical health indicators, BMI and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), were explored while controlling for age. Results: 2,626 athletes were included in the first study. Over half (56%) of athletes reported active coping strategies, 16% reported avoidant strategies, 8% reported the use of both active and avoidant strategies and 20% reported no coping strategies. Chi-square analyses found that while age and gender were unrelated to coping style, there was a statistically significant association between geographical region and coping style, χ2 (1, N = 2,626) = 59.52, p < .001. For the second study, 651 athlete records were analyzed and, similar to Paper 1, the majority of athletes reported active coping strategies (62%). Forty-six percent of participants’ BMI fell in the average range, and 89% of participants had average MAP ratings. Results from the MANCOVA revealed that BMI and MAP did not significantly differ between coping styles, F(4,1294) = 1.35, p = .249, Wilks’ Λ = .992, partial η2= .004. Conclusion: This thesis is the first of its kind to examine the link between coping strategies reported by elite SO athletes in response to a stressful situation, and physical health indicators. Unexpectedly, there was no association between coping style, BMI, and MAP, even after accounting for age. Limitations in the measurement of coping and lack of information on important confounding variables (e.g., medications, severity of ID) restrict the generalizability of these findings. However, coping strategy is an important factor in the health and well-being of individuals with and without ID, and more research is needed to help inform prevention of mental health issues in this already vulnerable population.
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Hewitt, K. J. (2020). Strong Bodies, Strong Minds? The Relation Between Coping Style and Physical Health Outcomes Among Special Olympic Athletes (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.