Cortisol as an indicator for the effectiveness of intervention studies in sport

Publication: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution - Published abstract for conference with selection processResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Intervention studies targeting stress management are an essential part of sport psychological research, given that one of the most important goal of this field is to help athletes performing under pressure. The latest review on this topic (Rumbold, Flechter, & Daniels, 2012) shows that studies focused mainly on cognitive-behavioral multimodal programs, relaxation methods, or cognitive restructuring. Nevertheless, in order to define the effectiveness of the intervention this review focused on performance changes before and after the interventions as well as on self-reported measures like questionnaires. Such paper-pencil measures reflect only a limited part of the affective states experienced by athletes; therefore researchers recommend to take as well into account the neurophysiological dimension of affective states (Scherer, 2005). Consequently, we aim to expand the recent literature review of Rumbold and colleagues to intervention studies that assess neuroendocrine changes with a strong emphasis on cortisol assessments, since cortisol is recognized as being the major stress hormone (Filaire et al., 2001).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFrom Crisis to sustainable Well-Being. 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology. Paris (France). : ICAP 2014 Abstract
Number of pages1
Publication date2014
Publication statusPublished - 2014
EventInternational Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP) - Paris, France
Duration: 08.07.201413.07.2014
Conference number: 28

Citation