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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1521290
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards a Psychophysiological Approach in Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sports-Volume IV View all 7 articles

Associations between subjective and objective measures of stress and load: an insight from 45-week prospective study in 189 elite athletes

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Institute of Kinesiology, Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 2 Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway
  • 3 Norwegian National Unit for sensory loss and mental health, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Nordland, Norway
  • 4 Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 5 Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • 6 Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, South Moravia, Czechia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction To investigate the associations between subjective and objective measures of stress and load in elite male handball players at both the group and individual levels. Methods In this 45-week prospective cohort study, 189 elite male handball players weekly reported their perceived stress and load across training, competition, academic, and work domains. Blood samples were collected five times during the 2022/23 season to measure cortisol and the free testosterone to cortisol ratio (FTCR). We derived a “load” variable as the sum of training, competition, academic and work hours and calculated acute, chronic, and acute-to-chronic ratio variables for both load and stress. Associations between subjective and objective measures were analysed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results Weak to moderate positive associations were found between load and perceived stress (r=0.19 to 0.46, p<0.001), and between perceived stress and cortisol (r=0.10, p=0.023). Weak negative associations were found between perceived stress and FTCR (r=-0.18 to -0.20, p<0.001) and between load and FTCR (r=-0.13, p=0.003). A total of 86% of athletes had positive associations between stress and load (47% weak, 34% moderate, 5% high); 78% between stress and cortisol (27% weak, 22% moderate, 29% high); and 63% demonstrated negative associations between FTCR and load (18% weak, 32% moderate, 13% high). Conclusion This study highlights the complexity between subjective and objective measures of stress and load in athletes. Understanding the link between these measures may help coaches and sports scientists streamline athlete monitoring. In cases where moderate to strong associations exist, subjective measures might serve as a reliable substitute for objective ones, making the monitoring process more time- and cost-efficient.

    Keywords: stress, subjective perception, training load, Academic load, weekly athlete monitoring, cortisol

    Received: 01 Nov 2024; Accepted: 31 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Drole, Doupona, Steffen, Jerin and Paravlic. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kristina Drole, Institute of Kinesiology, Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia

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