The Mediating Role of Coping between Competitive Anxiety and Sport Commitment in Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

Framed in cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions (Lazarus, 1999), this study aimed to test how coping mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment in a sample of adolescent athletes. Five-hundred adolescents (M = 16.42; SD = 1.54) participated in our study. Participants completed competitive anxiety, coping, and sport commitment measures. We defined the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling; and compared two different models of mediation (i.e., total and partial mediation) using structural equation modeling. Results favored partial mediation model where cognitive anxiety factors predicted sport commitment. Results from this model suggest direct and mediated structural relations between concepts. Somatic anxiety had a weak influence on sport commitment (total effects = 0.090 [-.131, .311]). Worry showed a positive influence on sport commitment (total effects = .375 [.262, .486]) through direct and mediated effects. Concentration disruption showed a negative impact on sport commitment (total effects = -.544 [-.724, -.363]) trough mediated effects only, showing a negative path on task-oriented coping and a positive path on disengagement-oriented coping. As a whole, our findings identify task coping efforts undertaken by adolescent athletes as a key element in the relationship between competitive anxiety and sport commitment. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the design of coping interventions in adolescents.

Effects of Commitment on Fear of Failure and Burnout in Teen Spanish Handball Players

“…In addition, sportsmen and women with a high level of sporting commitment increase team performance (Gross et al, 2018), collective identity (Wann and Pierce, 2003), or the perception of task-and careoriented climates among team members (Torregrosa et al, 2011;Hall et al, 2017). On the contrary, and in the same way as the results of the present work, engagement already in young athletes decreases the anxious perception of competitive situations (Pons et al, 2018) and enhances positive emotions (McCarthy, 2011;Friesen et al, 2013) in young athletes.…”

“…With regard to its links with burnout, sport commitment has maintained negative relationships with both emotional exhaustion, sports devaluation, and reduced personal fulfillment throughout most of the scientific literature (Gustafsson et al, 2017b;Bicalho and Da Costa, 2018) both in individual (Weiss et al, 2001) and team sports (Cresswell and Eklund, 2006;Curran et al, 2013) and in professional sports (Hill et al, 2008) or in lower categories (Harris and Watson, 2011;Pons et al, 2018). However, in team sports, it has been argued in recent studies that being committed to the team is linked to an increased deterioration in sporting self-fulfillment, essentially when the pride and honor associated with belonging to a team is present, often combined with a sense of responsibility and a desire to maintain standards of performance in order to contribute and be useful to the team (Woods et al, 2020).…”

Ansiedade pré-competitiva em atletas de diferentes esportes: um estudo de revisão

“…Fonte: os autores Em relação as análises por sexo, observou-se na presente revisão que os resultados de três estudos não demonstraram diferenças estatísticas significantes entre homens e mulheres (SALLES et al, 2015;SILVA et al, 2018;VIEIRA et al, 2011), o que difere de outros dois estudos investigados, nos quais os homens apresentaram, estatisticamente, maior autoconfiança (MACHADO et al, 2016;PAES et al, 2016 SCHACK, 2017;SALLES et al, 2015;SEELEY et al, 2000;SILVA et al, 2018;VIEIRA et al, 2011).…”

“…VEALEY; BURTON, 1990). Em síntese, os estudos investigados no presente estudo convergem para mesma direção, ou seja, no geral, os atletas apresentam valores superiores de autoconfiança, quando comparados com os escores de ansiedade somática e cognitiva (FERNANDES et al, 2014;MACHADO et al, 2016;PAES et al, 2016;SALLES et al, 2015).…”

Does coping mediate the relationship between competitive anxiety and eating disorders in athletes?

“…Kurimay, Pope-Rhodius and Kondric (2017) demonstrated a close relationship between coping strategies and anxiety. The findings of Pons, Viladrich, Ramis and Polman (2018) indicated that coping strategies mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and adaptive behaviors (e.g., commitment to sport). Wadey et al (2014), in turn, affirmed that coping mediated the relationship between competitive anxiety and negative emotions (e.g.…”