The Effects of Perfectionism in Elite Sport: Experiences of Unhealthy Perfectionists

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Author
Sellars, Paul
Evans, Lynne
Thomas, Owen
Date
2016-09Acceptance date
2016-01-05
Type
Article
Publisher
Human Kinetics
ISSN
1543-2793
0888-4781
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study examined the perfectionism experiences of 10 elite perfectionist athletes (5 male and 5 female). Following completion of the Sport Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2 (Gotwals & Dunn, 2009), a purposeful sample of unhealthy perfectionists were interviewed in relation to the study aims. Several themes emerged from the data that related to: effects of perfectionism and its antecedents on sporting experiences, specificity and level of perfectionism, and the coping skills and techniques used to counter the potentially detrimental effects of perfectionism. The findings highlighted the multidimensional nature of perfectionism and the need for future research to further explore the efficacy of techniques athletes use to promote healthy and reduce unhealthy facets of perfectionism.
Journal/conference proceeding
The Sport Psychologist;
Citation
Sellars, P.A., Evans, L. and Thomas, O. (2016) 'The Effects of Perfectionism in Elite Sport: Experiences of Unhealthy Perfectionists', The Sport Psychologist, 30(3), pp.219-230.
Description
This article was published in The Sport Psychologist in September 2016, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2014-0072
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1088]
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