Percepción de eficacia de las estrategias de afrontamiento y bienestar psicológico en jóvenes tenistas de competición Efficacy perception of coping strategies and psychological well being in young tennis players of competitive level

The purpose of this research is to primarily analyze the effectiveness perception of coping strategies that young competitive tennis players use to cope with stressful situations derived from competitions; and, secondly to study the possible relationship with psychological well being, since according to several theories both concepts (Edwards, 1992; Fierro, 1997; Figueroa etal., 2005; Gottlieb y Rooney, 2004; Kirchner, 2003; Klaaren et al., 1994; Lazarus y Folkman, 1984; Parson et al.,1996), coping and well being are related. The sample was compounded by 26 male tennis players, mean age of 15, ranging from 13 to 16. Results obtained indicated that most effective coping strategies perceived were internal and emotional, against external and behavioral. Similarly, we did not obtain a signiicant relationship between athlete’s effectiveness perception of coping strategies and global psychological well being. Finally, these results are discussed and new research lines are proposed, such as the establishment of objective indicators of copying strategies eficacy, as much related to sport performance under stress conditions, as the athlete’s psychological well being.