TY - JOUR
T1 - Cardiovascular stress reactions in recent- and long-retired rugby players when watching a game
AU - Howard, S.
AU - Fitzgerald, G.
AU - Gallagher, S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2020/5/15
Y1 - 2020/5/15
N2 - While hospital admissions for cardiac causes on a population level appear to rise when the national team is playing in a sporting fixture, little research has examined cardiovascular reactions in spectators watching a sporting event. In a sample of 41 male supporters of a rugby team, all of whom had played the sport themselves, cardiovascular levels and psychological ratings of stress and anxiety were measured pre- and post-match. Counterfactual thinking was also assessed. Mixed factorial ANOVA analyses showed that in supporters who had recently retired from playing, psychological ratings of stress and anxiety were significantly lower pre-match compared to those who had long-retired (all ps < 0.001). However, significant phase × player status interactions identified that systolic blood pressure, F(1, 39) = 13.93, p =.001, partial ƞ2 = 0.26, diastolic blood pressure, F(1,39) = 24.62, p <.001, partial η2 = 39, and heart rate, F(1, 39) = 23.02, p <.001, partial η2 = 0.37, increased significantly in recent-retired players compared to long-retired players, indicating that they found watching the match more stressful than the long-retired players. Furthermore, this effect was moderated by counterfactual thinking in recent-retired players only, where greater levels of counterfactual thinking was associated with greater cardiovascular reactivity. These findings confirm that watching a sporting fixture induces cardiovascular reactivity in spectators who recently retired from the sport, with counterfactual thinking a possible underlying pathway.
AB - While hospital admissions for cardiac causes on a population level appear to rise when the national team is playing in a sporting fixture, little research has examined cardiovascular reactions in spectators watching a sporting event. In a sample of 41 male supporters of a rugby team, all of whom had played the sport themselves, cardiovascular levels and psychological ratings of stress and anxiety were measured pre- and post-match. Counterfactual thinking was also assessed. Mixed factorial ANOVA analyses showed that in supporters who had recently retired from playing, psychological ratings of stress and anxiety were significantly lower pre-match compared to those who had long-retired (all ps < 0.001). However, significant phase × player status interactions identified that systolic blood pressure, F(1, 39) = 13.93, p =.001, partial ƞ2 = 0.26, diastolic blood pressure, F(1,39) = 24.62, p <.001, partial η2 = 39, and heart rate, F(1, 39) = 23.02, p <.001, partial η2 = 0.37, increased significantly in recent-retired players compared to long-retired players, indicating that they found watching the match more stressful than the long-retired players. Furthermore, this effect was moderated by counterfactual thinking in recent-retired players only, where greater levels of counterfactual thinking was associated with greater cardiovascular reactivity. These findings confirm that watching a sporting fixture induces cardiovascular reactivity in spectators who recently retired from the sport, with counterfactual thinking a possible underlying pathway.
KW - Blood pressure
KW - Cardiovascular reactivity
KW - Counterfactual thinking
KW - Habituation-sensitization
KW - Heart rate
KW - Spectators
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079518172&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112832
DO - 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.112832
M3 - Article
C2 - 32061679
AN - SCOPUS:85079518172
SN - 0031-9384
VL - 219
SP - 112832
JO - Physiology and Behavior
JF - Physiology and Behavior
M1 - 112832
ER -