Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Sex Differences In The Effects Of Cortisol On Muscle Characteristics: A Meta-Analysis, Natalie Bitetti

CMC Senior Theses

Background: Cortisol plays a central role in both muscle breakdown and growth. These effects are highly dependent on dose and interactions with other hormones. It is known that men and women show considerable differences in their muscle structure and physiology, which are largely driven by hormonal differences. Cortisol release patterns may also vary between the sexes, with current research showing considerable disagreement. The interplay between cortisol and muscle, two highly variable and sexually dimorphic factors, may prove to have different effects in males versus females.

Objective: This meta-analysis integrates existing research on sex differences in cortisol-muscle physiology with existing research …

Recovery Perceptions And Techniques Of Ultramarathon Runners, Denise Howard

Doctorate in Kinesiology

Ultramarathons have become increasingly popular over the last few decades. Ultramarathons are run on various terrains in different climates and are extremely distressing physiologically and psychologically. Recovery is crucial to restore physiological and psychological functioning yet is underappreciated. Compared to other sports, research related to ultra-endurance is limited, and a gap in research exists on effective recovery modalities and duration for ultrarunners. This study aimed to examine ultrarunners' practice and perceptions regarding recovery techniques and duration. An electronic survey designed for this study collected participants' perceptions about recovery and included physiological and psychological recovery factors. A total of 159 ultrarunners …

Mental Health Among D1 Female College Athletes: Prevalance And Links To Athletic And Academic Performance, Mary Goebel

Honors Theses

Background. NCAA Division I female student-athletes are underrepresented in mental health research; existing research among female athletes tends to focus only on disordered eating and body appearance. This study aims to 1) describe the prevalence of mental health issues (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) among female Division I college athletes, and 2) assess the association between mental health issues and the student-athlete experience (i.e., athletic and academic performance).

Methods. This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study that used a self-administered online survey. The participants were NCAA Division I female student-athletes, mainly from the University of Mississippi. Demographics and sample characteristics were …

Stress Among Ncaa Division Ii Head Coaches, Dee Gerlach

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify factors that create stress among head coaches at the National Association Athletic Association Division II level. Data was collected through a demographic questionnaire and the Coaching Issues Survey (CIS), a tool used to measure specific factors that may create stress among coaches. The factors of the CIS include four subscales: Athlete-Concerns, Time-Role, Program-Success, and Win-Loss. Participants (N=416) consisted of head coaches representing the following sports: baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s and women’s golf, softball, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s tennis. The independent variables for this …

The Effects Of Generalized Stress And Anxiety On Clinical Athletic Training Students: A Qualitative Study, Morgan E. Dumont

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Stress and anxiety are present and acknowledged on our society as seven out of 10 United States adults deal with moderate stress or anxiety on a daily basis (Beiter et al., 2015). Sport research has primarily focused on student-athletes, how they struggle, and the resources that can be provided to help this population cope and manage their stress. However, there is lack of research about stress and anxiety among those individuals who provide the care to student-athletes, specifically the athletic training students within their clinical assignments. Athletic training students lead similar schedules to student-athletes by devoting time to prepare for …

Effects Of Heat Stress And Exercise On Shooting Performance, Patrick R. Lindecker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise and acute heat stress on marksmanship performance measures of accuracy, precision, aim time, and distance travelled by the point of aim in trained US military veterans. Methods: Subjects (N=8) (height 184.1 ± 10.9 cm (SD), weight 92.1 ± 10.6 kg, 21.1 ± 8.9% body fat, VO_2max 47.25 ± 7.36 mL/kg/min, age 26.8 ± 4.3 yrs.) completed one-hour of walking at 50% VO_2max in a hot (35˚C, 30% maximal relative humidity) or cool (22˚C, 30% maximal relative humidity) environment. Core temperature, heart …

The Effects Of Stress On American Football Overhand Throw Accuracy, Cale Anderson

All NMU Master's Theses

The American overhand football throw is a highly scrutinized position because of all the different kinds of stress both physical and psychological that are put onto those players. The current study sought to develop a formula using psycho-emotional and physical variables to predict the performance of an American overhand football throw under stressful/non-stress situations. Participants were tested on two days. The stress situation is where tennis balls were thrown, and the subject did not know where they were going to throw. The non-stressed was a 3 step drop without knowing what target they were throwing at and these conditions were …

Relationship Of The Srss Questionnaire With Physiological And Performance Measures, Alec Perkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall purpose of this thesis was to validate the SRSS questionnaire. This was accomplished by conducting a single investigation using eleven well-trained weightlifters with at least one year of competition experience. These weightlifters completed five testing sessions over the course of five microcycles leading up to a competition. Every testing session took place on Monday morning prior to regular training and included: hydration testing, SRSS questionnaire, blood draws followed by a standardized warm-up protocol and squat jumps (SJ) with 0kg and 20kg. While the majority of SRSS recovery and stress items did not change with changes in VL or …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Eating Disorders And Associated Risk Factors In Division I Student-Athletes, Nicole Court-Menendez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

CONTEXT: Eating disorders represent a significant concern across multiple populations including collegiate athletes. Risk factors for eating disorders may be amplified in athletes because of internal and external performance and image expectations. Little is known about how these risk factors change over time in collegiate student-athletes.
OBJECTIVE: To longitudinally examine select eating disorder risk factors in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I student-athletes.
DESIGN: Descriptive longitudinal study.
SETTING: NCAA Division I collegiate athletics.
PARTICIPANTS: Retired Division I collegiate athletes (n=204), ages 18-22, who competed in football, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, baseball, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and …

Relationship Of Stress, Sleep, Physical Activity, And Food Insecurity On Eating Behaviors And Obesity, Amy Lee Richards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an urgent need to find effective interventions to prevent and reduce obesity as it is associated with chronic disease and decreased quality of life. Gaining a better understanding of how modifiable variables such as stress, sleep, physical activity, and food insecurity are related to eating behaviors associated with obesity is essential to guide the direction of future interventions and research. Interventions that hold promise need to be tested to determine if they have merit or not. This dissertation presents three papers. Two papers are cross-sectional studies evaluating associations between eating behaviors, obesity, and modifiable variables (stress, sleep, physical …

Longitudinal Examination Of Perceived Stress And Depression Symptomology In Division I Student-Athletes, Bobby Daigle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

CONTEXT: Concussions are all too prevalent in amongst athletes. Concussions make up almost 5 percent of all collegiate athletic injuries. Concussions have been linked with many long lasting effects including depression and increased stress or anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: To longitudinally examine post-concussion depression and stress levels in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 athletes.

DESIGN: Descriptive longitudinal study.

SETTING: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate athletics.

PARTICIPANTS: Concussed and uninjured Division I collegiate athletes, ages 18-22, competing in football, women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and women’s track.

INTERVENTION(S): Participants completed the CES-D at baseline, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months …

Relationship Between Stress-Recovery State And Running Performance In Men's Collegiate Soccer, Nicholas A. Coker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between changes in running performance and the stress-recovery state in Division I collegiate soccer players. Methods: Running performance was evaluated in eight NCAA Division I male soccer players (179.39 ± 5.24 cm; 75.46 ± 5.98 kg; 20.37 ± 1.41 yrs.) over the course of 12 games during a single competitive season. The 12 games were divided into four blocks [B1(n=3), B2(n=3), B3(n=3), and B4(n=3)]. Running performance and game load were assessed using a wearable physiological harness and Global Positioning System (GPS) module. Game load, absolute distance, and distance covered …