Coping strategies, perception of sport risk and satisfaction with life in men and women practicing extreme sports

Background: ‪Few studies concern strategies for coping with stress in people who practice extreme sports. The goal of the current work is to analyse the relationships between strategies for coping with stress used by male and female extreme athletes, perception of threat associated with their sport, and their satisfaction with life. Material and methods: ‪The sample consisted of 144 athletes, 55 females and 89 males, who have practiced extreme sports for at least 2 years. Participants completed the Brief COPE questionnaire, the SWLS questionnaire, and a survey to collect sociodemographic data and information about participants’ perceptions of threats associated with their sport discipline. Student’s t-test, r-Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed. Results: ‪Significant relationships were found between the use of certain strategies for coping with stress and the assessment of risks associated with extreme sports in both men and women. Only in the case of men were relationships observed between the coping strategies used and satisfaction with life. Women were more likely to use emotional and instrumental support and less likely to use humor then men. Conclusions: ‪Strategies for coping with stress are associated with risk assessment and, among men, with sense of satisfaction with life.