Faculty Advisor: Sandra Owen, Professional Education Faculty

Time Stress Factors and Alcohol Use In College Cheerleaders Collaborative Action Project
Submitted by Shannon Jones

In fulfillment of the Masters in HPE

Department of Kinesiology and Health

Georgia State University

Summer, 2002

Table of Contents

Title 1

Table on contents 2

Introduction 3-4

Review of Literature 5-8

Methods and Discussion 9-24

Conclusion 25-26

References 27-28

Appendices

Consent to Participate Form

Alcohol use Survey

Stress Survey

Introduction

College athletes are faced with stress from high expectations of athletic and academic excellence. Trying to meet paper deadlines, complete assigned course readings, participate in athletics, and work part-time, college athletes may feel there is not enough time to complete all their duties adequately (Gall, 1988). Such stress escalates for scholarship supported athletes and athletes in highly competitive sports.

Competitive college cheerleading requires individual gymnastic skill, teamwork, extensive practice and precision timing. This competitive sport creates time stressors among school, family, and personal responsibilities. Scheduled practice, performance at athletic events, and travel to national competitions compete with class attendance, study time, work, family responsibilities, and personal social time. The cheerleader is soon overwhelmed and senses a loss of control in effectively managing time.

Time management includes the personal application of related practical skills effective in prioritizing and organizing daily tasks and responsibilities. Time management helps the individual to reduce stress by being more in control of his/her time, being more productive, and thus having more quality time to relax and enjoy life (Macan, Shahani, Dipboye & Phillips, 1990). Poor time management creates a conflict between having too many tasks/responsibilities and not enough time for personal activities (Schuler, 1979). Ineffective time management increases ones stress level and subsequently increases ones vulnerability to health risk behaviors including the abuse of alcohol.

In response to perceived stress, the body mobilizes behavioral changes to cope with the stress. Some studies have demonstrated that stress may influence drinking when alcohol is accessible, and when the individual believes that the alcohol will help to reduce the stress (Sadava & Pak, 1993; Brady, 1999). College students who are away from home and family/friend support systems are most vulnerable to using alcohol to reduce stress (Volpicelli, 1987; Pohorecky, 1991).

The purpose of this Collaborative Action Project is to identify the major time stress factors for a selected group of college cheerleaders and to determine change in alcohol behavior after a seven week time management intervention.

The research questions include:

1. What is/are the most frequently reported time management stressor(s) for the selected sample? (Descriptive statistics,

frequency).

2. Does the centralized time management training change initial time

management stressors?(pre-post, paired T test) Which stressor

was most effected?(Descriptive, percent change)

3. Does a post test change in alcohol behavior occur with a post test

change in time management stressors?

Review of Literature

Leichliter (1998) identified alcohol as the most widely used drug on American college campuses. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, each year college students spend 5.5 billion dollars on alcohol, drinking an average of 4 billion cans of beer annually. Nearly half of all students who use alcohol report performing poorly on assigned projects/tests and earning lower overall grade point averages. One third of students report missing class due to alcohol use. Twenty eight percent of college students who drop out of school do so because of alcohol use.

College athletes are at higher risk for maladaptive behaviors including unsafe sex, gambling, and drug and alcohol use (Nattiv, 1999; Weiss, 1999). The conventional notion on college campuses has been that student athletes are at much less risk for alcohol use than the general student body. Shelby (1998) however, has documented alcohol use as the major maladaptive behavior among college athletes. A national study of college athletes conducted by Michigan State University indicated a prevalence rate of alcohol use of nearly 90% for college athletes compared to 83.5% for the general college population. A linear relationship exists between increasing levels of involvement in athletics by both male and female athletes and their greater quantity and frequency of alcohol use. Students involved in athletics were also twice as likely than non-athletes to be involved with binge drinking (Wechsler, 1997 ; Leichliter, 1998; Coakley, 1998).

Stress is considered a major contributor to the initiation and continuation of alcohol use (Brady, 1999; Flynn, 1998; Sayette, 1999). Research has indicated that student athletes are more likely to perceive higher levels of stress from their environment (Hudd, 2000). Individuals with social and aggressive personalities (traits typical of competitive athletes) are most likely to drink in response to stress (Sayette, 1999). Pressure from coaches and teammates to perform flawlessly during the competitive season places the college athlete at high risk for stress and subsequent alcohol use (Shelby, 1998). College athletes who use alcohol to deal with their stress, continue this pattern into adulthood (Perkins 1999).

The risk for stress related alcohol use is associated with athletes' perception of lack of control of their time (Macan, 1990). College athletes are heavily subject to time management stress due to time constraints. They are faced with stress from high expectations of athletic and academic excellence. Trying to meet paper deadlines, complete assigned course readings, participate in athletics, and work part-time, college athletes may feel there is not enough time to complete all of their duties adequately (Gall, 1988).

The most important relationship Macan found between time management and stress is the perceived control of time. A correlation and regression analysis revealed that having the feeling of control of the situation lowered the levels of stress (Macan, 1990). The correlation observed between self reported stress and time management behaviors reflected a casual relationship between the two. Time management stress frequently manifests itself when an individual consistently fails to complete tasks within a given time. Stress is produced because the individual has not met his/her achievement goal (Schuler, 1979). A person engaging more frequently in time management behaviors will report fewer symptoms of stress (Misra, 2000).

Competitive cheerleading is classified as a sport because of its requirements for strength, endurance, complex gymnastic skill, extensive stunting ability, and percision. The competitive sport of college cheerleading creates time stressors among school, family, and personal responsibilities. Scheduled practice, performance at athletic events and, travel to national competitions, compete with class attendance, study time, work, family responsibilities, and personal social time. Even in their off season of two months, cheerleaders must continue to practice on their own or in small groups to maintain and improve skill level for the next competitive season. The cheerleader is soon overwhelmed and senses a loss of control in effectively managing time. The proposed study trains a group of collegiate cheerleaders in a variety of time management skills.

Time management is the use of tactics and skills to make the most productive use of time and effort by prioritizing and organizing daily tasks and responsibilities (Cabell, 1998). Students who participate in time management seminars also engage more frequently in time management behaviors than those who had no prior training (Cabell, 1998).

The Time Management Behavior Scale developed and validated by Macan (1990) was adapted for this study. The original instrument was composed of four Factors and 46 items. The four Factors included: Factor 1- Setting Goals and Priorities; Factor 2- Planning and Scheduling; Factor 3- Perceived Control of Time; and Factor 4- Preference for Disorganization. Factor 3 was selected as the major portion of the survey for this study because Macan found "Perceived Control of Time" significantly correlated with all eight outcome variables of the Time Management Behavior Scale.

The National College Alcohol Screening Survey and additional items developed by Owen for Georgia State University College Athletes (1994,2000) comprised the pre and post alcohol behavior survey for this study. Both surveys were combined into one assessment tool.

Cheerleading is a sport that demands an enormous amount of dedication and commitment. Cheerleaders are ideal candidates for time management stress research including relationships to alcohol use. These athletes are pulled in many directions with their time. How the student athlete perceives his/her control of time has an effect on the stress he/she feels (Macan, 1990). Alcohol use and abuse and stress are major factors in their lives.

Methods

1- What is/are the most frequently reported time management stressor(s) for the selected sample? (Descriptive statistics,

frequency).

2- Does the centralized time management training change initial time

management stressors?(pre-post, paired T test) Which stressor

was most effected?(Descriptive, percent change)

3- Does a post test change in alcohol behavior occur with a post test

change in time management stressors?

Sample Selection:

An available cluster sample of 31 undergraduate competitive college cheerleaders comprised the study sample. The sample size of 31 is sufficient for a .05 one tailed with an estimated effect size of one and ninety eight percent power (Lipsey,1990). These cheerleaders represent a University in the State of Georgia University system. This University has an enrollment of 8,670. The Co-ed cheerleading squad won the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) National College championship and the All-girl cheerleading squad placed third.

Seventy six percent of the sample was female and 24% was male. The age range was 18-24 years of age. Fifty two percent were freshmen, 18% were sophomores, 15% were juniors, and 15% were seniors. Forty nine percent of the cheerleaders reported living on campus, thirty two percent reported living off campus while only nineteen percent reported living at home with parents.

Context and Setting:

This study was conducted July-November, 2001. A pilot administration of the two selected study surveys was conducted in July. Reliability coefficient for the pilot survey administration was .56. Approximately sixty minutes was required for the administration of both surveys. The pilot test demonstrated that syntax of the survey items was clear.

Pre-tests (Time Management Survey and Alcohol Use Survey) were administered in July, 2001, to all 31 cheerleaders. Immediately prior to survey administration, cheerleaders signed and returned a consent form to participate in the study. Sixty minutes of cheerleading practice time was devoted to surveying the cheerleaders in a gym setting. Survey responses were anonymous and the identity of the athletes remained confidential.

Pre test reliability for this sample on the Time Management Survey was .55 and on the Alcohol Behavior Survey, .53.

The Time Management Training Intervention occurred for seven weeks (September 24-November 9). Intervention included four thirty- minute sessions followed by one to two weeks of student application. The post-tests were administered in November, one week following the completion of the fourth intervention. Post-testing occurred in the same gym setting as the pre-testing. Post-test reliability for this sample on the Time Management Survey was .4 and on the Alcohol Behavior Survey, was .7.

Research Design:

The design of this study is a quasi-experimental Design 3(Mohr,1992), before-after (X T Y). The three threats to internal validity for this model include: history, selection, and contamination. Since the sample is an available cluster, one cannot generalize to the population. The threat of history was minimal since all cheerleaders were in the same academic environment. The threat of selection is non-existent because no comparison group was used. The threat of contamination was minimal because all cheerleaders were exposed to the same intervention at the same time.

Threats to external validity for this model mainly concern how safely researchers can replicate the results. Since the group setting, time, and type of intervention are explicitly explained in this study, replication by others is facilitated.

Pre-test Findings:

Findings from the pre-test determined the four interventions used in this study. Interventions correlated to those variables with the highest pre-test reliability on the Time Management Survey. Table one lists the four variables.

Table One: Pre-test Findings:

Variable / Percent / Reliability
I tend to take on too many tasks at once. / 81% / .52
I feel overwhelmed by responsibilities put upon me. / 76% / .54
I don't feel I have control of my time. / 64% / .41
I have difficulty refusing requests made of my time. / 60% / .59

Seven Week Intervention:

Intervention approaches were selected from time management materials developed by Mind Tools Limited. The sequence established for the four interventions was determined by whether the variable was an external or internal factor. The first intervention was an external factor while the remaining three were internal factors.

Intervention 1:

The first intervention was conducted during weeks one and two. It was targeted to the external variable, “I feel overwhelmed by responsibilities put upon me”. This intervention used the 80/20 rule (Schuler,1979). Many individuals use 80 percent of their time and effort to only complete 20 percent of their tasks. The intervention helped the group to focus on priority tasks by negotiating "goodness of fit" of additional responsibility placed upon them. "Goodness of fit" was determined by the use of a four-quadrant approach. Table two outlines the four quadrants.

Table Two: Four-Quadrant Approach

Quadrant I- High Urgency/High Importance (can't negotiate, must do) / Quadrant II- Low Urgency/High Importance (negotiate a change in due date)
Quadrant III High Urgency/Low Importance (do after you finish everything else) / Quadrant IV Low Urgency/Low Importance (discard)

During the Four-Quadrant Intervention, subjects were asked to classify their daily activities into the four quadrants. The purpose of this intervention was to assist the group in focusing on tasks classified in quadrants one and two before completing tasks in quadrant three. It also identified tasks to be discarded (quadrant four).

Intervention One: Group classifications

Quadrant I- High Need / High Importance

N=31 Graph denotes number of responses

Activities of greatest frequency are shown

Quadrant II- High Importance / Low Urgency