Comparison of psychological constructs in university athletes during a national competition

Abstract

Student-athletes have dual-role demands because in addition to being competitive level athletes, they have academic responsibilities to fulfill. This situation could generate psychological distress that may affect their quality of life. The purpose of the study was to compare psychological constructs in college athletes participating in the Mexican University National Games. The sample comprised 402 athletes (Males = 210, Females = 192) who completed measures of burnout, sports climate, self-esteem, depression, competitive anxiety, and body image. Athletes showed low selfesteem and burnout risk; females showed high self-esteem and males low anxiety. Team sports showed high depression, low anxiety and good sports climate scores. Southern athletes were prone to burnout and athletes from the center of the country showed high self-confidence. In conclusion, psychological constructs were different in males and females from individual and team sports and regions of Mexico during sports completion.