Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports

IntroductionThe purpose of the study was to examine psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports, comparing gender, sports performance level and discipline type. Moreover, we verified whether resilience predicts sports performance.Materials and methodsEighty-four athletes were involved in the s...

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Main Authors: Radu Predoiu, Maurizio Bertollo, Andrzej Piotrowski, Rareș Stănescu, Faten Hamdi, Gabriela Szabo, Germina Cosma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1605765/full
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author Radu Predoiu
Maurizio Bertollo
Andrzej Piotrowski
Rareș Stănescu
Faten Hamdi
Gabriela Szabo
Germina Cosma
Germina Cosma
author_facet Radu Predoiu
Maurizio Bertollo
Andrzej Piotrowski
Rareș Stănescu
Faten Hamdi
Gabriela Szabo
Germina Cosma
Germina Cosma
author_sort Radu Predoiu
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionThe purpose of the study was to examine psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports, comparing gender, sports performance level and discipline type. Moreover, we verified whether resilience predicts sports performance.Materials and methodsEighty-four athletes were involved in the study. Psychological resilience was assessed with the Romanian adaptation of the Brief Resilience Scale.ResultsUsing the Goodman and Kruskal tau association test a significant link was found between athletes’ gender and the scoring on psychological resilience. Also, analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test highlighted significant differences between athletes’ level (i.e., international, national, and regional/local athletes) (p = 0.02, respectively p < 0.01). Data analysis showed no significant differences in resilience (p = 0.182) between the Olympic combat sports (disciplines) investigated (boxing, karate, fencing and taekwondo). In addition, a binomial logistic regression was performed, predicting athletes’ likelihood to obtain higher sports performances based on psychological resilience.ConclusionA slightly above average level of psychological resilience (generally) is linked with an increased likelihood of international and/or national performances in Olympic combat sports. On the other hand, athletes with lower caliber obtained the highest scores for resilience. In addition, male athletes obtained higher scores for resilience than female athletes. The study offers a valuable window into understanding psychological resilience in combat sports.
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spelling doaj-art-9b4f1beb21fc4d9ca23287cd3548ba122025-08-20T03:46:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-06-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.16057651605765Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sportsRadu Predoiu0Maurizio Bertollo1Andrzej Piotrowski2Rareș Stănescu3Faten Hamdi4Gabriela Szabo5Germina Cosma6Germina Cosma7Department of Teachers Training, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, National University of Physical Education and Sports, Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Medicine and Aging Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyInstitute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, PolandDepartment of Sports and Motor Performance, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, National University of Physical Education and Sports, Bucharest, RomaniaHigh Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Jendouba, El Kef, TunisiaAdvanced Medical and Pharmaceutical Research Center, "George Emil Palade" University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology, Târgu Mureș, RomaniaFaculty of Physical Education and Sport, University of Craiova, Craiova, RomaniaInnovaSport Craiova Interdisciplinary Laboratory, INCESA, Craiova, RomaniaIntroductionThe purpose of the study was to examine psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports, comparing gender, sports performance level and discipline type. Moreover, we verified whether resilience predicts sports performance.Materials and methodsEighty-four athletes were involved in the study. Psychological resilience was assessed with the Romanian adaptation of the Brief Resilience Scale.ResultsUsing the Goodman and Kruskal tau association test a significant link was found between athletes’ gender and the scoring on psychological resilience. Also, analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc test highlighted significant differences between athletes’ level (i.e., international, national, and regional/local athletes) (p = 0.02, respectively p < 0.01). Data analysis showed no significant differences in resilience (p = 0.182) between the Olympic combat sports (disciplines) investigated (boxing, karate, fencing and taekwondo). In addition, a binomial logistic regression was performed, predicting athletes’ likelihood to obtain higher sports performances based on psychological resilience.ConclusionA slightly above average level of psychological resilience (generally) is linked with an increased likelihood of international and/or national performances in Olympic combat sports. On the other hand, athletes with lower caliber obtained the highest scores for resilience. In addition, male athletes obtained higher scores for resilience than female athletes. The study offers a valuable window into understanding psychological resilience in combat sports.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1605765/fullpsychological resiliencecombat sportssports performancemartial artscaliber
spellingShingle Radu Predoiu
Maurizio Bertollo
Andrzej Piotrowski
Rareș Stănescu
Faten Hamdi
Gabriela Szabo
Germina Cosma
Germina Cosma
Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
Frontiers in Psychology
psychological resilience
combat sports
sports performance
martial arts
caliber
title Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
title_full Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
title_fullStr Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
title_full_unstemmed Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
title_short Psychological resilience in Olympic combat sports
title_sort psychological resilience in olympic combat sports
topic psychological resilience
combat sports
sports performance
martial arts
caliber
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1605765/full
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AT fatenhamdi psychologicalresilienceinolympiccombatsports
AT gabrielaszabo psychologicalresilienceinolympiccombatsports
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