Suchergebnisse

Purpose: Previous research has championed sport as a form of recovery for military veterans. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research on military veterans' experiences of international sporting competitions. The aim of this study was to explore military veterans' experiences of participation at the 2016 Invictus Games. Methods: Fifteen military veterans (10 male, 5 female) who participated in the 2016 Invictus Games were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore experiences pre, during, and post-competition, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Results: Three overarching themes were identified: Sources of motivation consisted of a range of veteran specific motives for getting involved with and continuing participation with the Games. Team and culture stressors encapsulated organizational demands related to the attitudes and behaviors of a sports team operating within the context of the Invictus Games. Impact of the games comprised veterans' perceptions of positive and negative consequences of being involved with the Games. Conclusions: The study provides insight into the multitude of motives military veterans have for engaging in sport, whilst also demonstrating the novel organizational demands that veteran athletes encounter. The findings also offer preliminary insight regarding the impact of the Games and the potential for psychoeducation program implementation to support athletes post-Games.Implications for Rehabilitation The Invictus Games were created for military veterans to use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and generate wider understanding and respect. Findings highlight that military veterans have unique motives to compete at the Invictus Games, including "reconnection with previously military life" and "being a role model". Whilst veterans encounter team and culture organizational stressors while competing, they share similar post-Games experiences to full-time athletes, including the concept of "post-games blues". Experiences shared by military veterans at the Invictus Games can aid in the promotion of sport as a viable form of recovery. Primary and secondary stress management strategies should be implemented with military veterans to reduce organizational stressors and their responses to them. Psychoeducation programmes should be introduced pre-Games to better prepare military veterans for their post-Games experience.

This study explored patterns of change in stress variables (i.e., stressors, appraisals, emotions) encountered by wounded, injured, and sick military veterans in the build up to, during, and following an international sporting competition. The study also examined interactions between psychosocial variables and salivary biomarkers of stress and how these relate to veterans' health, well-being, illness, and performance. 40 Invictus Games (IG) athletes and a control group of 20 military veteran athletes completed questionnaires at seven time points over a 12-week period. Furthermore, participants provided morning and evening saliva samples at four time points to measure cortisol and secretory immunoglobulin A. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed significant changes in growth trajectories of stress-related variables. For example, team and culture stressors and anger and dejection emotions significantly increased in the build up to competition, whilst challenge appraisals and excitement and happiness emotions significantly decreased over the same time-frame. A number of the stress related variables also predicted performance, well-being, and mental health. Specifically, organizational stressors and threat appraisals were found to negatively relate to performance, well-being, and mental health. Furthermore, whilst challenge appraisals and problem focused coping positively related to veterans' well-being, adopting emotion-focused and avoidance coping strategies negatively predicted well-being and mental health. Turning to emotions, experiencing anger, anxiety, and dejection negatively related to mental health, well-being and performance; whereas happiness and excitement displayed a positive relationship with these outcomes. The findings also highlighted that organizational stressor intensity was positively related to cortisol exposure at competition. To conclude, this study not only provides a novel, longitudinal, interdisciplinary insight into psychological and biological markers of the stress response as it ...