An Examination of Sources and Multidimensionality of Self-Confidence in Collegiate Athletes

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among selected personalityand social factors, sources and different types of confidence in collegiate athletes, using thesport-confidence model (Vealey, 1986; Vealey & Chase, 2008) as a guiding framework. Differenttypes of confidence and sources were found to be associated with different factors. For example,task-involving motivational climate positively predicted athletes' selection of both controllableand uncontrollable sources of confidence, while ego-involving motivational climate did notappear as a significant predictor of both types of sources. Several dimensions of perfectionism(i.e. personal standards, doubts about actions, perceived coach pressure, concern over mistake)appeared as strong predictors of different types of confidence. The results also indicated a linkbetween controllable sources of confidence and the level of confidence. Overall, the results fromthe present study supported the multidimensionality of athletes' confidence. Practicalimplications and suggestions for future research are discussed.