Connecting Culture and Coping comparing individual and teams from Australia and the Netherlands

Dollen, M.J. (2012) Connecting Culture and Coping comparing individual and teams from Australia and the Netherlands. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

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Abstract

Previous research suggests that culture may have confounding effects in shaping coping strategies of athletes (Aldwin, 1994; Holt and Hogg, 2002; Anshel, 2010). However, up till this point, no study has actually attempted to link culture to coping strategies of athletes. In this study we explored the links between country, type of sport, gender, Hofstede's (1994) five cultural dimensions and athletes coping strategies. One hundred and twenty-six Australian and Dutch athletes (mean age 16,72 years; s=3,35) completed a survey containing the Brief COPE (Carver,1997) and an adapted version of the Value Survey Module (VSM-94, Hofstede 1994). Results showed that a combination of country, type of sport and gender influenced the use of problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidance coping strategies of athletes. Furthermore, some of Hofstede's five cultural dimensions valued by the athletes predicted the use of coping strategies. Lastly, results showed that athletes valued some of Hofstede's five cultural dimensions differently; Australian athletes valued short-term goals higher than Dutch athletes, individual athletes valued group results higher than team athletes and female athletes valued power distance higher than did their male counterparts. The results suggest that coping strategies of athletes are influenced by a number of interacting factors, a very important factor being culture. Coping, therefore, is a far more complex construct than previous research has suggested.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Pepping, G.J. and Human Movement Science University of Groningen
Supervisor name:	Grove, P.R. and University of Western Australia and Sport Science, Exercise and Health
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 11:05
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 11:05
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2514

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