Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies

There is a nuanced relationship between rumination and sports performance, which may depend on individuals being predisposed to specific facets of rumination. Additionally, ruminative dispositions are intertwined with coping strategies, with both playing crucial roles in sports performance. This stu...

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Main Authors: Dong-Tai Chen, Jui-Ti Nien, Xiaoling Geng, Jeffrey Yu, Chatkamon Singhnoy, Yu-Kai Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1513277/full
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author Dong-Tai Chen
Jui-Ti Nien
Xiaoling Geng
Jeffrey Yu
Chatkamon Singhnoy
Yu-Kai Chang
Yu-Kai Chang
author_facet Dong-Tai Chen
Jui-Ti Nien
Xiaoling Geng
Jeffrey Yu
Chatkamon Singhnoy
Yu-Kai Chang
Yu-Kai Chang
author_sort Dong-Tai Chen
collection DOAJ
description There is a nuanced relationship between rumination and sports performance, which may depend on individuals being predisposed to specific facets of rumination. Additionally, ruminative dispositions are intertwined with coping strategies, with both playing crucial roles in sports performance. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among ruminative dispositions, coping strategies, and sports performance in athletes, considering the perspective of multi-dimensional rumination. This study also examined whether coping strategies are associated with the relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted on 111 young elite athletes from the Hong Kong national team to examine the relationships between ruminative dispositions, coping strategies, and sports performance. The results revealed that emotion-focused ruminative disposition (ERD) and meaning-searching ruminative disposition (MRD) were negatively associated with perceived sports performance, with problem-oriented coping (POC) playing a partial role. In contrast, instrumental ruminative disposition (IRD) was positively associated with perceived sports performance, fully via POC. These findings suggest that athletes with higher levels of ERD and MRD tend to use POC less frequently, which was associated with poor perceived sports performance. Conversely, athletes with higher levels of IRD tend to employ POC more frequently, which was positively associated with perceived sports performance. The proposed model provides the theoretical framework for multi-dimensional rumination in sports psychology and outlines the potential impact of coping strategies on athletic performance. Importantly, this research underscores that the outcome of rumination is contingent upon its focus.
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spelling doaj-art-61d8f6b97e554aa3890d1611dce02f492025-08-20T02:04:17ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sports and Active Living2624-93672025-02-01710.3389/fspor.2025.15132771513277Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategiesDong-Tai Chen0Jui-Ti Nien1Xiaoling Geng2Jeffrey Yu3Chatkamon Singhnoy4Yu-Kai Chang5Yu-Kai Chang6Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Sports Performing Arts, University of Taipei, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanFaculty of Sport Science, Burapha University, Saen Suk, ThailandDepartment of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanSocial Emotional Education and Development Center, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, TaiwanThere is a nuanced relationship between rumination and sports performance, which may depend on individuals being predisposed to specific facets of rumination. Additionally, ruminative dispositions are intertwined with coping strategies, with both playing crucial roles in sports performance. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among ruminative dispositions, coping strategies, and sports performance in athletes, considering the perspective of multi-dimensional rumination. This study also examined whether coping strategies are associated with the relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance. Parallel mediation analysis was conducted on 111 young elite athletes from the Hong Kong national team to examine the relationships between ruminative dispositions, coping strategies, and sports performance. The results revealed that emotion-focused ruminative disposition (ERD) and meaning-searching ruminative disposition (MRD) were negatively associated with perceived sports performance, with problem-oriented coping (POC) playing a partial role. In contrast, instrumental ruminative disposition (IRD) was positively associated with perceived sports performance, fully via POC. These findings suggest that athletes with higher levels of ERD and MRD tend to use POC less frequently, which was associated with poor perceived sports performance. Conversely, athletes with higher levels of IRD tend to employ POC more frequently, which was positively associated with perceived sports performance. The proposed model provides the theoretical framework for multi-dimensional rumination in sports psychology and outlines the potential impact of coping strategies on athletic performance. Importantly, this research underscores that the outcome of rumination is contingent upon its focus.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1513277/fullmulti-dimensional ruminationrepetitive thinkingstress managementsports performanceathletic performance
spellingShingle Dong-Tai Chen
Jui-Ti Nien
Xiaoling Geng
Jeffrey Yu
Chatkamon Singhnoy
Yu-Kai Chang
Yu-Kai Chang
Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
multi-dimensional rumination
repetitive thinking
stress management
sports performance
athletic performance
title Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
title_full Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
title_fullStr Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
title_full_unstemmed Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
title_short Relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in Hong Kong: the role of problem-oriented coping strategies
title_sort relationship between ruminative dispositions and perceived sports performance in young elite athletes in hong kong the role of problem oriented coping strategies
topic multi-dimensional rumination
repetitive thinking
stress management
sports performance
athletic performance
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2025.1513277/full
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