title: A Reciprocal Effects Model of the Temporal Ordering of Coping and Defenses.
abstract: This study aimed to examine how coping and defenses are related over time, using a two-wave cross-lagged panel design. Coping and defenses were assessed before and after a sport competition in a sample of 296 competitive athletes. Partial least squares path modeling results showed that (a) pre-competitive mature defenses predicted increases in the use of task-oriented coping during competition; (b) pre-competitive immature defenses predicted an increase in the use of disengagement-oriented coping during competition; and (c) pre-competitive task-oriented coping predicted an increase in the use of immature defenses during competition. Overall, our findings suggest that defenses predict the use of coping and conversely, that coping predicts the use of defenses in psychological adjustment to stressful situations. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Socio Psychology and Management of Sport, SPMS (EA 4180), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.affiliation: Psychotherapy Process Research Group, ECP-McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drapeau
authors.affiliation: Center of Research and Innovation in Sport, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martinent
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adaptation; coping, defenses; structural equation modeling; temporal ordering