The Effects of Academic Stress on Force Output
Poster Number
28
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Courtney Jensen
Faculty Mentor Department
Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences
Abstract/Artist Statement
Student athletes must perform both on the field and in the classroom. Balancing these demands often results in considerable stress, which may have consequences on performance. While the burden of athletic commitments on student scholarship is a major concern, the question is seldom asked the other way around: How is athletic performance affected by scholastic responsibilities? We sought to answer this question in a group of recreationally active undergraduate students at a private D1 university in Northern California. We enrolled 23 students in a protocol that evaluated both psychological stress and skeletal muscle performance at two different points in the semester. Stress was measured by a previously-validated 10-item questionnaire designed to assess degree of current stress and ability to cope. Muscle performance was measured with a Cybex Humac Norm dynamometer system. Multiple linear regression analyses tested the effect of psychological stress on muscle function. We found elevations in scholastic stress to correlate with an improvement in muscle performance (p=0.004).
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
30-4-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
30-4-2016 12:00 PM
The Effects of Academic Stress on Force Output
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Student athletes must perform both on the field and in the classroom. Balancing these demands often results in considerable stress, which may have consequences on performance. While the burden of athletic commitments on student scholarship is a major concern, the question is seldom asked the other way around: How is athletic performance affected by scholastic responsibilities? We sought to answer this question in a group of recreationally active undergraduate students at a private D1 university in Northern California. We enrolled 23 students in a protocol that evaluated both psychological stress and skeletal muscle performance at two different points in the semester. Stress was measured by a previously-validated 10-item questionnaire designed to assess degree of current stress and ability to cope. Muscle performance was measured with a Cybex Humac Norm dynamometer system. Multiple linear regression analyses tested the effect of psychological stress on muscle function. We found elevations in scholastic stress to correlate with an improvement in muscle performance (p=0.004).