Mountaineering as affect regulation: the moderating role of self-regulation strategies

We investigated the change in mountaineers' affect from pre- to post-mountain route and the moderating role of self-regulation strategies in this process. First, we hypothesized that engagement in a high-risk sport such as mountaineering would lead to a decrease in negative affect and an increase in positive affect and that this affect regulation would be moderated by self-regulation strategies (escape from self-awareness and compensation). Second, we predicted that the self-regulation affect process would be specifically associated with high-risk sport rather than sport generally. One hundred and five mountaineers and 73 judokas completed the Risk and Excitement Inventory and the Positive and Negative Emotions Scale before and after completing their activity (mountain route or judo fight). Regression analyses revealed that anxiety significantly decreased from pre- to post-mountain route and that the self-regulation of escape from awareness yielded a significantly greater anxiety decrease. No such interaction emerged for the compensation strategy and no effects were revealed for judokas. Results are discussed in terms of the specificity of the high-risk sport domain in its ability to serve an affect regulation function for those individuals who seek to escape from self-awareness.