Group Cohesiveness, Mood Disturbance, and Stress in Female Basketball Players

This investigation examined the relationship of group cohesion to mood disturbance, stress, and athletic performance in a female collegiate basketball team. Twenty players from a Division I college basketball team were administered a battery ofself-reportquestionnaires, including the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), the Profile of Mood States (POMS), and the Social and Athletic Readjustment Rating Scale (SARRS). Significant results were observed in relation to the Group Integration-Task (GI-T) and Group Integration-Social (GI-S) subscales of the GEQ. Participants perceiving high GI-T were less depressed, less confused, and showed less total mood disturbance on the POMS. Individuals reporting high GI-S experienced less personal, academic, coaching, sport, and injury-related stress, and subjects scoring high on GI-T or GI-S subscales reported lower levels of total stress as measured by the SARRS.