Literature has indicated that there are psychological characteristics in elite athletes of various sports that are significantly different than those of non-elite level athletes. The purpose of this study was to discover the different psychological characteristics associated with elite level gymnasts, and contrast the results with psychological characteristics of competitive gymnasts of other levels using the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. Participants in this study were 195 gymnasts from gymnastics training centers throughout the United States. Results indicated that there was a significant difference in the Personal Resources Score (PCR) between the elite gymnast and all other levels. Furthermore, a significant difference was demonstrated among four of the seven sub-scales making up the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. The study supports the hypothesis that the psychological make-up of "elite" level gymnasts is different than that of other competitive gymnastics levels.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-21T14:22:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 daniloreiscoimbra.pdf: 1310472 bytes, checksum: d9d0e7f8eecc7d0c6dd49b49a8ce362a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-22T15:31:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 daniloreiscoimbra.pdf: 1310472 bytes, checksum: d9d0e7f8eecc7d0c6dd49b49a8ce362a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-22T15:31:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 daniloreiscoimbra.pdf: 1310472 bytes, checksum: d9d0e7f8eecc7d0c6dd49b49a8ce362a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-16 / No esporte, os atletas são submetidos a vários estressores, tanto físicos (exercício, lesões), psicológicos (preocupação com o desempenho, ansiedade) e sociais (com o treinador e companheiros de equipe). As habilidades para lidar com estes fenômenos são chamados de coping. É um processo consciente, no qual o indivíduo avalia a situação como estressante, tentando usar os seus recursos pessoais para controlar, reduzir ou resolver as demandas da atividade. O Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28) é um instrumento multidimensional utilizado para avaliar diferentes estratégias para lidar com o estresse no esporte. A revisão sistemática encontrou 23 estudos que utilizaram o instrumento. Encontraram uma correlação entre as dimensões da ACSI-28 e atletas de sucesso, uma menor incidência de lesões e outras habilidades psicológicas, etc. No Brasil, existem poucos estudos abordando o desenvolvimento de instrumentos que avaliam as habilidades psicológicas, especialmente quando se trata do coping. O objetivo deste estudo foi validar a versão brasileira da ACSI-28. A análise fatorial exploratória (AFE) suportou a validade estrutural do ACSI-25BR, removendo-se três itens da versão original. Cinco das sete subescalas apresentaram adequada consistência interna. Através da MANOVA verificaram-se diferenças entre o gênero, modalidade e o nível competitivo dos atletas. De acordo com os resultados, podemos concluir que as habilidades psicológicas necessitam ser treinadas tanto quanto a técnica, tática e física, respeitando as diferenças e necessidades de homens e mulheres, em diferentes esportes e níveis competitivos. / In sport, athletes are submited to various stressors, both physical (exercise, injuries), psychological (concern with performance, anxiety) and social (relationship with coach and teammates). The skills to deal with these phenomena are called coping. It is a conscious process, in which the individual evaluates the situation as stressful, trying to use my personal resources to control, reduce, or deal with demands of the activity. The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (ACSI-28) is multidimensional instrument used to assess different strategies to deal with stress in sport. The systematic review found 23 studies that used the instrument. Found a correlation between the dimensions of the ACSI-28 and successful athlete, a lower incidence of injuries and other psychological skills, etc. In Brazil there are few studies approaching the development of instruments that assess the psychological skills, especially when it comes to coping. The aim of this study was to validity a Brazilian version of the ACSI28. Factor analysis supported the structural validity of ACSI-25BR, removing three items from the original version. Five of the seven subscales showed adequate internal consistency. Through the MANOVA there were differences between gender, modality and performance level. According to the results, we conclude that the psychological skills need to be trained as much as the technical, tactical and physical, respecting differences and needs of men and women in different sports and competitive levels.

The present study examined the factor structure and measurement invariance of the revised version of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28), following adjustment of the wording of items such that they were appropriate to assess Coping Skills in an educational setting. A sample of middle school students (n = 1,037) completed the revised inventory. An initial confirmatory factor analysis led to the hypothesis of a better fitting model with two items removed. Reliability of the subscales and the instrument as a whole was acceptable. Items were examined for sex invariance with differential item functioning (DIF) using item response theory, and five items were flagged for significant sex non-invariance. Following removal of these items, comparison of the mean differences between male and female coping scores revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups. Further examination of the generalizability of the coping construct and the potential transfer of psychosocial skills between athletic and academic settings are warranted.