Coping with losses: Need unfulfillment, coping strategies and temporal well-being of sport fans

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates how sport fans psychologically process and cope with the loss of one’s team and how the process is linked to temporal well-being. Grounded on need theory and Lazarus’ model of stress, need unfulfillment is introduced as a psychological threat derived from a loss, which triggers coping strategies to deal with the negative well-being effects associated with the loss. With a two-wave survey-based natural field study conducted with identified NFL team fans, the relations among need unfulfillment (of arousal, achievement and social needs), coping strategies (i.e., seeking social support, positive reinterpretation/growth, venting, denial and CORFing) and temporal well-being (i.e., self-worth and negative affect) are examined with structural equation modeling. Need unfulfillment after a loss, particularly achievement unfulfillment, was found as a meaningful antecedent of coping behavior. The five coping strategies had distinctive effects on self-worth and negative affect. Strategies to help fans effectively cope with losses are discussed.