Perfectionism and Attitudes Toward Sport Psychology Support and Mental Health Support in Athletes

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Dean R. Watson York St. John University

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Andrew P. Hill York St. John University

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Daniel J. Madigan York St. John University

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2020-0052
Keywords:
help-seeking; perfectionistic concerns; perfectionistic strivings
First Published Online:
21 Sep 2021
In Print:
Volume 17: Issue 1
Page Range:
11–26
Restricted access

Attitudes toward help-seeking will contribute to whether athletes ask for support for performance and mental health issues when needed. While research outside of sport has found perfectionism is related to negative attitudes toward help-seeking, no studies have examined the relationship in sport. The authors provided the first test of whether perfectionism predicted attitudes toward both sport psychology support and mental health support. One hundred and sixty-six collegiate athletes completed measures of perfectionism and attitudes toward sport psychology support and mental health support. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perfectionistic concerns positively predicted closedness and stigma toward sport psychology support and mental health support, and negatively predicted help-seeking toward mental health support. However, perfectionistic strivings negatively predicted stigma toward sport psychology support and mental health support, and positively predicted confidence in sport psychology support and help-seeking toward mental health support. Athletes higher in perfectionistic concerns are less likely to seek support when required.

The authors are with the School of Science, Technology and Health, York St. John University, York, United Kingdom.

Watson (dean.watson@yorksj.ac.uk) is corresponding author.
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