Study of the Mediating Role of Self-esteem in the Relationship between Perfectionism and Sports Anxiety in Sports Elites in Khuzestan Province

Pages: 573-579
Neda Mehrjoyan1, Ahmad valizadeh2, and Fatemeh Rahimi3 (Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), Tehran, Iran1,2 and Department of Education Arsanjan Branch, Iran3)

The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between perfectionism and competitive anxiety in sports elites in Khuzestan province. Participants were 486 elite athletes from Khuzestan province. The research instruments were Martinez Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire, Athlete et al. Perfectionism Questionnaire and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire. To evaluate the validity of the instrument, Cronbach’s coefficient was used. The structural equation model was used to evaluate the proposed model according to which perfectionism affects athletes’ competitive anxiety by affecting self-esteem. The results showed that elite athletes with negative perfectionism have low self-esteem and experience high competitive anxiety. The findings also suggested that self-esteem mediated the relationship between perfectionism and competitive anxiety. The implications and application of the findings were discussed.