Regulatory resources for the development of resilience in adolescents involved and not involved in professional sports

Introduction. The paper describes the components of self-regulation as the resources of resilience that are able to protect adolescents, with all their fragility and emotional instability, from stress factors. This problem requires further development despite its relevance. Adolescent athletes live in stressful conditions, both acute and chronic. Therefore, resilience and self-regulation in adolescents involved and not involved in sports are of particular importance. Aim. The paper strives to compare resources for resilience in adolescents involved and not involved in professional sports. Materials and methods. The study involved 95 adolescents from 12 to 17 years of age, including 45 athletes of different categories and 50 adolescents not involved in sports. Our battery of tests included the following methods: the hardiness survey (S. Maddi, adapted by D. Leontiev) and the style of behavior self-regulation (V. Morosanova). Statistical processing of the data obtained was performed with SPSS Statistics. Results: A comparative analysis of resilience showed high involvement in both groups; control and risk acceptance were moderate, and the integral level of resilience ranged from average to high in adolescents not involved in sports and involved in sports, respectively. Significant differences in control and risk acceptance were recorded in adolescent athletes. Averaged values of self-regulation showed that the results of both samples corresponded to moderate levels in terms of planning, modeling, evaluation of results, flexibility, and independence. Significant differences were established in terms of planning, programming, and the general level of self-regulation. Intergroup differences, in our opinion, were associated with sports activities. Conclusion. All adolescents demonstrated high levels of involvement, moderate levels of control and risk acceptance. At the same time, control, risk acceptance, and some planning-related components of self-regulation were most evident in adolescents involved in professional sports. In adolescent athletes, more intense relationships between regulatory resources and personal potential were recorded compared with adolescents not involved in sports. The results obtained can be attributed to the specifics of sports activity and early specialization.