Stressful experiences among six certification levels of ice hockey officials

doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.06.003

Psychology of Sport and Exercise

Volume 8, Issue 4, July 2007, Pages 585-593

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2006.06.003 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

While many studies have examined the sources of stress that sports officials encounter, this study represents an exploration into the influence that certification level has on the sources and intensity of ice hockey officials’ experiences of stressful events.

Methods

Participants were 421 officials from six certification levels of Canadian ice hockey. The 15-item Hockey Officials Sources of Stress Inventory (HOSSI) was developed and content validated for this study.

Results

Overall, the intensity of the stressors identified was moderate. The three events consistently among the top five rated stressors across certification level were making a controversial call, difficulty working with a partner official, and confrontation with coaches. Further examination of the subscales of verbal and physical abuse and fear of mistakes by means of a MANCOVA (using age and officiating experience as covariates) showed significant differences to exist among certification level for each subscale, F(10,786)=5.175, p<0.0001 and F(10,786)=7.546, p<0.0001, respectively.

Conclusions

Results indicate that officials in the lowest level of the officiating ranks (level 1) experience less stress than the other levels of officiating. Also, levels 1 and 6 officials experience more stress from fear of mistakes than from abusive events. These findings suggest that intervention programs need to be cognisant of the differences in the stressful experiences based upon certification levels.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants in the study consisted of 421 ice hockey officials (408 males, 13 females) from three Canadian Centers. Hockey Canada runs programs through their provincial branches that certify individuals as officials from levels 1 to 6. Level 1 is the introductory stage and officials obtaining this certification usually officiate games up to the PeeWee level (ages 12 and 13). Officials with levels 5 and 6 certification usually officiate games at the major junior and international levels. As

Demographics

Gender: As stated previously, the participants in this study were 421 male and female Canadian ice hockey officials certified by Hockey Canada from levels 1 to 6. Responses were obtained from only 13 female officials (3.1%), thus gender issues were not examined. All further analyses have combined the responses of both male and female officials.

Age: The mean age of the entire sample was 26.2 years ( $SD = 11.42$ years). The youngest participating official was 11 years of age, while the oldest was 60

Discussion

While the findings of this study regarding the low to moderate levels of stress perceived by officials is similar to the majority of studies examining officials’ perceptions of stress cited earlier, this study further advances the knowledge base regarding officials by exploring perceptions of stress across certification levels. In terms of the individual stressors themselves, it was found that three events (making a controversial call, difficulty in working with a partner official, and

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from Hockey Canada. We wish to thank Lee Jones and Kris Johnson for their assistance in data collection.

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View full text

Stressful experiences among six certification levels of ice hockey officials

Abstract

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Participants

Demographics

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Sources of acute stress in American and Australian basketball referees

Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

Perceived stress, burnout, coping styles, and intentions to terminate among Canadian squash officials

The Squash Official

Soccer referees’ experience of threat and aggression: Effects of age, experience, and life orientation on outcome of coping strategy

Aggressive Behavior

Intramural ice hockey officiating: A case study

Avante

Perceived stressors for football and volleyball officials from three rating levels

Journal of Sport Behavior

Sources of and responses to acute stress in adult and adolescent Australian basketball referees

Australian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport

Sources, intensity, and responses to stress in Greek and Australian basketball referees

International Journal of Sport Psychology

Magnitude of stress experienced by baseball and softball umpires

Perceptual and Motor Skills

Sources of stress among baseball and softball umpires

Journal of Applied Sport Psychology

Stress, burnout, and intention to terminate among umpires

Journal of Sport Behavior