Author(s): MURAKAMI, K., Institution: TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE, Country: JAPAN, Abstract-ID: 343

Introduction
Sports referees are responsible for ensuring that the competitive efforts of athletes occur within the rules of the game, and that match results are obtained fairly. Referees must continuously endure physical pressure; however, they should also be willing to endure various psychological stressors. Professional referees, particularly in football, function in difficult psychosocial environments, and are exposed to both physical and psychosocial stressors such as physical load, injuries, social pressure, and media scrutiny (Arnold et al., 2012), and hence, are likely to experience mental health problems. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between psychological stressors and stress response in Japanese referees, and explore referees’ views on health-related support and needs.
Methods
Study participants included all 252 referees from the fields of baseball, football, and tennis from respective federations in Japan (Mage= 45.9 ± 12.7 years, with an experience of national level refereeing of 2 to 37 years). A questionnaire was prepared to assess the referees’ psychological stressors (Murakami, 2021), with items on the following five factors: expectation and pressure from others, interpersonal conflicts, lack of cooperation among referees, fear of judgement error, and family-work conflicts. Furthermore, a stress response scale for referees was administered to assess referees’ mental health status.
Results
Multiple regression analysis showed that a certain specific psychological stressor tended to be strongly connected with a certain specific stress response. Family-work conflict was found to have a strong effect on all stress responses. Moreover, interpersonal conflicts strongly correlated with irritability-anger, distrust of people, and depression.
Discussion
Our findings confirmed that referees’ mental health was influenced by interpersonal and family-work conflicts. Hence, referee associations should be more proactive in teaching more than the laws of the game and mechanics of officiating, in their training courses. Providing resources, materials, and guest lectures, in addition to continual evaluation and follow-up for referees can better assist them in improving not only their officiating duties but also their quality of life through reduced job and life stress. Data from this work can prove to be instrumental in providing insights into the creation of better stress management programs for this population.
Reference
Arnord et al (2012) A research synthesis and taxonomic classification of the organizational stressors encountered by sport performance. Journal of Sport Exercise & Psychology, 34, 397-429.
Murakami, K. (2021) Development and evaluation of the stress management program of the referee in sport. Grants-in-Aid for Sci Research Report, 1-5.