Document Type : Original research study
Authors
1 Ph.D student of Clinical psychology, Shahed university of Tehran
2 Shahed university of Tehran
3 Tarbiat Modares
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of psychological inflexibility in the relationship between intensity of angerand its expression in competitive athletes.The present study was a correlational design based on structural relationships (PLS structural equation modeling). The present study was a correlational design study based on structural relationships (PLS structural equation modeling). The statistical population of this study consisted of all competitive athletes (all athletes who participated in any level of competitive sport, either individual or collective) in Ardebil in 2019. From a total of participants, 312 were selected through cluster sampling and included in the study. To collect data, the Clinical Anger Scale, Internal and external anger subscales of Multidimensional Anger Inventory and Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (CompACT) Scale were used. The results showed that psychological inflexibility mediated between intensity of angerand externalizing expression or aggressive (behavioral avoidance) and between intensity of angerand rumination / suppression of anger (cognitive avoidance). Based on the findings, it can be said psychological inflexibility is an important factor to consider in the relationship between anger and aggression. In fact, athletes who have low flexibility responses is very likely that the anger experienced will be expressed.
Keywords
- Intensity of Anger
- Psychological Inflexibility
- Cognitive Avoidance
- Behavioral Escape
- Competitive Athletes
Main Subjects
2. Abrams, M., & Hale, B. (2005). Anger: How to moderate hot buttons. In S. Murphy (Ed.). The sport psych handbook (pp. 93-112). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
3. Bartlett, M. L., Abrams, M., Byrd, M., Treankler, A. S., & Houston-Norton, R. (2018). Advancing the assessment of anger in sports: Gender differences and STAXI-2 normative data for college athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 12(2), 114-128.
4. Besharat, M. A. (2007). Psychometric properties of the multidimensional anger inventory. University of Tehran.
5. Carraça, B., Serpa, S., Rosado, A., & Palmi Guerrero, J. (2019). A pilot study of a mindfulness-based program (MBSOCCERP): The potential role of mindfulness, self-compassion and psychological flexibillty on flow and elite performance in soccer athletes. Revista Iberoamericana de psicologia del ejercicio y el deporte, 14(1), 34-40.
6. Carleton, E. L., Barling, J., Christie, A. M., Trivisonno, M., Tulloch, K., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2016). Scarred for the rest of my career? Career-long effects of abusive leadership on professional athlete aggression and task performance. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 38(4), 409-422.
7. Camras, L. A. (1992). Expressive development and basic emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 6, 269–283.
8. Chang, W. H., Wu, C. H., Kuo, C. C., & Chen, L. H. (2018). The role of athletic identity in the development of athlete burnout: The moderating role of psychological flexibility. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 39, 45-51.
9. Chawla, N., & Ostafin, B. (2007). Experiential avoidance as a functional dimensional approach to psychopathology: An empirical review. Journal of clinical psychology, 63(9), 871-890.
10. Coulomb-Cabagno, G., Rascle, O., & Souchon, N. (2005). Players’ gender and male referees’ decisions about aggression in French soccer: A preliminary study. Sex Roles, 52(7-8), 547-553.
11. Cusimano, M. D., Ilie, G., Mullen, S. J., Pauley, C. R., Stulberg, J. R., Topolovec-Vranic, J., & Zhang, S. (2016). Aggression, violence and injury in minor league ice hockey: avenues for prevention of injury. PloS one, 11(6), e0156683.
12. Del Vecchio, T., & O'Leary, K. D. (2004). Effectiveness of anger treatments for specific anger problems: A meta-analytic review. Clinical psychology review, 24(1), 15-34.
13. Eifert, G. H., & Forsyth, J. P. (2011). The application of acceptance and commitment therapy to problem anger. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 18(2), 241-250.
14. Francis, A. W., Dawson, D. L., & Golijani-Moghaddam, N. (2016). The development and validation of the Comprehensive assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(3), 134-145.
15. Gagne, M., & Blanchard, C. (2007). Self-Detemination Theory and Well-Being in Athletes: It's the Situation That Counts. In M. S. Hagger, & N. L. D. Chatzisarantis (Eds.), Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Exercise and Sport (1 ed., pp. 375). United States: Human Kinetics Publishers.
16. Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2008). Understanding clinical anger and violence: The anger avoidance model. Behavior modification, 32(6), 897-912.
17. Gerhart, J. I., Baker, C. N., Hoerger, M., & Ronan, G. F. (2014). Experiential avoidance and interpersonal problems: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 3(4), 291-298.
18. Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the Third Wave of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies. Behaviour Therapy, 35, 639-665.
19. Hayes, S. C., Levin, M. E., Plumb-Vilardaga, J., Villatte, J. L., & Pistorello, J. (2013). Acceptance and commitment therapy and contextual behavioral science: Examining the progress of a distinctive model of behavioral and cognitive therapy. Behavior therapy, 44(2), 180-198.
20. Hung Chen, L., & Wu, C. H. (2016). When does dispositional gratitude help athletes move away from experiential avoidance? The moderating role of perceived autonomy support from coaches. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(3), 338-349.
21. Izard, C. E. (1991). The psychology of emotions. New York: Plenum Press.
22. Kashdan, T. B., Breen, W. E., Afram, A., & Terhar, D. (2010). Experiential avoidance in idiographic, autobiographical memories: Construct validity and links to social anxiety, depressive, and anger symptoms. Journal of anxiety disorders, 24(5), 528-534.
23. Kassinove, H., & Sukhodolsky, D. G. (1995). Anger disorders: Basic science and practice issues. In H. Kassinove (Ed.), Anger disorders: Definition, diagnosis, and treatment (pp. 1-26). Washington DC: Taylor & Francis.
24. Kavussanu, M., Stanger, N., & Boardley, I. D. (2013). The Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Sport Scale: Further evidence for construct validity and reliability. Journal of sports sciences, 31(11), 1208-1221.
25. Kerr, J. H. (2018). The enjoyment of sanctioned aggression in rugby: The experience of a pioneering female Canadian team captain. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-13.
26. Krenn, B., & Meier, J. (2018). Does Facial Width-to-Height Ratio Predict Aggressive Behavior in Association Football?. Evolutionary Psychology, 16(4), 1474704918818590.
27. Krenzer, W. L., & Splan, E. D. (2018). Evaluating the heat‐aggression hypothesis: The role of temporal and social factors in predicting baseball related aggression. Aggressive behavior, 44(1), 83-88.
28. Loughead, T. M., & Leith, L. M. (2001). Hockey Coaches' and Players' Perceptions of Aggression and the Aggressive Behavior of Players. Journal of Sport Behavior, 24(4), 394−407.
29. Maxwell, J. P. (2004). Anger rumination: An antecedent of athlete aggression?. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 5(3), 279-289.
30. Maxwell, J. P., Visek, A. J., & Moores, E. (2009). Anger and perceived legitimacy of aggression in male Hong Kong Chinese athletes: Effects of type of sport and level of competition. Psychology of sport and exercise, 10(2), 289-296.
31. O’Brien, K. S., Kolt, G. S., Martens, M. P., Ruffman, T., Miller, P. G., & Lynott, D. (2012). Alcohol-related aggression and antisocial behaviour in sportspeople/athletes. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 15(4), 292-297.
32. Reddy, M. K., Meis, L. A., Erbes, C. R., Polusny, M. A., & Compton, J. S. (2011). Associations among experiential avoidance, couple adjustment, and interpersonal aggression in returning Iraqi war veterans and their partners. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 79(4), 515.
33. Rowe, C. J. (1998). Aggression and violence in sports. Psychiatric Annals, 28(5), 265-269.
34. Rui, S., and Cruz, J. F. (2017). Unveiling anger and aggression in sports: the effects of type of sport, competitive category and success level. Rev. Psicol. Deporte, 26, 21–28.
35. Siegel, J. M. (1986). The multidimensional anger inventory. Journal of personality and social psychology, 51(1), 191.
36. Snell Jr, W. E., Gum, S., Shuck, R. L., Mosley, J. A., & Kite, T. L. (1995). The clinical anger scale: Preliminary reliability and validity. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51(2), 215-226.
37. Sofia, R., & Cruz, J. F. A. (2016). Exploring individual differences in the experience of anger in sport competition: The importance of cognitive, emotional, and motivational variables. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(3), 350-366.
38. Sønderlund, A. L., O’Brien, K., Kremer, P., Rowland, B., De Groot, F., Staiger, P., ... & Miller, P. G. (2014). The association between sports participation, alcohol use and aggression and violence: A systematic review. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 17(1), 2-7.
39. Twohig, M. P., Vilardaga, J. C. P., Levin, M. E., & Hayes, S. C. (2015). Changes in psychological flexibility during acceptance and commitment therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(3), 196-202.
40. Yavuz, K. F., ŞAHİN, O., Ulusoy, S., Ipek, O. U., & Kurt, E. (2016). Experiential avoidance, empathy, and anger-related attitudes in antisocial personality disorder. Turkish journal of medical sciences, 46(6), 1792-1800.
41. Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2018). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology, 7et. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetic