Are the traits of perfectionism associated with pre-competitive anxiety in young athletes?

Abstract

Este estudio transversal verificó la asociación entre el perfeccionismo y la ansiedad precompetitiva entre los jóvenes atletas. Los participantes fueron 177 niños y niñas, que respondieron a la Escala Multidimensional de Perfeccionismo Deportivo-2 (SMPS-2) y a la Escala de Ansiedad Deportiva-2 (SAS-2). El análisis de los datos se llevó a cabo a través de la prueba de Kolmogorov-Smirnov, la "U" de Mann-Whitney, la correlación de Spearman y el análisis de la trayectoria (p<0,05). Los principales resultados fueron que los chicos presentaron un mayor puntaje de estándares personales/organización y se sienten más presionados por los padres, mientras que las chicas sienten más ansiedad somática y se preocupan más por los juegos. El Análisis de Caminos reveló que los esfuerzos perfeccionistas (PS) se asocian con la reducción de la ansiedad cognitiva/somática, especialmente entre los chicos, mientras que las preocupaciones perfeccionistas (PC) se asocian positivamente con la ansiedad cognitiva/somática en ambos sexos. Estas conclusiones muestran que los Esfuerzos Perfeccionistas parecen ser un factor de intervención para la reducción de los síntomas de la ansiedad cognitiva y somática, mientras que los Esfuerzos Perfeccionistas pueden intensificar los síntomas de la ansiedad somática y cognitiva entre los jóvenes atletas, especialmente entre los varones. This cross-sectional study verified the association between perfectionism and pre-competitive anxiety among young athletes. Participants were 177 boys and girls, who responded the Sport Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2 (SMPS-2) and Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2). Data analysis was conducted through Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, “U” of Mann-Whitney, Spearman’s correlation and Path Analysis (p<0.05). The main results were that boys presented higher score of personal standards/organization and feel more pressured by parents, while the girls feel more somatic anxiety and care more about the games. Path Analysis revealed that perfectionistic strivings (PS) are associated with the reduction of cognitive/somatic anxiety, especially among boys, while perfectionistic concerns (PC) are positively associated with cognitive/somatic anxiety in both sexes. These findings show that PS seems to be an intervening factor for the reduction of the symptoms of cognitive and somatic anxiety, while PC may intensify the symptoms of somatic and cognitive anxiety among youth athletes, especially among boys. Este estudo transversal verificou a associação entre o perfeccionismo e a ansiedade pré-competitiva entre jovens atletas. Os participantes foram 177 meninos e meninas, que responderam à Escala de Perfeccionismo Multidimensional Esportivo 2 (SMPS-2) e à Escala de Ansiedade Esportiva 2 (SAS-2). A análise dos dados foi realizada através do teste Kolmogorov-Smirnov, "U" de Mann-Whitney, correlação de Spearman e Análise de Caminhos (p<0,05). Os principais resultados foram que os meninos apresentaram maior pontuação de padrões/organização pessoal e se sentem mais pressionados pelos pais, enquanto as meninas sentem mais ansiedade somática e se preocupam mais com os jogos. A Análise de Caminhos revelou que os esforços perfeccionistas (PS) estão associados à redução da ansiedade cognitiva/somática, especialmente entre os meninos, enquanto as preocupações perfeccionistas (PC) estão positivamente associadas à ansiedade cognitiva/somática em ambos os sexos. Esses achados mostram que o PS parece ser um fator interveniente para a redução dos sintomas de ansiedade cognitiva e somática, enquanto o PC pode intensificar os sintomas de ansiedade somática e cognitiva entre os jovens atletas, especialmente entre os meninos.

A influência de traços perfeccionistas na orientação as metas de jovens atletas

“…These findings are similar to those found in previous research with young people (Kaye, Conroy, & Fifer, 2008;Stoeber et al, 2009) and adolescents (Villena, Hernández, & Zafra, 2016). An aggregate of authors points out that perfectionistic concerns in adolescents are related to various psychological occurrences, such as fear of failure, stress, depression, anxiety, somatic complaints and low personal satisfaction (Damian, Stoeber, Negru, & Băban, 2014;Stoeber, 2018;Freire et al, 2020 Finally, athletes presented higher scores in both perfectionistic strivings (personal standards/organization) and perfectionistic concerns (concern over mistakes) (Table 1). Athletes with high personal standards feel a need to achieve success and are intrinsically motivated to do their best in performing activities (Madigan, Stoeber, & Passfield, 2016).…”

Facteurs de risque et de protection de l’anxiété de performance des élèves athlètes adolescents : une revue narrative

“…Les travaux recensés mettent de l'avant certains liens entre l'anxiété et les représentations de l'individu. Les études suggèrent qu'une faible estime de soi (Weinberg et Gould, 2015), une prédisposition à percevoir les situations de la vie comme dangereuses (Ariza-Vargas et al, 2011), un perfectionnisme inadapté qui s'illustre par la peur de faire des erreurs (Freire et al, 2020) et la présence de doutes constants envers sa capacité à atteindre des objectifs de performance irréalistes (Donachie et al, 2018;Ivanović et al, 2015) sont associés significativement avec l'anxiété de performance vécue par l'élève athlète.…”

The Personal and Interpersonal Components of Perfectionism: The Italian Validation of “Multidimensional Inventory of Perfectionism in Sport”

“…Nevertheless, studies that adopted a sport-specific measure of perfectionism did not provide consistent results, especially with regards to the relations linking perfectionistic strivings and competitive anxiety. The issue of the linkages between perfectionism and competitive anxiety appears even more complex when one considers the limited body of work that has addressed these linkages in the context of the interpersonal sources of influence on athletes’ perfectionism, such as parents, coaches and teammates [ 37 ].…”