IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/qualqt/v59y2025i4d10.1007_s11135-025-02142-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Coping strategies for ruminative thoughts in athletes: exploring diverse perspectives through Q methodology

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmet Yavuz Karafil

    (Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Universty Sports Science Faculty/Sports Management Departmant)

  • Emirhan Pehlivan

    (Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Universty Rectorate Physical Education Department)

Abstract

A variety of factors impact athletic performance, with psychological states being particularly important. Among these, rumination, defined as persistent, recurrent negative thoughts, appears as a key barrier to obtaining peak performance. Effectively controlling these ruminative thoughts is critical for athletes’ physiological and psychological well-being, as well as the longevity of their athletic careers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how athletes cope with ruminative ideas. The study used Q methodology, which combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, to select 30 athletes who had experienced negative experiences during their careers. Participants were chosen using a snowball sampling approach. Principal component analysis was used to identify relevant variables in participant replies and produce Z scores. The study identified five key coping mechanisms used by athletes to control ruminative thoughts: cognitive, belief-based, social, physical, and behavioral techniques. In-depth interviews shed light on the reasoning behind these tactics and their perceived success in reducing negative thoughts. Understanding and treating ruminative thoughts with these diverse types of coping mechanisms can significantly improve sports performance. By combining cognitive, belief-based, social, physical, and behavioral techniques, athletes may protect their psychological well-being while also improving their overall performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmet Yavuz Karafil & Emirhan Pehlivan, 2025. "Coping strategies for ruminative thoughts in athletes: exploring diverse perspectives through Q methodology," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(4), pages 3805-3826, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:59:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11135-025-02142-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11135-025-02142-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11135-025-02142-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11135-025-02142-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuri Mishina & Timothy G. Pollock & Joseph F. Porac, 2004. "Are more resources always better for growth? Resource stickiness in market and product expansion," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(12), pages 1179-1197, December.
    2. Oliver Weigelt & Petra Gierer & Christine J. Syrek, 2019. "My Mind is Working Overtime—Towards an Integrative Perspective of Psychological Detachment, Work-Related Rumination, and Work Reflection," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-27, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Baier-Fuentes, Hugo & Andrade-Valbuena, Nelson A. & Huertas Gonzalez-Serrano, Maria & Gaviria-Marin, Magaly, 2023. "Bricolage as an effective tool for the survival of owner-managed SMEs during crises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Church, Bryan K. & Kuang, Xi (Jason) & Liu, Yuebing (Sarah), 2019. "The effects of measurement basis and slack benefits on honesty in budget reporting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 74-84.
    3. Malen, Joel, 2015. "Motivating And Enabling Firm Innovation Effort: Integrating Penrosian And Behavioral Theory Perspectives On Slack Resources," Hitotsubashi Journal of commerce and management, Hitotsubashi University, vol. 49(1), pages 37-54, October.
    4. Uyar, Ali & Lodh, Suman & Nandy, Monomita & Kuzey, Cemil & Karaman, Abdullah S., 2023. "Tradeoff between corporate investment and CSR: The moderating effect of financial slack, workforce slack, and board gender diversity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Tim Heubeck & Annina Ahrens, 2025. "Governing the Responsible Investment of Slack Resources in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Performance: How Beneficial are CSR Committees?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(2), pages 365-385, May.
    6. Oliver Weigelt & J. Charlotte Seidel & Lucy Erber & Johannes Wendsche & Yasemin Z. Varol & Gerald M. Weiher & Petra Gierer & Claudia Sciannimanica & Richard Janzen & Christine J. Syrek, 2023. "Too Committed to Switch Off—Capturing and Organizing the Full Range of Work-Related Rumination from Detachment to Overcommitment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-29, February.
    7. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Donbesuur, Francis & Ahsan, Mujtaba & Danso, Albert & Uddin, Moshfique, 2022. "Strategic agility of SMEs in emerging economies: Antecedents, consequences and boundary conditions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    8. Sulu Zhu & Pengqun Gao & Zhen Tang & Ming Tian, 2022. "The Research Venation Analysis and Future Prospects of Organizational Slack," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Michael Sheppard, 2020. "The relationship between discretionary slack and growth in small firms," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 195-219, March.
    10. Ciprian Stan & Mike Peng & Garry Bruton, 2014. "Slack and the performance of state-owned enterprises," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 473-495, June.
    11. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2013. "Like milk or wine: Does firm performance improve with age?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 173-189.
    12. Linda Edelman & Helena Yli–Renko, 2010. "The Impact of Environment and Entrepreneurial Perceptions on Venture-Creation Efforts: Bridging the Discovery and Creation Views of Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(5), pages 833-856, September.
    13. Briance Mascarenhas, 2012. "The International Specialist Strategy: Financial Funding and Deployment," Multinational Finance Journal, Multinational Finance Journal, vol. 16(1-2), pages 87-103, March - J.
    14. Vivien Lefebvre, 2024. "Looking at the relationship between growth and profitability: the role of cost stickiness as a strategic liability," Post-Print hal-04585956, HAL.
    15. Ajay Agrawal & Christian Catalini & Avi Goldfarb & Hong Luo, 2018. "Slack Time and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1056-1073, December.
    16. Wang, Xinchun, 2024. "Does CEO temporal myopia always lead to firm short-termism? The critical role of CEO optimism and perceived opportunity costs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    17. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Horstkotte, Julian, 2013. "Performance effects of international expansion processes: The moderating role of top management team experiences," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 259-277.
    18. Ref, Ohad, 2015. "The relationship between product and geographic diversification: A fine-grained analysis of its different patterns," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 83-99.
    19. Barry L. Bayus & Rajshree Agarwal, 2007. "The Role of Pre-Entry Experience, Entry Timing, and Product Technology Strategies in Explaining Firm Survival," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(12), pages 1887-1902, December.
    20. Bradley, Steven W. & Wiklund, Johan & Shepherd, Dean A., 2011. "Swinging a double-edged sword: The effect of slack on entrepreneurial management and growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 537-554, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:59:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s11135-025-02142-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.