title: The effects of perceived and received support on self-confidence.
abstract: A sample of 222 university athletes (mean age 19.8 years, s = 2.0), ranging in standard from university second team to international competitor, completed a measure of perceived support 2 weeks before an important competition or match. On the day before the competition or match, the athletes completed measures of stressors, stress, received support, and self-confidence. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed the following key findings: (i) main effects for both perceived (DeltaR2 = 0.11) and received support (DeltaR2 = 0.14) upon self-confidence; (ii) stress-buffering effects for both perceived (DeltaR2 = 0.02) and received (DeltaR2 = 0.07) support upon self-confidence; (iii) when both aspects of support were considered simultaneously, stress-buffering effects were primarily attributable to the influence of received support. These results demonstrate the beneficial impact of social support on self-confidence, both directly and by reducing the negative effect of stress on self-confidence. Our findings emphasize the need to recognize the distinction between perceived and received support, both in terms of theory and the design of social support interventions with athletes.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. tim.j.rees@exeter.ac.uk
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rees
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D013177:Sports; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D006113:United Kingdom