Sport psychology in the eighties: PDF OnlyA meta-analytic review of aerobic fitness and reactivity to psychosocial stressorsCREWS, DEBRA J.; LANDERS, DANIEL M. Author Information Exercise and Sport Research Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: October 1987 - Volume 19 - Issue 5 - p S114-S120 Free Abstract CREWS, D. J. and D. M. LANDERS. A meta-analytic review of aerobic fitness and reactivity to psychosocial stressors. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 19, No. 5 (Supplement), pp. S114–S120, 1987. The effects of aerobic fitness on resistance to psychosocial stressors are reviewed. To unravel the inconsistent results in studies examining the relationship between aerobic fitness and psychosocial stress response, a meta-analysis was conducted. The results of 34 studies having 92 effect size estimates from 1,449 subjects were statistically combined to compare psychosocial stressor tasks and arousal measures. The average effect size estimate of 0.48 was significantly different from zero (P < 0.01), indicating that aerobically fit subjects had a reduced psychosocial stress response compared to either control group or baseline values. The test for the homogeneity assumption showed that it could not be rejected, and thus none of the proposed moderating variables altered the aerobic fitness-psychosocial reactivity relationship. Various underlying mechanisms which may contribute to this response are discussed, and future research directions are presented. © Williams & Wilkins 1987. All Rights Reserved.
