Bachelor Thesis
HALMSTAD
UNIVERSITY
Bachlor's Programme in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 180 credits
An examination of the role of sport-trait anxiety and rumination in the relationship between mindfulness and performance
Sport and Exercise Psychology 61-90, 30 credits
Halmstad 2020-16-02
Raul Fuentes, Joar Svensson
Fuentes, R, & Svensson, J. (2019). An examination of the role of sport anxiety and rumination in the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance. (C-paper in sport and exercise psychology, 61-90 ECTS). School of Health and Welfare: Halmstad
University.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of sport-trait anxiety and rumination in the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance. A total of 53 athletes (22 women, 31 men; Mage = 29.32, SD = 12.28 years) from 18 different sports participated.
A quantitative longitudinal design (three-time measures within a four-week period) was conducted wherein the independent and dependent variables, as well as the two potential mediators were measured using Athletic Mindfulness Questionnaire, Sport Performance Questionnaire, Sport Anxiety Scale-2, and Rumination Reflection Questionnaire. The results showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through neither sport- trait anxiety nor rumination. These findings indicate that sport-trait anxiety and rumination do not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance in the examined sample. Mindfulness is discussed as altering the athlete’s relationship with anxiety rather than lowering the perceived levels of anxiety. Since research on rumination as a mediator between mindfulness and performance is very scarce, the knowledge about the relationship might be insufficient to make any decisive statements. Findings are to be taken with caution given the heterogeneous sample of athletes considered and the use of a subjective measure of performance.
Further research should focus on a more targeted group and use a more objective performance measure, as well as a sport-specific rumination scale.
Keywords: sport-specific anxiety, dispositional mindfulness, athletic performance, athlete
Fuentes, R., & Svensson, J. (2019). En undersökning om prestationsångest och ältande i
relationen mellan dispositionell mindfulness och självskattad prestation. (C-uppsats i psykologi inriktning idrott och hälsa, 61-90 hp). Akademien för Hälsa och Välfärd: Högskolan i Halmstad.
Sammanfattning
Syftet med den föreliggande studien var att undersöka rollen av prestationsångest och ältande mellan dispositionell mindfulness och självskattad prestation. Det var totalt 53 idrottare (22 kvinnor, 31 män; Målder = 29.32, SD = 12.28 år) från 18 olika idrotter som deltog i studien. Studien var av kvantitativ longitudinell design (tre tillfällen under en fyra veckors period) där den oberoende variabeln, den beroende variabeln och två möjliga mediatorer undersöktes med hjälp av Athletic Mindfulness Questionnaire, Sport Performance Questionnaire, Sport Anxiety Scale-2, och Rumination Reflection Questionnaire. Resultaten visade ingen signifikant indirekt effekt av dispositionell mindfulness på självskattad prestation genom varken ältande eller prestationsångest.
Resultaten indikerar att ältande och prestationsångest inte medierar förhållandet mellan dispositionell mindfulness och självskattad prestation i det undersökta urvalet. Det diskuteras att mindfulness ändrar förhållandet idrottaren har med ångesten istället för att sänka den upplevda nivån av ångest. Forskning om ältande som en mediator mellan mindfulness och prestation diskuteras som sällsynt, vilket kan göra kunskapen om förhållandet otillräckligt för att göra några bestämda uttalanden. Resultaten bör tolkas med försiktighet med tanke på att undersökningen gjordes på en heterogen grupp av idrottare med en subjektiv mått av prestation. Vidare forskning bör fokusera på en bestämd grupp och använda mer objektiva mått på prestation, samt använda ett idrottsspecifik instrument för att mäta ältande.
Nyckelord: prestationsångest, dispositionell mindfulness, idrottsprestation, idrottare
For nearly 20 years, mindfulness has had a big impact on the service sport psychologists can offer athletes (Gardner & Moore, 2017). Multiple studies suggest that mindfulness may have a performance-enhancing effect (Gardner & Moore, 2004; Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011; Gross et al., 2018), though more research is needed to understand the details of this relationship (Birrer, Röthlin & Morgan, 2012; Röthlin, Horvath, Birrer & Holtforth, 2016). Gardner (2009) and Birrer et al. (2012) suggest that mindfulness can have an indirect effect on performance through
different mechanisms in sports contexts. By identifying the mechanisms that are critical to the process of performance enhancement, more effective strategies can be developed in order to enhance athletic performance (Gardner, 2009; Birrer et al., 2012). Röthlin et al. (2016) suggest one of these mechanisms to be sport-specific trait anxiety after finding it to mediate the
relationship between mindfulness and self-perceived performance. In order to assess mindfulness Röthlin et al. (2016) used a general mindfulness questionnaire. Josefsson et al. (2017) have recommended the use of a sport-specific mindfulness questionnaire when examining dispositional mindfulness in athlete populations. Röthlin et al. (2016) mentioned their cross- sectional design as a limitation and recommended conducting a similar study of a longitudinal character. Another possible mediator was discussed by Birrer et al. (2012) to be rumination.
Mindfulness has been shown to lower rumination (Coffey, Hartman & Fredrickson, 2010), and rumination seems to be negatively associated with athletic performance (Scott Jr, Stiles, Raines
& Koths, 2002). No research examining rumination as a potential mediator between mindfulness and performance has been published to the authors of the present study’s knowledge.
Considering this, it may be useful to examine if the relationship between mindfulness and athletic performance is mediated by sport-trait anxiety and rumination in a longitudinal study with a sport-specific mindfulness questionnaire.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is not an easy concept to define due to its complex and multifaceted nature (Chiesa, 2013). Kabat-Zinn (2015) presented a multifaceted definition of mindfulness as
moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a specific way, in the present moment, and as non-reactively, as non-judgmentally and as open-heartedly as possible. The tendency to be mindful in everyday life is described as dispositional mindfulness (Birrer et al., 2012). Stemming from Buddhist traditions, mindfulness has gained a rapidly
growing recognition and interest in Western medicine and psychology (Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2013). Kabat-Zinn (1982) concretized mindfulness with the purpose to enhance psychological well-being. This version of mindfulness was tested in an interventional study to reduce stress in patients experiencing chronic pain (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). The intervention showed promise and had an alleviating effect on the participants' perceived pain (Kabat-Zinn, 1982).
Around 15 years later a mindfulness-based intervention called the Mindfulness-
Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) program was introduced to the world of sport psychology with the purpose of enhancing athletic performance (Gardner & Moore, 2017). MAC was shown to be an effective tool in the field of sport psychology and was argued to have a more convincing effect on athletic performance than more traditional methods such as Psychological Skill Training (PST; Gardner & Moore, 2007). Traditional PST methods suggest that some internal states are necessary for optimal performance and promote the attainment of these specific states (Gardner & Moore, 2017). Mindfulness-based interventions such as MAC have a rather different approach to performance optimization. Instead of modifying, reducing, avoiding or using other forms of controlling internal states (such as cognition, emotions, and physiological events) in
order to reach optimal performance, mindfulness-based approaches aim to primarily modify the relationship the athlete has with his or her internal states (Gardner & Moore, 2017; Bühlmayer, Birrer, Röthlin, Faude, & Donath, 2017; Birrer et al., 2012). MAC advocates awareness and non- judgmental acceptance of these internal states, task-focused attentional processes, and
commitment to behaviors in line with one’s personal athletic values (Gardner & Moore, 2007).
According to Bishop et al. (2004), mindfulness approaches seek to reduce the mind’s automatic and habitual pattern of reactivity to thoughts and emotions. This is thought to change cognitive vulnerability to certain reactive modes that might otherwise heighten stress and emotional distress (Bishop et al., 2004). Reducing the habits of reactivity towards thoughts and emotions is hypothesized to create a space between perception and response which enables the individual to respond more reflectively, as opposed to reflexively (Bishop et al., 2004). Bishop et al. (2004) categorize mindfulness into two overarching components; (1) Self-regulation of attention and (2) Orientation to experience. Self-regulation of attention involves observing thoughts, emotions, and sensations from moment to moment, increasing alertness of the present (Bishop et al., 2004). Bishop et al. (2004) mention that mindfulness practice improves self- regulation of attention which helps the individual to bring attention back to the task at hand after these internal states have been acknowledged. Bishop et al. (2004) also discuss having a non- elaborative awareness of these internal states is a part of the self-regulation of attention. By releasing attention from these internal states, more cognitive resources can attend to processing relevant information in the present (Bishop et al., 2004). Orientation to experience is the approach the individual has towards experiences (Bishop et al., 2004). Mindfulness promotes a curious attitude to all experiences in the present moment (Bishop et al., 2004). The goal is not to produce or change a certain feeling, but rather taking notice of the experience with an attitude of openness and receptivity to the things that reach the individual’s awareness (Bishop et al., 2004).
This is hypothesized to lead to a reduction in avoidance strategies used to cope with certain experiences (Bishop et al., 2004). According to Bishop et al. (2004), this results in a less unpleasant and threatening experience of emotional distress due to the subjective meaning of things being changed through acceptance. Mindfulness has been shown to not only alter the subjective meaning of things but also athletic performance.
The importance of mindfulness for performance enhancement has been discussed by Kee and Wang (2008) who state that the present moment focus part of mindfulness seems to increase the likelihood of successful performance as it ensures that unnecessary distractions linked to past or future events are momentarily suspended. Gardner and Moore (2007) have argued that
focusing on the present moment with acceptance facilitates the automatic execution of performance. Gardner and Moore (2012) discussed that mindfulness can lead to an increased attention capacity, which makes it easier for athletes to stay focused on task-relevant stimuli and making them less vulnerable to distractions that may be detrimental to high-level performance.
Another way mindfulness might enhance performance is through the reduction of ironic mental processes (Birrer et al., 2012). Ironic mental processes refer to the processes in which the
individual’s desire to suppress unwanted internal states has the opposite effect of increasing both their presence and the attention paid to them (Wagner, 1994). By advocating acceptance rather than suppression of internal states, mindfulness-based approaches might allow attention to be directed at more relevant cues (Birrer et al., 2012).
Empirical data shows that mindfulness has a positive effect on performance
enhancement. A meta-analytical study by Bühlmayer et al. (2017) reviewing the effects of mindfulness-based interventions shows that these types of interventions have had a positive
impact on sport performance. Zhang et al. (2016) examined the effects of a MAC intervention in an eight-week dart training program on a group of beginners in dart-throwing, which showed significant improvement of performance compared to a control group. An interventional study by Josefsson et al. (2019) examining mediators between MAC and performance showed signs of enhanced performance through dispositional mindfulness. Although empirical data shows that mindfulness may have a positive effect on improved performance, Röthlin et al. (2016) argued that the mediating effects of that relationship need to be further examined.
Mindfulness seems to have an indirect influence on performance and has been theorized to work through several mediators (Birrer et al., 2012), one of which is sport-trait anxiety (Röthlin et al., 2016). Röthlin et al. (2016) found that mindfulness was related to less
performance worry and that it prevented the remaining worries from affecting the performance.
According to Röthlin et al. (2016), dispositional mindfulness was related to lower levels of both cognitive and somatic sport-trait anxiety, but only cognitive anxiety was found to be a mediator between dispositional mindfulness and performance delivery. De Petrillo, Kaufman, Glass and Arnkoff (2009) conducted a four-week mindfulness intervention on a group of runners and found mindfulness to lower sport-trait anxiety. Zadkhosh, Zandi and Hemayattalab (2018) introduced a twelve-session mindfulness intervention on a group of football players and results showed lower sport-trait anxiety post-intervention. However, in a study by Scott-Hamilton, Schutte and Brown (2016), the results showed no significant change in sport-trait anxiety after a mindfulness
intervention was introduced to a group of elite cyclists. These results are similar to those of Kauffman, Glass and Arnkoff (2009) who found no significant changes in sport-trait anxiety after an eight-week mindfulness intervention was done on a group of golfers and archers. It seems that studies examining the effects of mindfulness on sport-trait anxiety have conflicting results regarding significance.
Another possible mediator between mindfulness and performance is thought to be rumination (Birrer et al., 2012). Rumination has been shown to correlate negatively with performance (Scott Jr et al., 2002; Bennet, Rotherham, Hays, Olusuga & Maynard, 2016;
Brinker, Campisi, Gibbs, and Izzard, 2013). It has been suggested that mindfulness training may increase awareness of thoughts and help individuals avoid ruminative behavior by redirecting their attention towards other aspects of the present moment (Baer, 2003). According to Hayes and Feldman (2004), higher levels of mindfulness has been shown to correlate with lower levels of rumination. Jain et al. (2007), found mindfulness meditation to reduce rumination in an interventional study done on medical students. Several other studies have shown similar
alleviating effects on ruminative thoughts after a mindfulness-based intervention (Ramel, Goldin, Carmona & McQuaid, 2004; Querstret & Cropley, 2013; Labelle, Campbell & Carlson, 2010).
Sport anxiety
Cheng, Hardy and Woodman (2009) define sport anxiety as an unpleasant psychological state in response to a perceived threat regarding performance under pressure. When talking about the experience of sport anxiety and the different emotions connected to it, the term state anxiety, which refers to an existing or immediate emotional state characterized by worry and tension, followed by activation of the autonomic nervous system is used (Martens, Vealey & Burton, 1990). Sport anxiety is seen as a multidimensional concept consisting of both somatic and cognitive components, which can be affected independently of each other (McNally, 2002). The somatic dimension consists of physiological changes, one of which is an activation of the autonomic nervous system which can lead to muscle tension, shortness of breath, sweaty palms,
and nausea, amongst other things (Martens et al., 1990). The cognitive dimension consists of negative expectations, worry about the ability to perform, and focusing on eventual
consequences of failure (Martens et al., 1990). According to Martens et al. (1990), some individuals are more prone to experience sport anxiety and are referred to as having high levels of trait anxiety. Martens et al. (1990) explain that individuals high in trait anxiety perceive more situations as threatening and/or respond to threatening situations with a higher degree of state anxiety (than individuals low in trait anxiety). The individuals high in trait anxiety are also more likely to demonstrate impaired performance in situations regarded as important by them (Röthlin et al., 2016).
Conceptual model of trait athletic performance anxiety
A conceptual model of athletic performance anxiety was developed by Smith, Smoll and Wiechman (1998) in an attempt to explain the influence of trait anxiety on performance (see Figure 1). According to Smith et al. (1998) trait anxiety influences three major factors which in turn influence the duration and intensity of state anxiety. These three factors are; (1) the
competitive situation, (2) the cognitive appraisals and physiological arousal (3) the task-relevant and task-irrelevant responses (Smith et al., 1998). The model suggests that when faced with a competitive situation, both the situation and the athlete’s trait anxiety will affect how he or she appraises the situation and the following consequences (Smith et al., 1998). Four different types of appraisals are made; appraisal of (1) the situational demands, (2) resources available, (3) potential consequences if the demands are not met, and (4) athlete’s personal meaning of said consequences (Smith et al., 1998). If the athlete perceives the situational demands to be
overwhelming, appraises his or her available resources as insufficient in regards to the demands, anticipates failure due to the perceived imbalance between demands and resources, and defines self-worth based on the outcome of a performance and the approval of others, the situation will be identified as threatening and dangerous (Smith et al., 1998). It is theorized that the appraisals are strongly influenced by the worry component of cognitive anxiety, the more an athlete worries the more likely he or she will expect the worst to occur (Smith et al., 1998). According to Smith et al. (1998), these appraisals generate a certain activation of physiological states, which creates a feedback loop where the new physiological state of the athlete is cognitively appraised. These cognitive and somatic anxiety processes result in task-relevant (performance facilitating) and/or task-irrelevant (performance debilitating) responses (Smith et al., 1998). According to Smith et al. (1998), these responses can either be cognitive, physiological or behavioral. Task-relevant cognitive responses include concentration on the task and strategic planning, whereas task- irrelevant cognitive responses include worry and catastrophic thinking (Smith et al., 1998).
Facilitating behavioral responses include persistence and smooth execution, while debilitative behaviors include impulsive and inappropriate actions (Smith et al., 1998). According to Smith et al. (1998), all of these task-relevant and task-irrelevant responses and how they are affected by the athlete’s trait anxiety will, in turn, affect the performance.
Figure 1. Conceptual model of athletic performance anxiety.
Weinberg and Genuchi (1980) examined the relationship between trait anxiety and performance and found participants high in trait anxiety to perform worse than participants low in trait anxiety on fine-motor tasks. Smith, Bellamy, Collins and Newell (2001) found that the performance of participants high in trait anxiety deteriorated as the situational demands became more critical, compared to participants low in trait anxiety whose performance improved in the same situations. In a study by Wilson, Smith, and Holmes (2007), participants were divided into low and high trait anxious groups and put in high and low-pressure situations. Results showed that the low trait anxious group had a relatively stable performance whereas the high trait anxious group choked (Wilson et al., 2007).
Rumination
Rumination is a challenging concept to define and no unified definition exists due to it being dependent on the context in which it is discussed (Smith & Alloy, 2009). Several definitions of rumination have been suggested, such as perseverative thinking about one’s emotions and problems (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Lyubomirsky, 2008), focusing on
specifically negative emotions (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1996; ref. in Uphill & Dray, 2009), repetitive, intrusive and negative thoughts (Papageorgiou & Wells, 2004; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999), and recurring focus on symptoms of distress and possible consequences of said distress (Nolen- Hoeksema, Larson & Grayson, 1999). Although there are many ways to define rumination, it usually includes recurring negative thinking of feelings, thoughts, or behavior (Smith & Alloy, 2009). Rumination is often confused with worry, and although they are closely related, there are a couple of distinctions between the two concepts (Papageorgiou & Wells, 2004). Worry seems to be more future-oriented and focused on potential threats where the conscious motive is to both anticipate and prepare for these threats (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Ljubomirsky, 2008). The unconscious motive of worry motive is to avoid core negative effects (Nolen-Hoeksema et al.,
2008). Even though people also worry about past events, it is usually due to the implications of these events for the future (Barlow, 2002; ref. in Nolen-Hoeksema, et al., 2008). Rumination is more past and present-oriented where the conscious motive is to understand the deeper meaning of events, gain insight, and solve problems (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008). Although the
conscious motive is to solve problems, rumination has been found to interfere with effective problem solving (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008). When people ruminate, they tend to fixate on their problems and their feelings about them, without taking any action (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008). The unconscious motive of rumination seems to be an avoidance of aversive situations and the responsibility to take action (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 2008).
Research on the effects of rumination on athletic performance is scarce, though often discussed (Kröhler & Berti, 2019). Birrer et al. (2012) state that less ruminative thinking influences several other psychological skills, such as coping, arousal regulation, attention, and motor control, which in turn can affect athletic performance. A study by Scott Jr et al. (2002) showed rumination to be negatively correlated with performance decrements. In a study by Bennet et al. (2016), findings indicated that the participants high in rumination were subject to more detrimental performance effects compared to the participants low in rumination. According to Brinker et al. (2013), ruminative thoughts predict cognitive impairment both when cognitive load is low and high, resulting in a decrease in performance.
Summary and purpose
Research has shown that mindfulness has a positive effect on performance enhancement (e.g. Bühlmayer et al., 2017; Zhang et a., 2016; Josefsson et al., 2019). Röthlin et al. (2016) argued that the mechanism behind that relationship needs to be further examined. Sport-trait anxiety has been discussed as a potential mediator between this relationship (Röthlin et al., 2016), as well as rumination (Birrer et al., 2012). The mediating effect of sport-trait anxiety on mindfulness and performance is still unclear since several studies have found conflicting results.
Although Röthlin et al. (2016) found a significant mediating of sport-trait anxiety (specifically the cognitive aspect) between mindfulness and performance, it was recommended to examine this relationship using a longitudinal study. The effect of rumination on athletic performance has been discussed but rarely studied (Kröhler & Berti, 2019). Rumination has been suggested to be a potential mediator between mindfulness and performance (Birrer et al., 2012). There are no published studies examining this relationship that the authors of the present study are aware of.
Although there seems to be a link between mindfulness and performance through rumination and sport-trait anxiety as mediators, this relationship is still not entirely clear. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine sport-trait anxiety and rumination as potential
mediators between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance (see Figure 2).
Based on previous empirical data and theoretical suggestions, it is hypothesized that rumination and the cognitive aspects of sport-trait anxiety mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance.
Figure 2. Hypothetical mediation model illustrating the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance through both rumination and sport-trait anxiety (divided into concentration disruption, worry, and somatic anxiety) as mediators.
Method
Participants
A total of 97 athletes were recruited for the initial phase of the study from different schools, sports clubs and Facebook groups in Sweden. Due to missing values and unreadable email addresses (used for sending out subsequent questionnaires), 11 participants were excluded.
Another 33 participants dropped out between the surveys, ultimately resulting in 53 participants for this study (Mage = 29.32, SD = 12.28 years), consisting of 31 male and 22 female athletes.
Since the targeted population was athletes in general and not sport-specific, athletes participating in this study had various sport backgrounds. The sport backgrounds were; Bandy (n = 1),
Climbing (n = 1), Crossfit (n = 2), Cycling (n = 1), Equestrian sport (n = 2), Fencing (n = 1), Figure skating (n = 1), Floorball (n = 2), Football (n = 7), Handball (n = 3), Ice hockey (n = 1), Kitesurfing (n = 1), Muay Thai (n = 2), Padel (n = 1), Powerlifting (n = 1), Running (n = 4), Taekwondo (n = 11), and Triathlon (n = 1). Some participants submitted more than one sport and were grouped as a category called “Various” (n = 10).
Procedure
Participants were recruited by contacting schools with sports programs, sports clubs in Sweden and by sharing the survey on Facebook. A criterion for being included in the study was that the athlete had to be at least 15 years old. The sample answered three online surveys consisting of four different questionnaires. According to Podsakoff, Mackenzie, Yeong-lee and
Podsakoff (2003), method variance is a recurring problem in many studies. Podsakoff et al.
(2003) discuss temporal separation of measurement as a possible solution. This can be achieved by separating the measurement of the predictor and criterion variables, which can be achieved by creating a temporal separation by introducing a time lag between the measurement of the
predictor and criterion variables (Podsakoff et al., 2003). A temporal separation works by
eliminating the saliency of contextually provided clues, reducing the risk of the participant using previous answers to fill in the gaps by allowing the previous information to exit the short-term memory, eliminating common retrieval cues and by reducing the perceived relevance of the recalled information (Podsakoff et al., 2003). In order to reduce method variance, the variables were measured on three different occasions (T1, T2 & T3) during a 4-week period. The three testing occasions were approximately 2 weeks apart during November and December 2019.
Background questions and self-assessed performance was measured at T1, rumination and sport- trait anxiety at T2, and dispositional mindfulness at T3.
An information letter was included in all three of the measurement times. The letter contained summarized information about the purpose and process of the study as well as the names and contact information of the authors and supervisor. The participants were informed that their answers were confidential. The letter proceeded to inform participants that the data would be analyzed to describe the entire sample and not on an individual level, and was only to be used for research purposes. It was also made clear that the participants had the right to discontinue their participation at any time without giving an explanation. Participants were also offered a copy of the completed study upon request. Before answering the survey, the
participants had to give their consent.
Material
Background questions were used to find out basic demographic information in order to make analyses if needed. The questions included sex, age, country, level of competition, number of practices per week and the sport of the participant.
Athlete Mindfulness Questionnaire (AMQ) measures dispositional mindfulness in a sports context and consists of 16 items on a 5-point Likert scale (Zhang, Chung, & Pi, 2017).
According to Josefsson et al. (2017), most published studies on athletes measuring dispositional mindfulness have used general mindfulness questionnaires. It has been recommended to use a more sport-specific mindfulness questionnaire when investigating dispositional mindfulness in athlete populations (Josefsson et al., 2017). AMQ was used in this study for the purpose of studying mindfulness in a sport-context. AMQ consists of three subscales which are present- moment attention, awareness, and acceptance (Zhang et al. 2017). Present-moment attention includes statements such as “I can maintain my focus under training”. Awareness includes statements such as “During training or competition, I can be immediately aware of my emotional changes”. Acceptance includes statements such as “During training or competition, I tell myself that I should not have certain thoughts”. The Cronbach's value for this study was .853.
Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) is a multidimensional measure of cognitive and somatic trait anxiety in sports performance settings that measures the dimensions; somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption (Smith, Smoll, Cumming, & Grossbard, 2006). SAS-2 consists of 15 items on a 4-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree). The items regarding somatic anxiety include statements such as “My body feels tense”. Items regarding worry include statements such as “I worry that I will play badly”. Items regarding concentration disruption include statements such as “I cannot think during the game”. In a study
by Grossbard, Cumming, Standage, Smith and Smoll (2007), Cronbach's alpha for SAS-2 was .81 for the somatic anxiety subscale, .87 for worry, and .75 for concentration disruption. The total alpha was .87 for the preseason test and 0.94 for the late-season test (Grossbard et al., 2007). Cronbach's alpha in this study was .786 for the somatic anxiety subscale, .907 for worry, and .809 for concentration disruption. Cronbach’s alpha for the complete scale in this study was .902.
Rumination Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999) consists of a rumination subscale and a reflective subscale and measures individuals’ tendencies to engage in reflective and ruminative thinking. Only the rumination subscale was used in this study. The subscale consists of 12 items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) and consist of items such as “Often I’m playing back over in my mind how I acted in a past situation” and “I spend a great deal of time thinking back over my embarrassing or
disappointing moments”. The rumination subscale has good internal reliability, α=.90 (Trapnell
& Campbell, 1999). The Cronbach’s value for this study was .889.
Sports Performance Questionnaire (SPQ) is a self-assessed performance questionnaire (Wolanin, 2005). The questionnaire consists of 10 items on a 10-point Likert scale (1=very bad, 10=very good). The questionnaire does not use statements but rather uses predefined aspects of sports performance such as technique which is defined as your technical ability regarding your sport, and speed which was defined as the ability to act and respond quickly in all of the directions of the game. SPQ also includes an item assessing the overall performance of the athlete.
Data analysis
The collected data was processed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 25.0 (SPSS). Pearson’s r correlation was used in order to analyze the relationship between mindfulness, rumination, sport-trait anxiety (divided into somatic and cognitive anxiety) and self-assessed performance. Cognitive anxiety was further divided into two parts;
concentration disruption and worry. A mediation analysis was conducted in order to test the hypothesis with the use of PROCESS, which is a software extension of SPSS. According to Preacher and Hayes (2008), mediation analysis is used to examine how an independent variable (X) affects a dependent variable (Y) through a mediator (M). The indirect effect occurring through mediation is not reported through a typical p-value, but rather as statistically significant of a 95% CI-value (confidence interval; Preacher & Hayes, 2008). If the CI-value for the indirect effect contains a zero, variable M can be deemed not to mediate the relationship between X and Y (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). In the present study, the effect of mindfulness (X) on self-assessed performance (Y) through both rumination and sport-trait anxiety (M) as potential mediators were examined in a mediation model (see Figure 2). The mediation analysis examined the relationship between mindfulness and sport-trait anxiety (line a1 for concentration disruption, line a2 for worry, line a3 for somatic anxiety), sport-trait anxiety and self-assessed performance (line b1 for concentration disruption, line b2 for worry, line b3 for somatic anxiety), mindfulness and
rumination (line a4), rumination and self-assessed performance (line b4), mindfulness and self- assessed performance through the mediators (line ć1 for concentration disruption, line ć2 for worry, line ć3 for somatic anxiety, line ć4 for rumination), and lastly mindfulness and self- assessed performance without the mediating effects (line c).
Results
Correlational analysis
Table 1: Correlation matrix of the examined variables.
Variables 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1. Dispositional mindfulness 1 -.223 -.175 -.104 -.316* .312*
2. Anxiety concentration disruption 1 .593** .545** .295* -.297*
3. Anxiety worry 1 .492** .414** -.041
4. Anxiety somatic 1 .258 -.146
5. Rumination 1 .087
6. Self-assessed performance 1
*p < .05, **p < .01 Mediation analysis
Results showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self- assessed performance through concentration disruption (ab = .069, 95%(CI) = -.038, .189, p
>.05). A significant direct effect could be found between dispositional mindfulness and self- assessed performance without the mediator, but not with the mediator. No significant effect could be found between dispositional mindfulness and concentration disruption, nor between concentration disruption and self-assessed performance. Results indicate that concentration disruption does not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance.
Table 5: Regression results from mediation analysis of the effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through concentration disruption.
Model Value SE p CI(lower) CI(upper)
Model without mediator
AMQ SPQ .401 .171 .023
R2x-y .097
Model with mediator
AMQ SAS-2C -.080 .049 .109
SAS-2C SPQ -.861 .480 .079
AMQ SPQ .333 .172 .059
Indirect effect .069 .058 -.038 .190
R2-m .050
R2-y .152
Note: AMQ = Dispositional mindfulness, SAS-2C = Concentration disruption component of sport-trait anxiety, SPQ = Self-assessed performance, x = AMQ, y = SPQ, m = SAS-2C.
Results showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self- assessed performance through worry (ab = -.003, 95%(CI) = -.103, .076, p >.05). A significant direct effect could be found between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance both with and without the mediator. No significant effect was found between dispositional mindfulness and worry, nor between worry and self-assessed performance. These results indicate that worry does not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance.
Table 3: Regression results from mediation analysis of the effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through worry.
Model Value SE p CI(lower) CI(upper)
Model without mediator
AMQ SPQ .401 .171 .023
R2x-y .097
Model with mediator
AMQ SAS-2W -.094 .074 .209
SAS-2W SPQ .034 .328 .918
AMQ SPQ .404 .176 .026
Indirect effect -.003 .041 -.103 .071
R2-m .031
R2-y .097
Note: AMQ = Dispositional mindfulness, SAS-2W = Worry component of sport-trait anxiety, SPQ = Self-assessed performance, x = AMQ, y = SPQ, m = SAS-2W.
Results showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self- assessed performance through somatic anxiety (ab = .015, 95%(CI) = -.076, .112, p >.05). A direct significant effect could be found between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance. No significant effect was found between somatic anxiety and dispositional mindfulness, nor between somatic anxiety and self-assessed performance. Results indicate that somatic anxiety does not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self- assessed performance.
Table 4: Regression results from mediation analysis of the effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through somatic anxiety.
Model Value SE p CI(lower) CI(upper)
Model without mediator
AMQ SPQ .401 .171 .023
R2x-y .097
Model with mediator
AMQ SAS-2S -.046 .061 .458
SAS-2S SPQ -.336 .393 .397
AMQ SPQ .386 .173 .030
Indirect effect .015 .045 -.080 .112
R2-m .011
R2-y .110
Note: AMQ = Dispositional mindfulness, SAS-2S = Somatic component of sport-trait anxiety, SPQ = Self-assessed performance, x = AMQ, y = SPQ, m = SAS-2S.
Results showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self- assessed performance through rumination (ab = -.084, 95%(CI) = -.305, .018, p >.05). A
significant direct effect between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance could be found both with and without the mediator. A significant effect was also found between dispositional mindfulness and rumination. No significant results could be found between
rumination and self-assessed performance. These results indicate that rumination does not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance.
Table 2: Regression results from mediation analysis of the effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through rumination.
Model Value SE p CI(lower) CI(upper)
Model without mediator
AMQ SPQ .401 .171 .023
R2x-y .097
Model with mediator
AMQ RRQ -.413 .174 .021
RRQ SPQ .203 .136 .144
AMQ SPQ .485 .178 .009
Indirect effect -.084 .086 -.310 .021
R2-m .100
R2-y .135
Note: AMQ = Dispositional mindfulness, RRQ = Rumination, SPQ = Self-assessed performance, x = AMQ, y = SPQ, m = RRQ
Discussion
The purpose of the study was to examine rumination and sport-related trait anxiety (somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption) as possible mediators between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance. The results indicated that neither rumination nor sport-trait anxiety mediated the relationship between mindfulness and self-assessed performance at a significant level.
Sport-trait anxiety
The present study showed no significant effect of dispositional mindfulness on self- assessed performance through sport-trait anxiety at either of the dimensions (somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption). These results could not support the findings of Röthlin et al. (2016) who found cognitive trait anxiety to mediate the relationship between mindfulness and performance. It did, however, support the findings of Röthlin et al. (2016) regarding somatic anxiety not being a mediator. Even though Röthlin (2016) found a significant correlation between cognitive anxiety and performance, no subscales of cognitive anxiety were discussed.
The relationship between mindfulness and performance is complex but there are clues that shed light on the relationship. Dehghani et al. (2018) discussed that mindfulness may lead to a greater awareness of internal as well as external stimuli. According to Josefsson et al. (2017), dispositional mindfulness may increase the ability for athletes to be aware of and understand potential performance-inhibiting emotions and thoughts. Bishop et al. (2004) discussed the self- regulation of attention as a part of mindfulness, which includes skills of sustained attention and attention switching. Sustained attention keeps the individual anchored in the current experience, whereas attention switching allows the individual to bring back the attention to relevant cues once thoughts, feelings, and sensations have been acknowledged (Bishop et al., 2004). This suggests that the symptoms of anxiety are noticed by the mindful athlete, and with enough skill in attention switching, the athlete can switch focus to more relevant performance cues, despite
experiencing anxiety. These skills of mindfulness might help explain why no mediation was found between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance through sport-trait anxiety in the present study. Mindfulness also helps promote curiosity and acceptance of one’s thoughts, emotions, and sensations (Bishop et al., 2004). According to Bishop et al. (2004), this type of approach can help the individual experience emotional distress as less threatening and unpleasant. According to Röthlin et al. (2016), people can cognitively be very anxious but still be able to perform. Some athletes high in dispositional mindfulness might experience the full range of symptoms of anxiety, but do not interpret them as threatening and debilitating to performance.
Instead, these athletes perhaps welcome the anxiety with openness and are not threatened nor disturbed by it and feel as if they can perform at a high level despite the anxiety. This might also explain why some studies have not found significant correlations between mindfulness and sport anxiety (e. g. Scott-Hamilton et al., 2016; Kauffman et al., 2009). According to the conceptual model of trait athletic performance anxiety, performance is affected by the athletes’ responses to their perceived anxiety (Smith et al., 1998). Debilitative behavioral responses to anxiety include impulsive and inappropriate actions (Smith et al., 1998). One of the proposed ways mindfulness affects behavior is to reduce automatic and habitual patterns of reactivity to thoughts and
emotions and respond more reflectively instead (Bishop et al., 2004). By acting less habitually to inner experiences, the athlete would be able to “choose” a more appropriate response in a given situation. MAC cultivates this type of approach by encouraging the athlete to focus on task- relevant stimuli and act according to his or her athletic values, rather than focusing on irrelevant internal processes (Gardner & Moore, 2007). This further supports the notion that despite experiencing anxiety, mindfulness may help athletes achieve a desired level of performance by being focused on the task at hand and act according to their athletic values instead of reacting impulsively.
Still, some studies do find significant negative correlations between mindfulness and sport anxiety (Weinberg & Genuchi 1980; Smith et al., 2001; Wilson et al., 2007). Weinberg and Genuchi (1980) found a negative correlation between trait anxiety and performance in golf players and discussed the importance of low anxiety in fine motor tasks. The current study, on the other hand, investigated trait anxiety and self-reported performance in athletes from multiple sports with no golf players. The broad range of sports in the present study and the potential difference in the importance of anxiety on fine motor tasks compared to golf players might explain the different results between the studies. Smith et al. (2001) did not necessarily find a negative correlation between trait anxiety and performance in their study. The players high in trait anxiety reported higher mental effort in situations where the performance was equivalent to the players low in trait anxiety (Smith et al., 2001). In other words, it required more effort from the high trait anxious players to perform as well as the low trait anxious players. Whether or not they played worse is not discussed. Wilson et al. (2007) found that participants high in trait anxiety performed worse than participants low in trait anxiety in both high and low-pressure situations. They discussed that the compensatory effort made by the high trait anxious group was not enough to make up for their less efficient processing which leads to performance detriments (Wilson et al., 2007). The current study did not research the amount of effort it took to achieve a certain level of performance. Therefore, the sample of the current study may compensate for the lack of efficiency by increasing the amount of effort. In other words, their performance may be impacted by anxiety but not enough to the point where it cannot be compensated for by
increasing the amount of effort.
The current study found a correlation between performance and concentration disruption, but not the other two aspects of sport-trait anxiety. There is a possibility that only concentration disruption is correlated with performance not cognitive anxiety as a whole. As discussed, both cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety are feelings and thoughts that do not have to be
detrimental to performance as long as the athlete can manage them. Concentration disruption, on the other hand, is not a feeling or emotion, it pertains to difficulties in focusing on task-relevant external cues such as instructions from the coach and changing game situations (Grossbard, Smith, Smoll & Cumming, 2008). According to the conceptual model of athletic performance anxiety, both somatic and cognitive anxiety lead to different consequences which can, in turn, be debilitative and/or facilitative (Smith et al., 1998). Concentration disruption has the potential to be harmful by itself. In a study by Smith, Smoll and Schutz (1990; ref. in Grossbard et al., 2008) that linked scores of SAS with athletic performance over the course of a season, concentration disruption was the only significant predictor of game performance. It can, therefore, be theorized that concentration disruption is more impactful to performance than worry and somatic anxiety.
Rumination
One of the proposed paths of mindfulness performance enhancement was through rumination. The results indicate that rumination does not mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and self-assessed performance at a significant level. A significant negative correlation was found between dispositional mindfulness and rumination, which is in line with the current literature, but no correlation was found between rumination and
performance. According to Josefsson et al. (2017), athletes high in dispositional mindfulness tend to regulate their emotions more effectively while avoiding rumination. Dehghani et al (2018) discussed that mindfulness might increase the ability for athletes to be aware of and understand performance inhibiting emotions and thoughts while possibly making it easier for them to manage arousal and emotions in general. According to Querstret and Cropley (2013), mindfulness-based interventions that lead to a change of thinking styles and disengagement from emotional responses could be helpful in reducing rumination. Bishop et al. (2004) discussed mindfulness as a way to foster non-elaborative awareness of inner experiences. Once a thought, feeling, or sensation has been acknowledged, awareness is brought back to the task at hand which prevents secondary elaborative processing of these inner experiences (Bishop et al., 2004).
Cognitive resources can then attend to processing more relevant information in the present (Bishop et al., 2004). In the present study, participants high in mindfulness may experience less rumination due to being able to hinder themselves from excessive elaborative processing of the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that are not relevant to the task at hand. This also supports the hypothesis that a difference in thinking styles affects the level of engagement to emotional responses that are associated with rumination.
However, the decrease in rumination does not seem to enhance performance according to the present study. Research on the relationship between rumination and athletic performance is scarce (Kröhler & Berti, 2019), although a few studies suggest that there might be a possible correlation (e. g. Scott Jr et a., 2002; Bennet et al., 2016; Brinker et al., 2013). Scott Jr et al.
(2002) found that rumination was negatively correlated with performance but did not discuss the reason. Scott Jr et al. (2002) do discuss their low number of participants (n = 10) and the low generalizability of their sample especially to markedly different samples like recreational players due to it consisting of only highly trained elite players. Bennet et al. (2016) found a negative correlation between rumination and performance decrements, more specifically lost movement
syndrome and the yips. Athletes in the current study reported self-perceived performance
attributes. The difference in results may be due to the measurement of different variables and the difference in samples. Brinker et al. (2013) discussed the reason for the correlation between rumination and performance in their study was that rumination impacted the athlete’s ability to focus.
Rumination has been associated with recurring negative thinking about thoughts, feelings, and behavior (Smith & Alloy, 2009) about past and present-oriented events (Nolen- Hoeksema et al., 2008). According to Kee and Wang (2008), focus on the present moment may increase the likelihood of successful performance as unnecessary distractions linked to past and future events are temporarily suspended. Gardner and Moore (2007) suggest that present moment focus on task-relevant cues may facilitate the automatic execution of performance. Because of the different speculations and theories about how ruminative thinking may impact performance, a correlation test was conducted between rumination and each item of SPQ independently in order to see if rumination had correlations with the items more similar in nature to itself. Results showed no significant correlation between rumination and any of the items of SPQ. One
explanation for this might be that the rumination questionnaire used in the present study measures general rumination, as opposed to rumination in sports context. According to Smith and Alloy (2009), the definition of rumination is dependent on the context in which it is discussed. Perhaps not specifying the context may have affected the results. Since no sport- specific rumination questionnaire is known to the authors, this was not a possible approach for the present study. There is also the possibility that rumination does not mediate the relationship between mindfulness and athletic performance. Since rumination is relatively untested in a sports context, its impact on performance is not certain. Further studies examining the relationship between rumination in a sports context and athletic performance is therefore needed.
Mindfulness
In order to further understand mindfulness relationship with performance and to investigate other possible paths, an analysis was done between mindfulness and every item of SPQ independently. Mindfulness only had significant correlations with concentration, speed, and total performance. The correlation with concentration is congruent with Gardner and Moore’s (2012) suggestions about attention capacity making it easier for athletes to stay focused on task- relevant stimuli and making them less vulnerable to distractions that may be detrimental to high- level performance. Although the correlation between speed and mindfulness might seem random, speed was defined as the ability to act and respond quickly in all the directions of the game.
Josefsson et al. (2019) suggested attention abilities contribute to how well the athlete can read the game respond to rapid changes. The results of the current study point to mindfulness improving performance through attention and concentration. Further studies investigating that relationship is needed.
Limitations
The results of the present study should be interpreted with caution due to it having limitations, one of which was the use of a self-assessing performance questionnaire in a
heterogeneous sample. Considering the broad range of athletic level in the studied sample, it is not unreasonable to think that the athletes have different sets of standards regarding performance.
If this is true, then there might unsurprisingly be very differing interpretations of the different points on the Likert scale of SPQ. The same value on the scale might have been interpreted
differently between a high-level athlete and a low-level athlete. A more homogeneous sample consisting of only elite athletes might have produced more trustworthy results since they might have more similar sets of standards.
According to Podsakoff et al. (2003), a common method problem is the bias that might arise when the respondent providing the measure for both the criterion and predictor is the same person. This brings the risk of social desirability to occur which is when the participants present themselves in a favorable way, regardless of what might really be true (Podsakoff et al., 2003).
According to Ganster, Hennessey and Luthans (1983), this may act as a suppressor that masks the true relationship between variables. By introducing external observers measuring the performance of the participants (e.g. their coach), the risk for social desirability in the present study could be reduced. Another way to reduce the risk of social desirability is to ensure anonymity (Mitchell & Jolley, 2013). While anonymity was not completely ensured due to the participants being required to enter their email address thus risking social bias, the participants were informed that their data would be confidential and not analyzed on an individual level.
According to Mitchell and Jolley (2013), the use of objective measures can reduce measurement errors. Thus, another way to ensure measures that more accurately reflects athletic performance is to use objective measures. This could require examining a population where the performance is more easily assessed using objective measures, such as swimmers and runners.
Since the present study included participants from various sports, including ones where performance is not as easily assessed, the results may have been more prone to measurement errors.
Another limitation of the study was measuring the dependent variable before the independent variable. According to MacKinnon, Fairchild and Fritz (2007), the independent variable is measured before the dependent variable in longitudinal mediation analysis. However, the present study did not examine changes over time in the variables and results were not
expected to be affected by the order in which the data was collected.
Despite the discussed flaws, the present study also has a couple of strengths. According to Nunnally (1978; ref. in Howitt & Cramer, 2017), a Cronbach’s alpha value greater than .70 is generally considered satisfactory. Most of the Cronbach’s alpha values for the measurements in this study were above .80 (somatic anxiety being the lowest with a value of .786, while worry being the highest with .907), which indicates that the tests themselves can be considered reliable.
According to Podsakoff et al., (2003), temporal separation can reduce common method variance (which is seen as a potential problem in behavioral research). By separating the measurements with a time lag, the present study has reduced the likelihood of common method variance affecting the results.
Implications
As stated previously, the results are to be taken in with caution. Although these results could not determine mechanisms of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance, they still indicated that mindfulness has some sort of positive relationship with performance. This could imply that it may be beneficial for athletes to keep practicing mindfulness in order to enhance performance, despite not yet fully understanding the underlying mechanisms.
Considering the fact that dispositional mindfulness still had a significant effect on self-assessed performance through worry and somatic anxiety (both with and without the mediators), athletes experiencing these symptoms of anxiety may interpret the internal states differently and thus perform differently depending on the interpretation. Although the interpretation of these internal
states and how that relates to performance is not researched in the present study, the fact that no significant indirect effect between the studied variables was found could imply that some athletes can perform at a high level despite experiencing these internal states. This would further imply that diminishing or eliminating these internal states might not be the optimal way of approaching performance enhancement for everyone. Since rumination was not found to mediate the
relationship between mindfulness and performance in the present study and the empirical evidence in this subject is very limited, the details of this relationship is still unclear. The knowledge about the relationship might be insufficient enough to have any practical
implications. However, in order to fully understand these relationships and justify or reject these implications, further research on the subject is needed.
Future research
Little to no research has been conducted on the relationship between mindfulness and performance through rumination. In order to further understand this relationship, future research could include examining the effect of dispositional mindfulness on athletic performance through rumination but by using a more objective measure of performance. More objective measures can be achieved by examining performance results from a homogenous group from a sport with objective performance markers. Moreover, examining the relationship between rumination and performance using a sport-specific rumination questionnaire could more accurately measure rumination in the intended context. Rumination could also be further researched with more specific parts of performance such as focus and attention due to them being closer in nature to rumination than other performance aspects such as strength.
Since mindfulness may help athletes perform despite experiencing symptoms of anxiety (which are usually regarded as debilitating for performance), future research could help clarify this phenomenon by studying specific factors of mindfulness that may relate to cognitive anxiety (such as attention switching and acceptance of internal states) and how this affects performance.
Due to the importance of how the anxiety is experienced (whether it is seen as debilitative or not), the effect of mindfulness on the experience of anxiety could be researched as a possible mediator between mindfulness and performance. The concentration disruption aspect of anxiety showed a statistically significant correlation with performance, which may be worthwhile investigating more closely.
Conclusion
The results from the present study showed no significant indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on self-assessed performance through either rumination nor trait anxiety as
mediators. Despite this, a significant direct effect could be found between dispositional
mindfulness and self-assessed performance both with and without the mediators (except for with concentration disruption). An explanation of this is discussed as a difference in the interpretation of the symptoms that sport-trait anxiety carries. It may be possible that athletes high in sport-trait anxiety perceive these symptoms to be performance debilitating, whereas other athletes have a different relationship with anxiety and do not find it to be as debilitating to performance. The unexpected results of rumination may be due to the use of a general rumination scale, as opposed to a sport-specific scale. Since research on rumination as a mediator between mindfulness and performance is very scarce, the knowledge about the relationship might be insufficient enough to have any practical implications. It is stated that these results should be taken lightly due to the
limitations of the study. The implications are mere assumptions and it is discussed that further research is needed to either strengthen or dismiss them.
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