A Moderated Mediation Model of Wellbeing and Competitive Anxiety in Male Marathon Runners

Abstract

Running marathons is an increasingly popular activity with an ever-increasing number of events and participants. Many participants declare that they pursue a variety of goals by running, namely, the maintenance of good health, the development of strength and improvement of fitness, the management of emotions, and the achievement of resilience and psychological wellbeing (PWB). The research has examined marathon running, like many other sports, and has studied various factors that reduce athletic performance, such as the experience of anxiety, and that enhance such performance, such as an increase in general wellbeing. This article reports the results of a study on the experience of competitive anxiety among 238 male marathon runners who participated in Seville’s (Spain) 26th Marathon race on February 23, 2020, and investigates the relationship between anxiety and key dimensions of wellbeing as measured by the Spanish-adapted 20-item PWB Scale. We hypothesized that participating athletes who rated high on the dimensions of PWB would experience lower levels of competitive anxiety with respect to this race. We also proposed that PWB would function as a mediating factor with respect to the experience of anxiety. The results show, as hypothesized, that marathon running enhances wellbeing and reduces anxiety. The data showed significant negative correlations between four of five wellbeing dimensions and the three types of anxiety measured, namely, somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration-impairing anxiety. Other findings supported our hypothesis that wellbeing, as measured, functions as a mediating factor for the moderation of competitive anxiety. Generalization of these findings is limited by the fact that the low number of female participants recruited did not permit valid statistical analyses in this respect. It is known that both anxiety and wellbeing are subjects to variation by gender. The future inclusion of male and female subjects in equivalent studies will undoubtedly add valuable information concerning the dynamics of anxiety and wellbeing. The implications of these findings and the limitations of the study will be discussed.

Life Satisfaction and Psychological Capital in Athletes with Physical Disabilities

“…On the other hand, eudaimonic or psychological well-being is associated with functional capacity. It includes values such as the feeling of being alive or those related to personal growth [18,19]. In relation to this type of well-being, a positive affective state and a high psychological capacity facilitate optimal performance among athletes [12,[20][21][22].…”

La autoestima y su relación con la ansiedad precompetitiva en futbolistas

“…Con respecto a la ansiedad precompetitiva se realizaron investigaciones que demuestran que los niveles de ansiedad precompetitiva son elevados e influyen en el desempeño de la competencia (Contessoto et al, 2021;Tomé-Lourido et al, 2019). En estudios referentes al sexo se determinó que existe prevalencia en las mujeres, lo que afecta a la concentración y rendimiento físico (Haase, 2021;Jaenes et al, 2022;Menéndez Fierros & Becerra Hernández, 2020;Salom Martorell et al, 2020;Tudela & Jiménez, 2022)entre los 14 y 22 años de edad, identificando los elementos motivantes (externos e internos. Mientras que, en los hombres se observó niveles bajos frente al encuentro deportivo, constatando mayor seguridad y habilidad táctica (Pérez Cáceres et al, 2021;Sepúlveda-Páez et al, 2019;Serrano et al, 2019)aunque este aspecto no ha sido explorado en deporte infantil.…”