Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Psychology
2025. Vol. 15, no. 2, 309–324
ISSN: 2658-3607 / 2658-6010 (online)
Personal potential as a correlate of sports performance results: The mediating role of coping skills
Abstract
This study is dedicated to the role of coping skills as mediators in the relationship between components of personal potential and sports performance results. The study involved 188 sambo athletes (123 women, 65 men) aged 18 to 39, representing different levels of mastery (from candidate masters of sports to honored masters of sports). The following methods were used: the Athlete Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI‑28) (adapted by K.A. Bocharov et al.); the “Personal Potential” questionnaire (developed by A.I. Kharitonova and E.M. Klimova). Using correlation analysis, it was found that the only statistically significant coping skill acting as a mediator is freedom from negative emotions. This skill correlates with all studied components of personal potential, as well as with the level of sports qualification and competition results. The internalisation component was excluded, as it did not have significant correlations. Each model included sports qualification as a controlled variable. The mediation analysis showed that the inclusion component of personal potential does not have a statistically significant influence on the studied relationships when controlling for mastery level. Therefore, it was excluded from the mediation models. Thus, only the components of meaningfulness, positivity, and independence of personal potential were considered, controlling for sports qualification. The mediation analysis revealed that the influence of meaningfulness and positivity on competition results is partially mediated by freedom from negative emotions. In contrast, independence affects competition results exclusively through coping skills related to freedom from negative emotions. This study highlights the importance of coping skills in mediating the relationship between components of personal potential and sports performance results. Athletes with higher levels of meaningfulness, positivity, and independence, as well as more developed coping skills related to freedom from negative emotions, have a greater chance of achieving success in competitions.
General Information
Keywords: personal potential, coping skills, athlete, competition results, sports qualification, mediator
Journal rubric: Empirical and Experimental Research
Article type: scientific article
Published
For citation: Kharitonova, A.I. (2025). Personal potential as a correlate of sports performance results: The mediating role of coping skills . Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Psychology, 15(2), 309–324. (In Russ.). URL: https://psyjournals.ru/en/journals/vspu_psychology/archive/2025_n2/Kharitonova (viewed: 05.12.2025)
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