Perceived stress mediates the relationship between professional role and trait anxiety in coaches and referees

Understanding the psychological processes underlying anxiety in sport professionals represents a central issue in sport psychology. Although previous research has documented differences in stress and anxiety across sport roles, less attention has been devoted to examining the potential explanatory pathways through which these differences emerge, particularly within specific sport contexts such as football. The present study aimed to examine whether perceived stress mediates the relationship between professional role and trait anxiety in football coaches and referees.

A total of 177 football professionals (94 referees and 83 coaches) competing at the regional level completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a short version of the Big Five personality questionnaire, and the Psychological Stress Measure. Group differences, correlations, hierarchical regression analyses, and mediation analysis were conducted.

Data showed that referees reported significantly higher levels of perceived stress and trait anxiety compared to coaches, whereas coaches scored higher on openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Perceived stress was positively associated with both state and trait anxiety and emerged as the strongest predictor in regression analyses. Mediation analysis revealed that perceived stress significantly mediated the relationship between professional role and trait anxiety. The indirect effect was significant, while the direct effect remained significant, indicating a partial mediation.

These findings suggest that differences in anxiety between sport professionals are not solely related to role-specific demands, but also to how these demands are perceived and cognitively appraised. Perceived stress appears to represent a potential explanatory pathway associated with anxiety in sport contexts. From a theory-informed explanatory perspective, the results highlight the importance of considering cognitive appraisal processes in understanding emotional responses in high-pressure sport roles, with relevant implications for both theory and applied practice.