Abstract
It has been demonstrated that athletes in competitive sports suffer from high levels of competitive anxiety, especially in the case of females. In this sense, it is necessary to identify possible risk and protective factors of those athletes in this collective who suffer from this type of anxiety. However, few studies analyze the relationship between Physical Activity (PA) and anxiety, identifying the possible mediation effect of trait variables such as impulsivity and mindfulness in female athletes. Hence, the aims of this study were: to determine differences between PA levels with anxiety, mindfulness, and impulsiveness; to identify the predictive value of sociodemographic factors and physical activity, impulsivity, and mindfulness on anxiety factors; and to analyze the possible mediating effects of mindfulness on the relationship between impulsivity and anxiety. A total of 242 female athletes underwent an assessment of physical activity, anxiety, mindfulness traits, and impulsivity using validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed according to (1) individual or collective sport, and (2) PA levels according to energy expended (METs min/day). Participants were grouped by light, moderate, and vigorous PA levels. There were 30.5% elite athletes and 73.2% collective sports athletes. Mean age was 22.1 years and mean light, moderate, and vigorous PA were 86.1 ± 136.2, 114.4 ± 159.8, and 370.1 ± 336.3 METs min/day, respectively. Those athletes performing vigorous PA exhibited lower levels of impulsiveness and higher mindfulness traits. As expected, the mindfulness trait was a mediating factor in the relationship between impulsiveness and each factor of competitive anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and self-efficacy). Female athletes could suffer competitive anxiety, especially those who present higher levels of impulsivity. However, higher levels of mindfulness traits seem to be a protective factor in the effects of impulsivity on anxiety in this population and have demonstrated to be significant mediators in this association. Further studies are needed with other female athletes to replicate these results and to determine the specific protective mechanisms of mindfulness traits in preventing competitive anxiety.
Highlights
The sample was selected based on intentional non-probabilistic sampling, in accordance with the following inclusion criteria: (a) participants were women over 15 years of age, (b) national, international, and/or university level, individual or team female athletes, (c) competing in Spain, (d) having a federative license in 2018–2019, and (e) who had signed the written informed consent
The results indicated significant differences between light and moderate Physical Activity (PA) or vigorous PA in its relation to mindfulness, with higher levels of mindfulness being reported in athletes with higher PA levels [60,88] with the practice of competition related to fewer impulsive responses [34]
Impulsivity was associated with higher anxiety levels on its different components in elite athletes; anxiety was not significantly related to the different PA levels
Summary
It has been demonstrated that sports athletes need to strike a balance between high physical and cognitive performance and self-regulation [1]. Studies show that female and younger athletes presented a greater risk of having anxiety levels than male and older athletes [2–4]. Few studies analyze the association between these factors in female athletes. Physical Activity (PA) in elite sports practice, defined as the highest level of competition or high-performance sport, showed that the higher the frequency of sports practice, the greater the benefits on health, well-being, and quality of life perceived by the subject [5–7]
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