TYPE D PERSONALITY AND SENSE OF COHERENCE AMONG FEMALE POLISH NATIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS

Background
The popularity of soccer, including women's soccer, continues to grow. The training of females requires the development of standards different from those in men's soccer. Professionalization is necessary, including adequate mental preparation.

Material and methods
A total of 35 female Polish national soccer players participated in the study. This study used Polish versions of two standardized questionnaires (DS14, SOC-29), and a questionnaire developed by the authors. The authors evaluated type D personalities and their correlations with psychological resources or the ability to manage them, i.e., with the sense of coherence.

Results
The obtained results, when compared to the results of standardization studies, are at the average level. Moreover, the detailed analysis of negative emotionality (NE) and social inhibition (SI) indices allowed us to identify type D personalities in 7 (20%) out of 35 subjects. These individuals scored more than 10 points on each of these scales.

Conclusions
The analyses have given rise to some alarming conclusions. One in five female Polish national soccer players has a type D personality. Female players with this diagnosis have a significantly lower sense of coherence. Moreover, it has been proven that there is a significant correlation between sense of coherence and the dimensions of type D personalities. These results suggest that interventions as well as educational measures to strengthen one’s psychological resources and improve one’s coping with difficult situations or stress should be taken.