Staying Afloat During Everyday Adversity: Exploring the Intra- and Interpersonal Factors Related to Athletic Buoyancy

ABSTRACT

Athletic buoyancy is the ability to handle everyday challenges in sports, though little research has been conducted. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine intrapersonal and interpersonal factors related to athletic buoyancy, as well as a potential outcome variable. Collegiate club sport athletes (N = 239) completed a questionnaire assessing predictors (fear of failure, anxiety, sport enjoyment, enthusiastic commitment), an outcome variable (intentions to continue sport participation), a mediator (athletic buoyancy), and a moderator (social support) between the predictors and both athletic buoyancy and intentions. Results indicated that athletic buoyancy was not a mediator; however, anxiety and fear of failure were significant, negative predictors of athletic buoyancy. Social support moderated the enthusiastic commitment-intentions relationship, and the fear of failure-athletic buoyancy relationship, where athletes with higher social support reported a greater negative impact of fear of failure on athletic buoyancy. Findings may have implications for athlete well-being and adaptability.

KEYWORDS:

• Athletic buoyancy
• sport psychology
• fear of failure
• sport anxiety
• social support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).