Beyond physical ability-predicting women's football performance from psychological factors

Susann Dahl Pettersen; Monica Martinussen; Bjørn Helge Handegård; Lene-Mari Potulski Rasmussen; Roman Koposov; Frode Adolfsen

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1146372

Beyond physical ability-predicting women's football performance from psychological factors

Front Psychol. 2023 Mar 28:14:1146372. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1146372. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Susann Dahl Pettersen¹, Monica Martinussen¹, Bjørn Helge Handegård¹, Lene-Mari Potulski Rasmussen¹, Roman Koposov¹, Frode Adolfsen¹

Affiliation

¹ Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Abstract

Introduction: Even though there is a clear agreement among researchers that psychological factors are a vital part of a football player's performance, the topic has not been investigated thoroughly. The present study aimed to examine the predictive value of psychological factors on female football players' match performance.

Methods: A sample of 156 players from the top two leagues in Norway completed the following questionnaires: Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire 2 (PMCSQ-2), Big Five Inventory (BFI-20), Self-Regulated Learning questionnaire, and Grit-S and Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). Match performance data were collected from the online database of the performance analysis company InStat.

Results: Results from a linear mixed model analysis showed that perceived mastery climate and extraversion were the only significant predictors of performance. Other relevant indicators, such as mental toughness, self-regulated learning, and grit, did not predict performance.

Discussion: These findings suggest that the team climate facilitated by coaches may be more important for predicting match performance than individual psychological factors.

Keywords: football; motivational climate; performance; personality; soccer; sports psychology; team sport.