The moderating role of mindfulness in the relationship between threat appraisal and negative emotions in male elite footballers

Background: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived threat appraisal before competition and negative emotions in elite football players, and to analyze the moderating role of mindfulness in this relationship. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 299 elite male football players from Turkish football leagues. Data were collected using the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport, Emotions Inventory for Sport, and Challenge and Threat Scale. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results: The results revealed a positive correlation between threat appraisal and negative emotions, indicating that higher threat appraisal is associated with increased negative emotions. Mindfulness was found to have a negative relationship with both threat appraisal and negative emotions. Additionally, mindfulness was found to mitigate the relationship between threat appraisal and negative emotions, suggesting that mindfulness can help manage the emotional impact of threat appraisal. Conclusions: These findings imply that athletes’ emotional states can be better regulated in high-pressure situations through mindfulness. The study provides practical implications for athletes and coaches, and emphasizes the need for further longitudinal and experimental research to explore the effects of threat appraisal and mindfulness in greater detail.

Elite football players; Stress; Threat appraisal; Negative emotion; Mindfulness

[1] IOC. Simone Biles withdraws from women’s all-around final. 2021. Available at: https://olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-withdraws-from-women-s-all-around-final (Accessed: 05 March 2023).

[2] Gouttebarge V, Castaldelli-Maia JM, Gorczynski P, Hainline B, Hitchcock ME, Kerkhoffs GM, et al. Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019; 53: 700–706.

[3] Reardon CL, Hainline B, Aron CM, Baron D, Baum AL, Bindra A, et al. Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019). British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019; 53: 667–699.

[4] Castaldelli-Maia JM, Gallinaro JGDME, Falcão RS, Gouttebarge V, Hitchcock ME, Hainline B, et al. Mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes: a systematic review on cultural influencers and barriers to athletes seeking treatment

. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019; 53: 707–721.

[5] Rumbold J, Didymus F. Organizational stress in competitive sport. In Zenko Z, Jones L (eds.) Essentials of exercise and sport psychology: an open access textbook (pp. 710–733). 2nd edn. Society for Transparency, Openness, and Replication in Kinesiology: London. 2021.

[6] Drew M, Vlahovich N, Hughes D, Appaneal R, Burke LM, Lundy B, et al. Prevalence of illness, poor mental health and sleep quality and low energy availability prior to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018; 52: 47–53.

[7] Schaal K, Tafflet M, Nassif H, Thibault V, Pichard C, Alcotte M, et al. Psychological balance in high level athletes: gender-based differences and sport-specific patterns. PLOS ONE. 2011; 6: e19007.

[8] McDuff DR. Adjustment and anxiety disorders. In Currie A, Owen B (eds.) Sports psychiatry (pp. 1–16). 1st edn. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 2016.

[9] Gill VS, Sullivan G, Stearns H, Tummala SV, Haglin JM, Economopoulos KJ, et al. Mental health in elite athletes: a systematic review of suicidal behaviour as compared to the general population. Sports Medicine. 2024; 54: 1–18.

[10] Purcell R, Gwyther K, Rice SM. Mental health in elite athletes: increased awareness requires an early intervention framework to respond to athlete needs. Sports Medicine—Open. 2019; 5: 46.

[11] Lazarus RS, Folkman S. Stress, appraisal, and coping. 1st edn. Springer publishing company: New York. 1984.

[12] Jamieson JP, Peters BJ, Greenwood EJ, Altose AJ. Reappraising stress arousal improves performance and reduces evaluation anxiety in classroom exam situations. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2016; 7: 579–587.

[13] Neil R, Hanton S, Mellalieu SD, Fletcher D. Competition stress and emotions in sport performers: the role of further appraisals. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2011; 12: 460–470.

[14] Meijen C, Turner M, Jones MV, Sheffield D, McCarthy P. A theory of challenge and threat states in athletes: a revised conceptualization. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020; 11: 126.

[15] Fletcher D, Hanton S, Mellaileu S. An organisational stress review: conceptual and theoretical issues in competitive sport. In Hanton S, Mellalieu SD (eds.) Literature reviews in sport psychology (pp. 321–374). 1st edn. Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL. 2006.

[16] Souter G, Lewis R, Serrant L. Men, mental health and elite sport: a narrative review. Sports Medicine—Open. 2018; 4: 57.

[17] James IA, Morris S, Johnston A, Glover D. Treating mental stress in elite footballers using a stigma-free psychological approach: the power threat meaning framework. BJPsych Advances. 2023; 29: 373–380.

[18] Yarayan YE, Solmaz S, Aslan M, Batrakoulis A, Al-Mhanna SB, Keskin K. Sex differences in athletic performance response to the imagery and mental toughness of elite middle- and long-distance runners. Sports. 2024; 12: 141.

[19] Junge A, Feddermann-Demont N. Prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level male and female football players. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. 2016; 2: e000087.

[20] Mansell PC. Stress mindset in athletes: investigating the relationships between beliefs, challenge and threat with psychological wellbeing. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2021; 57: 102020.

[21] Uphill MA, Rossato CJL, Swain J, ODriscoll J. Challenge and threat: a critical review of the literature and an alternative conceptualization. Frontiers in Psychology. 2019; 10: 1255.

[22] Jones M, Meijen C, McCarthy PJ, Sheffield D. A theory of challenge and threat states in athletes. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2009; 2: 161–180.

[23] Kabat-Zinn J, Wheeler E, Light T, Skillings A, Scharf MJ, Cropley TG, et al. Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosomatic Medicine. 1998; 60: 625–632.

[24] Scherer KR. Feelings integrate the central representation of appraisal-driven response organization in emotion. In Manstead A, Frijda N, Fischer A (eds.) Feelings and emotions (the amsterdam symposium) (pp. 136–57). 1st edn. Cambridge University Press: UK. 2004.

[25] Lavoie CÉ, Vallerand RJ, Verner-Filion J. Passion and emotions: the mediating role of cognitive appraisals. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2021; 54: 101907.

[26] Blascovich J, Vanman E, Mendes W, Dickerson S. Social psychophysiology for social and personality psychology. 1st edn. Sage Publications: London. 2011.

[27] Kavussanu M, Dewar AJ, Boardley ID. Achievement goals and emotions in athletes: the mediating role of challenge and threat appraisals. Motivation and Emotion. 2014; 38: 589–599.

[28] Rossato CJL, Uphill MA, Swain J, Coleman DA. The development and preliminary validation of the challenge and threat in sport (CAT-Sport) scale. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2018; 16: 164–177.

[29] Skinner N, Brewer N. Adaptive approaches to competition: challenge appraisals and positive emotion. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2004; 26: 283–305.

[30] Beatty GF, Janelle CM. Emotion regulation and motor performance: an integrated review and proposal of the temporal influence model of emotion regulation (TIMER). International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2020; 13: 266–296.

[31] Ruiz MC, Robazza C. Emotion regulation. In Hackfort D, Schinke RJ (eds.) The Routledge international encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology (pp. 263–280.). 2nd edn. Taylor & Francis: New York. 2020.

[32] Kim J, Tamminen KA. Emotion regulation among competitive youth athletes: exploring the independent and interactive effects of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2023; 21: 534–556.

[33] Robazza C, Morano M, Bortoli L, Ruiz MC. Athletes basic psychological needs and emotions: the role of cognitive reappraisal. Frontiers in Psychology. 2023; 14: 1205102.

[34] Kaunhoven RJ, Dorjee D. Mindfulness versus cognitive reappraisal: the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the early and late brain potential markers of emotion regulation. Mindfulness. 2021; 12: 2266–2280.

[35] Lazarus RS. How emotions influence performance in competitive sports. The Sport Psychologist. 2000; 14: 229–252.

[36] Sammy N, Harris D, Vine S. Challenge and threat states, and emotions. In Ruiz M, Robazza C (eds.) Feelings in sport: theory, research, and practical implications for performance and well-being (pp. 18–26). 1st edn. Taylor & Francis: New York. 2021.

[37] Kabat-Zinn J. Wherever you go, there you are: mindfulness meditation in everyday life. 1st edn. Hyperion: UK. 1994.

[38] Zeller JM, Johnson AM, Hoffman A, Hoyem RL, Alexander MB, Yudkowsky R, et al. Mindfulness training to improve nurse clinical performance: a pilot study. Western Journal of Nursing Research. 2021; 43: 250–260.

[39] Bihari JLN, Mullan EG. Relating mindfully: a qualitative exploration of changes in relationships through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Mindfulness. 2014; 5: 46–59.

[40] Tingaz EO, Solmaz S, Ekiz MA, Atasoy M. The relationship between mindfulness and self-rated performance in student-athletes: the mediating role of depression, anxiety and stress. Sport Sciences for Health. 2022; 19: 657–663.

[41] Gu J, Strauss C, Bond R, Cavanagh K. How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical Psychology Review. 2015; 37: 1–12.

[42] Roemer L, Orsillo SM, Salters-Pedneault K. Efficacy of an acceptance-based behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2008; 76: 1083–1089.

[43] Kaufman KA, Glass CR, Pineau TR. Mindful sport performance enhancement: mental training for athletes and coaches. 1st edn. American Psychological Association: Washington. 2018.

[44] Tingaz EO, Solmaz S, Ekiz MA, Guvendi B. The relationship between mindfulness and happiness in student-athletes: the role of self-compassion—mediator or moderator? Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. 2022; 40: 75–85.

[45] Jones BJ, Kaur S, Miller M, Spencer RMC. Mindfulness-based stress reduction benefits psychological well-being, sleep quality, and athletic performance in female collegiate rowers. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020; 11: 572980.

[46] Hut M, Glass CR, Degnan KA, Minkler TO. The effects of mindfulness training on mindfulness, anxiety, emotion dysregulation, and performance satisfaction among female student-athletes: the moderating role of age. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2021; 1: 75–82.

[47] Noetel M, Ciarrochi J, Van Zanden B, Lonsdale C. Mindfulness and acceptance approaches to sporting performance enhancement: a systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2019; 12: 139–175.

[48] Oguntuase SB, Sun Y. Effects of mindfulness training on resilience, self-confidence and emotion regulation of elite football players: the mediating role of locus of control. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2022; 2: 198–205.

[49] Röthlin P, Horvath S, Trösch S, Holtforth MG, Birrer D. Differential and shared effects of psychological skills training and mindfulness training on performance-relevant psychological factors in sport: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology. 2020; 8: 80.

[50] Jekauc D, Kittler C, Schlagheck M. Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention for athletes. Psychology. 2017; 8: 1–13.

[51] Ajilchi B, Amini HR, Ardakani ZP, Zadeh MM, Kisely S. Applying mindfulness training to enhance the mental toughness and emotional intelligence of amateur basketball players. Australasian Psychiatry. 2019; 27: 291–296.

[52] Josefsson T, Ivarsson A, Gustafsson H, Stenling A, Lindwall M, Tornberg R, et al. Effects of mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) on sport-specific dispositional mindfulness, emotion regulation, and self-rated athletic performance in a multiple-sport population: an RCT study. Mindfulness. 2019; 10: 1518–1529.

[53] Levine GN, Cohen BE, Commodore-Mensah Y, Fleury J, Huffman JC, Khalid U, et al. Psychological health, well-being, and the mind-heart-body connection: a scientific statement from the American heart association. Circulation. 2021; 143: e763–e783.

[54] Suresh K, Chandrashekara S. Sample size estimation and power analysis for clinical research studies. Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences. 2012; 5: 7–13.

[55] Thienot E, Jackson B, Dimmock J, Grove JR, Bernier M, Fournier JF. Development and preliminary validation of the mindfulness inventory for sport. Sport and Exercise. 2014; 15: 72–80.

[56] Tingaz EO. Adaptation of the mindfulness inventory for sport into Turkish: a validity and reliability study. Spormetre the Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences.2020; 18: 71–80.

[57] Jones MV, Lane AM, Bray SR, Uphill M, Catlin J. Development and validation of the sport emotion questionnaire. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2005; 27: 407–431.

[58] Urfa O, Aşçı FH. Sport emotion questionnaire: reliability and validity study. Spormetre the Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences. 2019; 17: 42–55.

[59] Türkyılmaz B, Altıntaş A. Investigation of psychometric characteristics of challenge and threat in sports scale. Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Sports Sciences. 2020; 12: 178–183.

[60] George D, Mallery P. IBM SPSS statistics 25 step by step a simple guide and reference a simple guide and reference. 15th edn. Routledge: New York. 2019.

[61] Field A. Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. 6th edn. SAGE Publications Ltd: New York. 2024.

[62] Hayes AF. Partial, conditional, and moderated moderated mediation: quantification, inference, and interpretation. Common Monogram. 2018; 85: 4–40.

[63] Anderson JC, Gerbing DW. Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin. 1988; 103: 411–423.

[64] Kline RB. Principles and practices of structural equation modelling (Methodology in the social sciences). 4th edn. The Guilford Press: New York. 2016.

[65] Bollen KA. Structural equations with latent variables. 1st edn. John Wiley & Sons, Inc: Oxford, England. 1989.

[66] Fornell C, Larcker DF. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research. 1981; 18: 39–50.

[67] Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ, Anderson RE. Multivariate data analysis. 8th edn. CENGAGE INDIA: Hampshire, UK. 2019.

[68] Rollin J, Richard CG, Joy B. Football. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2023. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/sports/football-soccer (Accessed: 15 November 2024).

[69] Dubal S. The neoliberalization of football: rethinking neoliberalism through the commercialization of the beautiful game. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 2010; 45: 123–146.

[70] Skinner N, Brewer N. The dynamics of threat and challenge appraisals prior to stressful achievement events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2002; 83: 678.

[71] Jones G, Hanton S. Pre-competitive feeling states and directional anxiety interpretations. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2001; 19: 385–395.

[72] Cerin E. Anxiety versus fundamental emotions as predictors of perceived functionality of pre-competitive emotional states, threat, and challenge in individual sports. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2003; 15: 223–238.

[73] Izard CE. The psychology of emotions. 1st edn. Plenum Press: New York. 1991.

[74] Moore LJ, Vine SJ, Wilson MR, Freeman P. No the effect of challenge and threat states on performance: an examination of potential mechanisms. Psychophysiology. 2012; 49: 1417–1425.

[75] Quested E, Bosch JA, Burns VE, Cumming J, Ntoumanis N, Duda JL. Basic psychological need satisfaction, stress-related appraisals, and dancers cortisol and anxiety responses. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2011; 33: 828–846.

[76] Chadha NJ, Turner MJ, Slater MJ. Investigating ırrational beliefs, cognitive appraisals, challenge and threat, and affective states in golfers approaching competitive situations. Frontiers in Psychology. 2019; 10: 2295.

[77] Cerin E, Szabo A, Hunt N, Williams C. Temporal patterning of competitive emotions: a critical review. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2000; 18: 605–626.

[78] Eberth J, Sedlmeier P. The effects of mindfulness meditation: a meta-analysis. Mindfulness. 2012; 3: 174–189.

[79] Khoury B, Sharma M, Rush SE, Fournier C. Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: a meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2015; 78: 519–528.

[80] Dehghani M, Delbar Saf A, Vosoughi A, Tebbenouri G, Ghazanfari Zarnagh H. Effectiveness of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based approach on athletic performance and sports competition anxiety: a randomized clinical trial. Electronic Physician. 2018; 10: 6749–6755.

[81] Zhou S, Wu Y, Xu X. Linking cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression to mindfulness: a three-level meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20: 1241.

[82] Naragon-Gainey K, McMahon TP, Chacko TP. The structure of common emotion regulation strategies: a meta-analytic examination. Psychological Bulletin. 2017; 143: 384–427.

[83] Garland EL. The meaning of mindfulness: a second-order cybernetics of stress, metacognition, and coping. Complementary Health Practice Review. 2007; 12: 15–30.

[84] Garland EL, Gaylord SA, Fredrickson BL. Positive reappraisal mediates the stress-reductive effects of mindfulness: an upward spiral process. Mindfulness. 2011; 2: 59–67.

[85] Troy AS, Shallcross AJ, Davis TS, Mauss IB. History of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is associated with increased cognitive reappraisal ability. Mindfulness. 2013; 4: 213–322.

[86] Eisma MC, Janshen A, Huber LFT, Schroevers MJ. Cognitive reappraisal, emotional expression and mindfulness in adaptation to bereavement: a longitudinal study. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping. 2023; 36: 577–589.

[87] Brockman R, Ciarrochi J, Parker P, Kashdan T. Emotion regulation strategies in daily life: mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and emotion suppression. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. 2017; 46: 91–113.

[88] Hou L, Chang L, Chen L, Fei J, Zhou R. Exploring the roles of dispositional mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal in the relationship between neuroticism and depression among postgraduate students in China. International Journal of Public Health. 2022; 67: 1605074.

[89] Keng SL, Smoski MJ, Robins CJ. Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review. 2011; 31: 1041–1056.

[90] Hayes SC, Strosahl KD, Wilson KG. Acceptance and commitment therapy: the process and practice of mindful change. 2nd edn. Guilford Press: New York. 2012.

[91] Kabat-Zinn J. Full catastrophe living, revised edition: how to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation. 2nd edn. Piatkus: London. 2013.

[92] Mubarak N, Khan J, Khan AK. Psychological distress and project success: the moderating role of employee’s resilience and mindfulness. International Journal of Project Management. 2022; 40: 566–576.