EFFECT OF GENDER DIFFERENCE AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHM ON TOTAL MOOD DISTURBANCE OF VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of gender difference and circadian rhythm on total mood disturbance (TMD) for volleyball players. METHODS: To achieve the purpose, a total of thirty volleyball players [men (n = 15) and women (n = 15)] age between 19 years and 22 years from Einstein College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, India were selected as subjects. The two independent variables of gender and circadian variations and dependent variable of total mood disturbance were selected for this study. The experimental design used was static group factorial design. The data were collected at 02:00, 06:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00 and 22:00 hours on total mood disturbance by using profile of mood state (POMS) questionnaire during the academic year of 2009 – 2010. Collected data were subjected to statistical analysis by using two-way factorial (2 x 6) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Cosinor analysis. RESULTS: 1) There was significant difference in total mood disturbance between genders, 2) significant difference in total mood disturbance at different times of the day irrespective of gender status and 3) significant difference in total mood disturbance for men and women volleyball players at different times of the day. 4) Significant circadian rhythmicity exists on total mood disturbance for women and 5) Insignificant circadian rhythmicity exists on total mood disturbance for men. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to the physical educators to adopt the findings of this study while planning to improve sports skills for the players and athletes.