Gender aspects of psychophysiological features of stress resistance in elite judokas

Background and purpose Female judo has an intensive development at the current time. One of the urgent task is a developing a training process gender-specific knowledge for female judokas, taking into account gender characteristics, is a very urgent task. Among the various types of monitoring, one of the most reliable and valid methods is the multiple assessment of mental and psychophysiological indicators of judo performance. There are different opinions about the gender aspect of stress's impact on special performance in martial arts. At the same time, there is a lack of understanding of gender-specific characteristics of the development of stress resistance characteristics in elite judokas. The purpose: to study the gender aspects of psychophysiological characteristics of stress resistance in highly qualified judokas through comprehensive testing. Methods The study involved 33 elite male judokas (age 26.62; SD = 3.62) and 24 elite female judokas (age 24.73; SD = 3.57). The choice of research methods measuring psychophysiological factors was based on previous studies demonstrating reliable and valid assessment of factors correlated with specific athletic performance. The test battery is a classic component of the "Multipsychometer-05" computerized psychodiagnostic system. Results The obtained results demonstrate a correlation between stress tolerance and nervous system endurance in judokas. In female judokas, an inverse relationship was observed between the stability of test performance and stress resistance. Furthermore, female judokas with high stress resistance demonstrated a balance between excitation and inhibition of nervous processes. A correlation was established between stress tolerance and autonomic regulation of heart rate in elite female judokas. Conclusions Gender differences in stress resistance among elite judokas are associated with distinct patterns of psychophysiological variables. Male judokas exhibit psychological discomfort and sympathetic tension. Conversely, female judokas with lower stress tolerance show a predominance of nervous system arousal. Low stress tolerance in female judokas is associated with shorter decision-making time. One of the gender differences between elite judokas is autonomic regulation. In addition, high stress resistance in female judokas was associated with low levels of sympathetic and parasympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system.