Perfectionism, mental health, and injuries in women footballers

Perfectionism is a personality trait that may have beneficial or harmful effects on the athlete's mental health and injury susceptibility depending on its adaptive or maladaptive nature. This study examines the association between perfectionism, mental health markers (depression, anxiety, and stress), and sports injuries in female soccer players. There were 74 soccer players with a mean age of 19.6 +/- 4.7 years. A model based on structural equations was utilized for data analysis. The results demonstrated a negative link between adaptive perfectionism and stress, anxiety, and depression. In contrast, there was a positive association between maladaptive perfectionism and stress, anxiety, and depression. Similarly, stress, anxiety, and depression were strongly associated with the number of injuries over the past two years. In conclusion, a higher level of adaptive perfectionism is associated with lesser anxiety, tension, and depressive symptoms in female soccer players and maybe a protective factor. Inversely, a greater degree of maladaptive perfectionism is associated with a greater degree of these symptoms. Because these mental health indicators are associated with injuries, a statistically positive relationship is established between maladaptive perfectionism and the likelihood of being injured, and a negative, inverse relationship is established between maladaptive perfectionism and adaptive perfectionism.