Sources of sport confidence, imagery type and performance among competitive athletes: The mediating role of sports confidence

A. R. Levy, J. Perry, A. R. Nicholls, D. Larkin, J. Davies

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Aim: This study explored the mediating role of sport confidence upon (1) sources of sport confidence-performance relationship and (2) imagery-performance relationship. Methods: Participants were 157 competitive athletes who completed state measures of confidence level/sources, imagery type and performance within one hour after competition. Results: Among the current sample, confirmatory factor analysis revealed appropriate support for the nine-factor SSCQ and the five-factor SIQ. Mediational analysis revealed that sport confidence had a mediating influence upon the achievement source of confidence-performance relationship. In addition, both cognitive and motivational imagery types were found to be important sources of confidence, as sport confidence mediated imagery type-performance relationship. Conclusion: Findings indicated that athletes who construed confidence from their own achievements and report multiple images on a more frequent basis are likely to benefit from enhanced levels of state sport confidence and subsequent performance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)835-844
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness
Volume55
Issue number7-8
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Athletes
  • Athletic performance
  • Self confidence

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