EQOL Journal (2018) 10(2):
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Prediction of mental health among cadet football players based on the emotional intelligence and perfectionism
Miroljub Ivanović 1✉ • Uglješa Ivanović
Received: 1st May, 2018 |
DOI: 10.31382/eqol.181202 |
Accepted: 11th July, 2018 |
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© The Author(s) 2018. This article is published with open access. |
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Abstract
The aim of this research was to examine in which way the constructs of emotional intelligence and perfectionism predict mental health of adolescent football layers. The sample consisted of 164 participants (average age 16.63 (± 10,21) years). The research was conducted in April 2018 and it included the cadet football players from Kolubara- Macva league in Serbia. Test of Emotional Management (TUE;
✉miroljub.ivanovic@gmail.com
1College of Vocational Studies for Teachers and Professional Computer Scientists – Sirmium, Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia
2Telecom Serbia. Ltd., Belgrade, Serbia
ntal criticism contribute the higher number of mental health problems. In addition, it showed that the adaptive trait of perfectionism (organizational skills) directly contributes better mental health of cadet football player. The results of this study suggest that the variables of emotional intelligence and perfectionism have significant role in prediction mental health among adolescent football players.
Keywords mental health • worry about mistakes • dilemmas regarding one’s own actions • parental criticism • being organized.
Introduction
Even though, many researches have been conducted on the subject of emotional intelligence and perfectionism as predictors of mental health of adolescents, the researches concerning sport population in the period of
That is the reason it seemed important to examine the predictive contribution of the dimension of perfectionism in predicting the variance of mental health among cadet football players who, during this period of development, prepare for life as adults (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2016). World Health Organization defines mental health as the state of
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productively and fruitfully, and is able to make contributions to her or his community (WHO, 2014). However, this definition does not take into account that mental health contains factors which include emotions, intellect and optimal functioning within society, meaning that the care for the state of being where life functions work in a normal way presupposes the importance of emotional component and perfectionism for explaining the mental health of an athlete. Mental health can be positive and negative
Emotional intelligence is one of the current topics in the sports psychology. Tanchaisak (2018) defines emotional intelligence as the group of correlating competences which include personal emotions and emotions of others. There are four different dimensions of emotional intelligence: finding emotions, applying emotions, realizing emotional information and managing emotions (Rathwell & Young, 2018). The athlete who possesses these competences is considered to be adapted and emotionally competent, while the athlete who lacks them can have problems in emotional and social functioning (Singh, 2018). Emotional competences are a significant factor of mental health and well- being (Oproıu, 2013). Football players with high emotional intelligence have better perception of the state of happiness and have better mental health, which indicates that it is necessary for football clubs to include techniques of improving emotional intelligence
There are various findings regarding the correlation between mental health and perfectionism. Perfectionism is defined as a tendency of football player to set and realize
significant positive correlation between
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perfectionism and depression, anxiety and stress, meaning that negative effects of these variables correlate with worry about mistakes, doubts about sport activities and parental criticism. On the other hand, the findings by Mili & Kshetrimayum Rojeet Singh (2018) indicate that athletes who possess high structural
Taking into account the irrefutable relevance of emotional processes and perfectionism in explaining mental health, as well as the lack of research on Serbian football population, the aim of this research was to test the potential role of variables of emotional intelligence and perfectionism in predicting the perception of mental health among the cadet football players. In accordance with the aim of the research, we proposed a hypothesis that lower emotional intelligence and unsuitable manifestations of perfectionism would explain weaker mental health, while the adaptive manifestations of perfectionism would be the positive predictor of mental health among adolescent football players.
Method
The research included 164 cadet football players, age 1 to 17 years (AM = 16.63, SD = 10.21). The pertinent sample was collected in seven football clubs of
The data was collected in April 2018. This transversal research was anonymous and was conducted before practice, using the
EQOL Journal (2018) 10(2):
beginning to fill in the questionnaires. They were asked to give honest answers. The process of filling in the questionnaires lasted approximately 30 minutes.
Measuring instrument
Test of Emotional Management
Total test score represents the total of points on all items. The higher result means better management of emotions. The correctness of answers is defined based on expert criteria, where the correct answer brings two points, second best brings one point, and all the other answers bring zero points. The reliability of this test was expressed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α = 0.77).
Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale
1)Personal standards contain seven items, with maximum score being 35 (for example, “I expect more from myself than other people”).
2)Worry about mistakes contains nine items in total, with maximum theoretical score being 45
(for example, “I should feel bad when I make a mistake”, “The less mistakes I make, the more people will love me”).
3)Parental expectations include five items, with maximum score being 25 (for example, “Parents set me very high demands”, “Only the exceptional results are valued in my family”).
4)Parental criticism contains four items, with maximum score being 20 (for example, “I have a feeling that I never satisfied my parents demands”).
5)Dilemma regarding personal actions contains four items (for example, “Even when I am careful
about what I do, I often feel that it is not good enough”).
6)Organizational skills contain six items in total, with maximum score being 30 (for example, “I am the type of person who is well organized”).
The participant’s task is to, on a
Mental Health Inventory
During data processing in this research, descriptive statistical methods (arithmetic mean, standard deviation and interval values – maximum and minimum, and theoretical range), skewness (SKEW) and kurtosis (KURT) were applied. The nature of the relationship between values is examined using Pearson’s coefficient of linear correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. Kolmogorov- Smirnov
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Results
Table 1 shows descriptive indicators of the analyzed variables, normal distribution indicators (asymmetry, kurtosis,
Table 1. Descriptive statistic parametric instruments
emotional management and multidimensional perfectionism scale, with its six subscales, do not statistically significantly deviate from normal, and are within acceptable range for conducting parametric analyses (the obtain values of asymmetry range from
Variables |
M |
SD |
Min |
Max |
Sk |
SkSE |
Ku |
KuSE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Index of mental health |
119.65 |
24.01 |
57 |
179 |
0.12 |
0.10 |
0.73 |
0.08 |
0.02 |
Management of emotions |
59.93 |
9.12 |
25 |
79 |
0.23 |
0.10 |
0.19 |
0.08 |
0.10 |
Worry about mistakes |
21.84 |
8.05 |
8 |
45 |
0.34 |
0.10 |
0.12 |
0.08 |
0.17 |
Dilemma regarding personal actions |
10.04 |
3.82 |
4 |
20 |
0.44 |
0.10 |
0.16 |
0.08 |
0.15 |
Parental criticism |
7.52 |
3.66 |
3 |
21 |
0.50 |
0.10 |
0.13 |
0.08 |
0.13 |
Parental expectations |
12.06 |
4.83 |
4 |
24 |
0.66 |
0.10 |
0.11 |
0.08 |
0.08 |
Personal standards |
22.02 |
5.68 |
10 |
36 |
0.37 |
0.10 |
0.20 |
0.08 |
0.14 |
Organizational skills |
22.96 |
4.99 |
6 |
29 |
0.71 |
0.10 |
0.27 |
0.08 |
0.09 |
Legend: M – mean; SD – standard deviation; Min – minimum value of the variable; Max – maximum value of the variable); Sk – standardized skewness SkSE – skewness standard error; Ku – standardized kurtosis; KuSE – kurtosis standard error;
The scores obtained on Mental Health Inventory and Test of Emotional Management indicate that the participants are of average mental health and emotional intelligence.
Table 2 shows the values of parametric Pearson’s correlation coefficient, which examine the level of linear correlation between the used variables.
The calculated correlation coefficients indicate that the variable emotional management linearly only correlates with the adaptive dimensions of perfectionism. That points to the fact that there is a direct stochastic correlation between the aforementioned constructs, meaning that there is a same direction tendency (the values of both variables are either increasing or decreasing). In addition, non- adaptive dimensions of perfectionism have low and positive correlation with the construct index of mental health, except the variable parental expectations
whose values of correlation coefficient with mental health equal zero (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.09). Latent variable (personal standards) also does not correlate with mental health, which points to the probability that certain values of one variable cannot be used to reach the conclusion regarding another variable, and therefore should not be interpreted in such sense. That also meant if the football players worry more about mistakes and have more dilemmas regarding their own actions, they perceive parental criticism more and have more mental health problems. Regarding adaptive dimensions of perfectionism, only the variable organizational skills has low, negative statistically significant linear correlation with the index of mental health, which leads one to assume that better organized football players have better mental health.
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Table 2. Correlation of all variables
|
Variables |
1. |
2. |
3. |
4. |
5. |
6. |
7. |
8. |
1. |
Management of emotions |
– |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. |
Worry about mistakes |
.09 |
– |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3. |
Dilemma regarding personal actions |
.03 |
.47** |
– |
|
|
|
|
|
4. |
Parental expectations |
.39** |
.32** |
– |
|
|
|
|
|
5. |
Parental criticism |
.37** |
.36** |
.70** |
– |
|
|
|
|
6. |
Personal standards |
.14* |
.48** |
.29** |
.27** |
.18* |
– |
|
|
7. |
Organizational skills |
.15* |
.05 |
.28** |
– |
|
|||
8. |
Index of mental health |
.30** |
.33** |
.07 |
.20* |
– |
Legend: *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01
With the aim of defining the relations between the examined independent variable – predictor of perfectionism, and dependent variable – criterion of mental health, method of standard multiple regression was applied (Table 3).
Multiple correlation coefficient values R = 0.49 (p
=0.01), and the value of multiple determination coefficient (R squared) is R = 0.27 (p = 0.01), where the defined group of predictors accounted for 27% of the variance mental health. Seeing how the difference between Rand R2 is very small, the observed regression model can be generalized to include the entire sport population.
The calculated
dilemma regarding personal actions (β = 0.19, p = 0.05), and that indicates that these variables negatively affect mental health of football players. At the same time, it is clear that the variable organizational skills (β =
With the aim of identifying possible problem of high linear correlation within the group of predictor variables, multicollinearity diagnostics has been conducted. Tolerance and the factor of increased variance have been determined for each predictor variable. It has been calculated that none of the tolerance values was under 0.2, meaning that the factor of increased variance is not higher than the criterion 0.80. That would mean that there is no problem of correlation in this research (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010).
Table 3. Multiple regression analysis with the variables of perfectionism and evaluation of the significance of the regression model
Predictors |
β |
SE |
Worry about mistakes |
0.16* |
0.06 |
Dilemma regarding personal |
0.19* |
0.03 |
Parental criticism |
0.09 |
0.05 |
Organizational skills |
0.20* |
0.07 |
R = 0.49 |
R2 = 0.27 |
|
Legend: R – multiple correlation coefficient; R – multiple determination coefficient; β – standard partial regression coefficient; SE – standard error. * p < 0.05
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EQOL Journal (2018) 10(2):
Discussion
This research determined that there is no statistically significant correlation between management of emotions and mental health, which is not in accordance with the tested hypothesis that stated that “the football players with higher emotional intelligence will have better mental health, or that those with lower emotional intelligence will have more mental health problems”. Previous researches on this correlation mostly did not provide compatible findings (Agans, Su, & Ettekal, 2018; Laborde, Dossevill, & Allen, 2015; Mann & Narula, 2017; Singh & Mili, 2015). Due to low experience of emotions, football players believe that they have joyful disposition, which helps them mind their mental health, but they do not take into consideration the fact that they can feel depressed or suicidal (Bethune et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2015). Based on this, it can be concluded that emotional experience and managing other people’s emotions are two different components of the complex construct of emotional intelligence. People who are bad at perceiving other people’s emotions can be less sensitive to stress (Derakhshanpour, VaezMousavi, & Reza Taheri, 2018; Gustafsson, Sagar, & Stenling, 2017). In addition, some researches
significant correlation between emotional intelligence and mental health other components of emotional intelligence besides ability should be included: various personality traits, motivational constructs, aptness of good motoric skills and various social skills (Clancy, 2016; Cowden, 2016; Holden, Pugh, & Schwarz, 2017). Besides, in order to achieve better level of emotional intelligence, the research
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where two different tests with coaches’ self- evaluation should be conducted.
The social environment of athletes is of great importance to every athlete. Firstly, the athletes encounter a great deal of demands within their sport system which can become generators for psychological stress, meaning mental disorders (Nezhad & Besharat, 2018). Various factors can increase stress and cause athletes to have difficulties adapting, for example forming new motor relations with competition from other clubs, experiencing romantic love, adopting new sport techniques and cognitive and metacognitive skills needed for resolving problems on field (Fehr & Collin 2017; Lee & Chelladurai, 2016).
Depression is common mental disorder among athletes (Ayer, 2015). Also, high parental expectations and difficulties in adopting motor skills can generate stress (Moen, Giske & Hoigaard, 2015). The research by Ströhle (2018) did not determine correlation between emotional intelligence and mental health because the football players were not giving correct answers on the test of emotional management and did not know to identify what is useful or harmful in the given situations. However, that does not mean that they use the same competences and manifestations to reduce stress and positively affect their mental health in objective life situations (Ring & Kavussanu, 2018; Meneghel, Salanova & Martínez, 2016).
On the other hand, this research determined positive correlation between emotional intelligence and adaptive traits of perfectionism (organizational skills and personal standards). That matches earlier researches where the perfectionist strivings of rugby players correlate positively with the dimension of emotional intelligence, while perfectionist concerns correlate negatively with the dimension of emotional intelligence (Gouttebarge, Kerkhoffs, & Lambert, 2016).
In addition, the results of this research indicate that the
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that negative perfectionism is a risk factor of depression and anxiety, while positive perfectionism is the construct of protection (Rice et al., 2016). To add, negative results of perfectionism correlate with the traits which include worry about mistakes, parental expectations, parental criticism and dilemma regarding personal actions, while personal standards and organizational skills correlate with positive components: orientation towards success, motivation to achieve a goal and commitment to goal (Gano- Overway, Steele, Boyce, & Whaley, 2017; Hammond, Gialloreto, Kubas, & Davis, 2013). Thus, it is expected that personal dimensions of perfectionism assume too high,
The conducted research has certain methodological limitations which should be taken into account during generalization of conclusions. Firstly, the research is correlational which means that causal conclusions cannot be reached. Next, the research did not examine the relations of various constructs of protection with positive and negative mental health, which is needs to be done in further research. In addition, the lack of research and participants’
Finally, it should be added that this research, despite certain limitations, has a number of advantages, theoretical contributions and practical implications. The biggest advantage of this research is the
Conclusion
High internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) points to the fact that the applied measuring instruments Test
of Emotional Management, Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and Mental Health Inventory are reliable and applicable in theory and practice on Serbian sport population. Based on the obtained empirical results of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, it can be said that the variable emotional intelligence does not linearly correlate with mental health. In addition, the value of the coefficient of multiple determination is 0.27, which means that the system of predictor variables (worry about mistakes, dilemma regarding personal actions and parental criticism) can predict 27% of mental health variability. On the other hand, the predictor variable organizational skills i.e. adjusted characteristic of perfectionism, is beneficial to the metal health of cadet football players. Therefore, the findings of correlation and regression analysis shown in this study give a new perspective to, up until now, insufficiently examined correlation between emotional intelligence, perfectionism and mental health. They represent only one of possible starting points for the process of researching the relations between emotional intelligence, perfectionism and mental health in adolescent population of football players, and can encourage further research of this phenomenon which would validate the used instrument on the greater sample of participants of both sexes in other areas of Serbia.
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How to cite this article:
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Ivanović, M., & Ivanović, U. (2018). Prediction of mental health |
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APA: |
among cadet football players based on the emotional intelligence |
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and perfectionism. Exercise and Quality of Life, 10(2), |
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doi:10.31382/eqol.181202 |
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Ivanović, Miroljub and Uglješa Ivanović. "Prediction of mental |
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MLA: |
health among cadet football players based on the emotional |
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intelligence and perfectionism." Exercise and Quality of Life 10.2 |
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(2018): |
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Ivanović, Miroljub, and Uglješa Ivanović. "Prediction of mental |
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Chicago: |
health among cadet football players based on the emotional |
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intelligence and perfectionism." Exercise and Quality of Life 10, |
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