The Impact of Team Cohesion on Stressors Appraised in a Basketball Team

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact team cohesion had on stressors individually and collectively appraised during a basketball match. A mixed method approach was adopted, where participants (n= 5) completed the group environment questionnaire (GEQ) and were individually interviewed, investigating their perception of team cohesion and individual and team stressors appraised within two matches they competed in. Three sections of results were reported. Quantitatively, high GEQ mean scores were identified within the team. Qualitatively, a thematic analysis of the interviews revealed seven sub-themes. These were categorised into three overarching themes: (1) Stressors appraised as impacting individual performance, (2) stressors appraised as impacting team performance and (3) team cohesion’s impact on stressor appraisal. Lastly, common threads between both data sets were evident and investigated. Results suggested that team cohesion could have a positive impact on the appraisal of stressors and these findings were explored, expanding on the understanding of stressor appraisal.