Abstract des Autors

Background: The influence of self-presentation concerns on the adolescent sport experience has received scant empirical attention. The purpose of this investigation was to prospectively examine the relationship among self-presentational concerns and pre-game affective states among middle and high school aged football players. Methods: American football players (n = 112; mean age = 15.57 years) completed a measure of self-presentational concerns (SPSQ, McGowan, et al., 2008) a week prior to the measurement of selected pre-game affective states (i.e., attentiveness, self-assurance, serenity, and fear). Results: Regression analyses revealed that concerns about appearing athletically untalented negatively contributed to the significant prediction ( p < 0.001) of pre-game attentiveness, b = -0.43, R2adj= 19.5% ( p < 0.001), and self-assurance, b = -0.38, R2adj = 11.9% ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of reducing self-presentational concerns in promoting positive pre-game mental states that likely impact the quality of athletes’ competitive play and experience. Verf.-Referat