GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMPETITIVE STRESS

Stress experienced in competitive basketball was investigated in a sam ple of 84 men and 49 women recruited from players engaged in regular, organized, competitive grade basketball. Subjects were administered th e Stressful Situations in Basketball Questionnaire which provides meas ures on 5 types of stress in competitive basketball. Analyses of gende r differences showed that men reported more stress than female players on the ''Team performance'' scale. Research is required to evaluate w hether this difference is due to a perception of women that they have less influence over the performance of the team or whether it is due t o men having a higher stake in the results of competition.