Volume 28, Issue 3 (5-2021)
RJMS 2021, 28(3): 127-136 |
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Naghipour Ghezeljeh M, Khalatbari J, Ghorban Shiroudi S, Tizdast T. Investigate the model of predicting competitive anxiety based on mindfulness by considering the mediating role of psychological hardiness in national team athletes. RJMS 2021; 28 (3) :127-136
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6547-en.html
URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6547-en.html
Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon , Iran , Javadkhalatbaripsy2@gmail.com
Abstract: (5198 Views)
Background & Aims: Sports psychology means the scientific study of psychological factors related to participation and performance in exercise, sports and other physical activities. Although sports psychology is very young, a lot of research has been done on it and one of its most important issues is psychological issues. One of the most important psychological concepts in sports psychology is the competitive anxiety of athletes. The competitive and stressful nature of exercise creates competitive anxiety. Competitive anxiety is competition anxiety. Competitive anxiety has three aspects: cognitive anxiety, physical anxiety and self-confidence. Professional athletes with high anxiety are more likely to have increased physiological arousal and decreased performance than athletes with low anxiety. The results of various studies have shown that competitive anxiety can affect the performance of athletes in different ways. Therefore, identifying the effective factors in athletes' competitive anxiety is doubly important due to its direct and threatening effect on various aspects of athletic performance. According to the results of various studies, there is a significant relationship between mindfulness and competitive anxiety. Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges when we pay attention to our experience in certain ways. Psychological toughness has been considered as a resilient personality trait in the face of stress. Hardiness is a set of personality traits that acts as a source of resistance to the pressures of life. Research on the competitive anxiety of athletes, especially national team athletes, is very important and failure to pay attention to it can lead to persistent fractures and withdrawal from the sport. Also, examining which of the variables of mindfulness and psychological toughness has a more effective role in predicting competitive anxiety in athletes, can be effective in providing solutions to prevent the adverse consequences associated with sports anxiety. Therefore, the present study seeks to answer the question that the model of predicting the competitive anxiety of national team athletes based on mindfulness mediated by psychological hardiness has a good fit?
Methods: The research method is descriptive and of correlation designs and structural equation modeling method. The statistical population in this study included all athletes of national individual and team teams in 2019. To select the sample, the purposeful sampling method was used, so that among the athletes of national teams based on the criteria for entry and exit of the research (criteria for entry into the study, including being in the age category (18- 35) Year, having at least a diploma, membership in a national team with a minimum of 6 months of national experience and criteria for leaving the research are a history or suffering from acute psychiatric disorders such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and major depression , Neurocognitive disorders, over the past year) and were available as a sample. According to the type of study and the number of predictor variables in the analysis of structural equations, according to the researchers, the sample size should be at least 10 times the number of variables plus 50. In the present study, there are a total of 21 subscales observed; Therefore at least 280 samples are required. In this study, up to 300 subjects were increased to reduce sampling error and prevent drop in subjects. Three standard questionnaires were used to assess the research variables. The Competitive Anxiety Scale (SCAL-2) was developed by Martens et al. (1990) and has 27 items that measure three independent factors including cognitive anxiety, physical anxiety, and self-esteem. Five-dimensional mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) based on factor analysis study on five mindfulness questionnaires, including Attention Awareness (MAAM), Freiburg Mindfulness Questionnaire (FMI), Emotional and Cognitive Mindfulness Scale (CMAS) and A Mindfulness Questionnaire (MQ) has been developed. Psychological Toughness Questionnaire developed by Kubasa (1979). The Personal Perspectives Test is a self-report questionnaire that measures the degree of psychological toughness of individuals and has 50 items and three subscales of control, commitment and struggle. Amos computer software and SPSS version 22 and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the research data.
Results: The results showed that mindfulness has a direct effect on competitive anxiety, the relationship between mindfulness and competitive anxiety is directly equal (t= -3.39 and β= -0.28). Therefore, the direct effect of mindfulness on the competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed with 95% confidence. Also, what results from the above table is that the relationship with the indirect effect of mindfulness on the competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed by stubbornness with 95% confidence (p<0.05). The results also showed that toughness factors had a direct effect on competitive anxiety, the relationship between toughness and competitive anxiety is directly equal (t= -7.35 and β= -0.68). Therefore, the direct effect of stubbornness on competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed with 95% confidence.
Conclusion: The aim of this study was to develop a model for predicting the competitive anxiety of athletes in national teams based on mindfulness mediated by psychological toughness. The results of statistical tests showed that mindfulness affects competitive anxiety directly and also through psychological toughness. In explaining this finding, it should be noted that mindfulness can predict the presence or absence of a decrease in the sense of success, as one of the underlying components of competitive anxiety. High awareness can indicate an athlete's correct understanding of himself and the situation in which he is present, and prevent the creation of destructive and incorrect thoughts and feelings, including the reduction of feelings of success. Among the limitations of the present study include: Structural relationships of variables were tested by modeling structural equations which is a non-experimental method. Non-experimental methods have limitations such as the lack of control of some interveners, such as the level of education in the sport, which should be considered. The sample of the present study was the athletes of Iranian national teams. Therefore, caution should be exercised in generalizing the results to other groups and other athletes. At the practical level, the findings of the present study suggested the importance and necessity of paying attention to the mediating variables of mindfulness as influential factors with competitive anxiety in athletes. By identifying these psychological structures as mediating variables in athletes, an effective step can be taken to prevent adverse outcomes in sports competitions. Developing training and intervention programs to improve the level of mindfulness, especially in national and international competitions, is another practical action that can be taken to moderate the levels of negative emotions and improve the athletic performance of athletes.
Methods: The research method is descriptive and of correlation designs and structural equation modeling method. The statistical population in this study included all athletes of national individual and team teams in 2019. To select the sample, the purposeful sampling method was used, so that among the athletes of national teams based on the criteria for entry and exit of the research (criteria for entry into the study, including being in the age category (18- 35) Year, having at least a diploma, membership in a national team with a minimum of 6 months of national experience and criteria for leaving the research are a history or suffering from acute psychiatric disorders such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and major depression , Neurocognitive disorders, over the past year) and were available as a sample. According to the type of study and the number of predictor variables in the analysis of structural equations, according to the researchers, the sample size should be at least 10 times the number of variables plus 50. In the present study, there are a total of 21 subscales observed; Therefore at least 280 samples are required. In this study, up to 300 subjects were increased to reduce sampling error and prevent drop in subjects. Three standard questionnaires were used to assess the research variables. The Competitive Anxiety Scale (SCAL-2) was developed by Martens et al. (1990) and has 27 items that measure three independent factors including cognitive anxiety, physical anxiety, and self-esteem. Five-dimensional mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) based on factor analysis study on five mindfulness questionnaires, including Attention Awareness (MAAM), Freiburg Mindfulness Questionnaire (FMI), Emotional and Cognitive Mindfulness Scale (CMAS) and A Mindfulness Questionnaire (MQ) has been developed. Psychological Toughness Questionnaire developed by Kubasa (1979). The Personal Perspectives Test is a self-report questionnaire that measures the degree of psychological toughness of individuals and has 50 items and three subscales of control, commitment and struggle. Amos computer software and SPSS version 22 and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the research data.
Results: The results showed that mindfulness has a direct effect on competitive anxiety, the relationship between mindfulness and competitive anxiety is directly equal (t= -3.39 and β= -0.28). Therefore, the direct effect of mindfulness on the competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed with 95% confidence. Also, what results from the above table is that the relationship with the indirect effect of mindfulness on the competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed by stubbornness with 95% confidence (p<0.05). The results also showed that toughness factors had a direct effect on competitive anxiety, the relationship between toughness and competitive anxiety is directly equal (t= -7.35 and β= -0.68). Therefore, the direct effect of stubbornness on competitive anxiety of national team athletes has been confirmed with 95% confidence.
Conclusion: The aim of this study was to develop a model for predicting the competitive anxiety of athletes in national teams based on mindfulness mediated by psychological toughness. The results of statistical tests showed that mindfulness affects competitive anxiety directly and also through psychological toughness. In explaining this finding, it should be noted that mindfulness can predict the presence or absence of a decrease in the sense of success, as one of the underlying components of competitive anxiety. High awareness can indicate an athlete's correct understanding of himself and the situation in which he is present, and prevent the creation of destructive and incorrect thoughts and feelings, including the reduction of feelings of success. Among the limitations of the present study include: Structural relationships of variables were tested by modeling structural equations which is a non-experimental method. Non-experimental methods have limitations such as the lack of control of some interveners, such as the level of education in the sport, which should be considered. The sample of the present study was the athletes of Iranian national teams. Therefore, caution should be exercised in generalizing the results to other groups and other athletes. At the practical level, the findings of the present study suggested the importance and necessity of paying attention to the mediating variables of mindfulness as influential factors with competitive anxiety in athletes. By identifying these psychological structures as mediating variables in athletes, an effective step can be taken to prevent adverse outcomes in sports competitions. Developing training and intervention programs to improve the level of mindfulness, especially in national and international competitions, is another practical action that can be taken to moderate the levels of negative emotions and improve the athletic performance of athletes.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Physiology
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