The present research focused on the general theme of perfectionism in the sport domain, and it provided the first empirical validation of the original 72-item "Multidimensional Inventory of Perfectionism in Sport" (MIPS) among Italian athletes. The study, specifically, also focused on the relations linking personal and interpersonal components of perfectionism to athletes' competitive anxiety. The research overall relied on data from 644 Italian sport science students and professional athletes and included both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Data analyses primarily focused on structural equation modeling, and the findings overall supported the psychometric and construct validity of the Italian version of the MIPS, also highlighting the key role of the personal components of perfectionism.
Keywords: MIPS; exploratory structural equation modeling; perfectionism; sport competitive anxiety.