Network analysis of the relationship between stress coping mechanisms and performance in high school women's volleyball competitions

This study aims to explore the coping mechanisms of high school female volleyball players, including the associations between four factors (strategies, psychobiosocial experiences, sports emotions, and recovery-stress balance) and competition performance. A total of 96 valid participants were recruited from the girls' division of the 1st National Secondary School Volleyball Regional League Finals, and their psychological states were assessed using the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28), Psychobiosocial Experience Semantic Differential Scale in Sport (PESD-Sport), Sport Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ), and Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport). Network analysis was adopted to analyze the relationships between the four factors and competition performance: (1) Confidence and achievement motivation (EI = 1.207, bridge EI = 0.423) is identified as the most influential nodes in the network and simultaneously function as bridge nodes, linking multiple communities. In addition, dejection (weight = 0.146), sports recovery (weight = -0.097), (2) and goal setting/mental preparation (weight = 0.048) are closely associated with competition performance, with dejection showing the strongest connection to competition performance. These findings yield empirical, data-driven implications for coaches and sport psychologists, indicating that targeted interventions designed to boost athletes' confidence and achievement motivation may generate comprehensive benefits spanning emotional regulation and competitive performance. Moreover, the proactive monitoring and regulation of negative affective states (e.g., dejection) could facilitate more precise psychological interventions, thereby optimizing the competitive performance of female high school volleyball players.