The Effects Of Stress And Anxiety

Introduction

Men and women experience stress and anxiety in many different ways in everyday life and in their respective sport. Anxiety is described as, “a negative response to a stimulus that includes both physiological (somatic) and psychological (cognitive) components”, while stress is described as, “a substantial imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet the demand has important consequences” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011, p. 20). Taking a look into what are some of those differences and why they effect women and men differently is a key aspect of this review. This literature review examines relevant studies in the psychological field by reviewing the empirical studies conducted on the relationships

Kerr and Multon (2015) state in their research that, “gender roles as described as, role is the set of characteristics prescribed by a culture and communicated through direct communication and through media” (Wood, 2012). Having society delegate how men and women should react to certain instances and in the context how they react to stress and anxiety is one thing that is a major concept. As stated by, Caballo et al. (2014), Girls and boys may be educated with different gender roles right from the start. From the beginning men and women are taught to act a certain way and based off these specific gender roles they are expected to act in a certain way. Society has put in place how and what they deem is acceptable for men and women and if one divvies away from those social constraints they are accepted in society which would cause a person to stress and become anxious. Asztalos et al (2012) found that, women generally are expected to play multiple roles at one time may incline women to constantly strive to measure up to others. Having such pressure can turn into stress and as a female athlete is once again expected to live up to those expectations set forth by society. According to Asztalos et al (2012), “Men were socially conditioned and taught to be assertive, combative, and disconnected, and, as a result, the majority of men choose to