The interplay between perfectionism, perceived stress, and self-confidence in competitive athletes: indirect pathways and total unique effects

Although perfectionistic strivings and concerns show distinct associations with athletes' psychological functioning, no study has estimated their total unique effects on perceived stress and self-confidence. Moreover, it remains untested whether perceived stress serves as a pathway linking perfectionism to athletes' self-confidence. We aimed to a) estimate the total unique effects of perfectionism on perceived stress and self-confidence, and b) test the indirect effects of both perfectionism dimensions on self-confidence via perceived stress.

A total of 214 Polish athletes (98 female, 116 male; age range 14-30; M = 18.94, SD = 2.90) from individual and team sports, competing at diverse sport levels, completed online questionnaires assessing perfectionism, perceived stress, and self-confidence. Total unique effects were estimated and path analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling with bootstrapped confidence intervals.

Total unique effects of perfectionism were relatively large for perceived stress and small to medium for self-confidence. Perfectionistic concerns positively predicted perceived stress and negatively predicted self-confidence, whereas perfectionistic strivings showed no significant effect on stress and positively predicted confidence. The indirect effect of perfectionistic concerns on self-confidence via perceived stress was significant (B = -0.15, 95% CI [-0.289, -0.053]). Perfectionistic strivings showed no indirect effect (B = -0.01, 95% CI [-0.097, 0.053]).

The findings suggest perceived stress as a potential pathway linking perfectionistic concerns to reduced self-confidence, contributing 21% of its total effect. Perfectionistic strivings appear to enhance confidence independently of perceived stress. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm the direction and stability of these pathways.