Investigating the relationship between perfectionism & competitive anxiety in athletes

Abstract

Current literature proposes a number of unsettled debates in sport psychology regarding how perfectionism functions and at what point competitive anxiety has detrimental effects on an athlete's performance. The primary aim of the present study is to explore perfectionism, as a personality characteristic, and competitive anxiety, as an emotional state, and how they might interact with one another. It aims to add to the literature where there is an absence of data regarding the convoluted relationship between perfectionism and competitive anxiety in athletes. Appropriate statistical measures were applied to assess correlations between perfectionism and competitive anxiety in athletes, as well as comparing dimensions of perfectionism and competitive anxiety with other variables, such as gender, type of sport, and level competed.