Emotion dysregulation, performance concerns, and mental health among Canadian athletes

Competitive athletes report symptoms of depression and anxiety at rates similar to or higher than the general population. There is some initial evidence that difficulties in emotion regulation are positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among university student-athletes; however, research on emotion dysregulation in sport contexts is limited. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between emotion dysregulation, sport performance concerns, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among competitive athletes. We hypothesized that: H1) emotion dysregulation and H2) sport performance concerns would be positively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety; and H3) performance concerns would moderate the association between emotion dysregulation and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Competitive athletes (n = 272) completed online measures of emotion dysregulation, sport performance satisfaction, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Emotion dysregulation and sport performance concerns were directly positively associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, supporting H1 and H2. The association between emotion dysregulation and mental health symptoms was not reliably moderated by sport performance concerns; thus, H3 was only partially supported. The results suggest that emotion dysregulation is linked to mental health symptoms and may be a useful target for intervention among competitive athletes.