Configurational and predictive mechanisms of performance anxiety in female collegiate athletes: the synergistic roles of evaluative pressure, self-efficacy, and mental toughness.
Lei Y, Cai L. · Frontiers in psychology · 2026
Background: Chinese University Basketball Association League (CUBAL) Division II female athletes face significant performance anxiety. Moving beyond traditional linear assumptions, this study integrates self-presentation theory and the positive psychological capital framework to investigate how external evaluative pressure (fear of negative evaluation), internal resources (self-efficacy, mental toughness), and competitive experience synergistically predict performance anxiety.
Methods: A dual-analytical
Design: was employed with 143 female athletes. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) tested linear, mediating, and moderating effects. Concurrently, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) evaluated condition necessity and asymmetric sufficient configurational paths.
Results: PLS-SEM demonstrated that fear of negative evaluation positively predicted performance anxiety and negatively predicted self-efficacy. Self-efficacy partially mediated this relationship, whereas mental toughness directly mitigated anxiety and moderated the self-efficacy-anxiety linkage. Necessity analysis indicated no single condition was necessary for high anxiety. fsQCA identified two equifinal paths to high performance anxiety and one path to non-high anxiety, verifying significant configurational asymmetry.
Conclusion: Performance anxiety
results from the complex, asymmetric synergy of external pressure, resource deficiencies, and experience states. Positive psychological capital effectively compensates for experiential disadvantages. Conversely, extensive competitive experience coupled with deficient psychological resources exacerbates anxiety risk, challenging the linear assumption of experience as a universally protective factor. These
Findings: provide empirical foundations for targeted psychological interventions in resource-constrained competitive environments.