Abstract
Depression among elite athletes is a topic of increasing interest and public awareness. Currently, empirical data on elite athletes’ depressive symptoms are rare. Recent results indicate sport-related mechanisms and effects on depression prevalence in elite athlete samples; specific factors associated with depression include overtraining, injury, and failure in competition. One such effect is that athletes competing in individual sports were found to be more prone to depressive symptoms than athletes competing in team sports. The present study examined this effect by testing three possible, psychological mediators based on theoretical and empirical assumptions: namely, cohesion in team or training groups; perception of perfectionistic expectations from others; and negative attribution after failure. In a cross-sectional study, 199 German junior elite athletes (Mage = 14.96; SD = 1.56) participated and completed questionnaires on perfectionism, cohesion, attribution after failure, and depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis using path analysis with bootstrapping was used for data analysis. As expected, athletes in individual sports showed higher scores in depression than athletes in team sports [t(197) = 2.05; p < 0.05; d = 0.30]. Furthermore, negative attribution after failure was associated with individual sports (β = 0.27; p < 0.001), as well as with the dependent variable depression (β = 0.26; p < 0.01). Mediation hypothesis was supported by a significant indirect effect (β = 0.07; p < 0.05). Negative attribution after failure mediated the relationship between individual sports and depression scores. Neither cohesion nor perfectionism met essential criteria to serve as mediators: cohesion was not elevated in either team or individual sports, and perfectionism was positively related to team sports. The results support the assumption of previous findings on sport-specific mechanisms (here the effect between individual and team sports) contributing to depressive symptoms among elite athletes. Additionally, attribution after failure seems to play an important role in this regard and could be considered in further research and practitioners in the field of sport psychology.
Highlights
Depression among elite athletes seems to be a topic of interest, empirical data on prevalence rates and research on mechanisms in this regard are still rare
It can be stated that there are plausible arguments for negative attribution after failure, perfectionistic expectations from outside and cohesion to be important variables for the association between depressive symptoms, team sports, and individual sports. These variables could potentially mediate the observed differences regarding depressive symptoms among individual- and teamsport athletes. We examined these variables in a cross-sectional study among German junior elite athletes
Negative attribution after failure was associated with individual sports (β = 0.27; p < 0.001), as well as with the dependent variable depression (β = 0.26; p < 0.01)
Summary
Depression among elite athletes seems to be a topic of interest, empirical data on prevalence rates and research on mechanisms in this regard are still rare. Differences between perfectionism and sport disciplines have not been examined, neither its possible mediating role toward depressive symptoms in contrast between team and individual-sport athletes Besides cognitive factors such as attribution or attitudes, social factors (cohesion or social support) are associated with depressive symptoms and its development (e.g., Alloy et al, 2006; Au et al, 2009). It can be stated that there are plausible arguments for negative attribution after failure, perfectionistic expectations from outside and cohesion to be important variables for the association between depressive symptoms, team sports, and individual sports These variables could potentially mediate the observed differences regarding depressive symptoms among individual- and teamsport athletes. Mediation was tested using path modeling with bootstrapping to check for possible indirect effects and have more power and control over type I error rates (Hayes, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
