The impact of perfectionism and contingent self-esteem on student athlete’s feelings of pressure, anxiety and burnout: the mediating role of fear of failure.

Title of study: The impact of perfectionism and contingent self-esteem on student athlete’s feelings of pressure, anxiety and burnout: the mediating role of fear of failure.

Researchers Names: Billy Brodrick and Stephen Earl (contact details are provided at the end).
 

^*Content Warning^*: Please be aware that this study involves questions relating to self-esteem, anxiety, fear of failure and burnout. If these topics may be distressing for you then please do not take part in the study.
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We would like to invite you to take part in my research study. Joining the study is entirely up to you. Before you decide, we would like you to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve for you. It is suggested this should take about 5 minutes. Please feel free to talk to others about the study if you wish.
 

The aim of this study is to explore whether perfectionism and contingent self-esteem may relate to student athlete’s feelings of pressure, anxiety and burnout, and if these relationships are explained by fear of failure. It is hoped that investigating this will help uncover better insights into student athlete’s self-esteem and general well-being. Consequently, we are asking student athletes to complete an online questionnaire. Should you choose to participate, you can do so by clicking ‘next’ at the bottom of this page and completing the consent form. The questionnaires will then be presented to you online.   

We are inviting anyone over the age of 18 years old and who is participates in competitive sport (this can relate to either training or competing, and can be both an individual or team sport). We are looking to recruit approximately 200 participants.

Participation is completely voluntary, and it is up to you to decide whether to take part or not. You should only take part if you want to and choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. If you do decide to take part, you will be asked to read this information sheet and then asked to sign a consent form. You will not be identifiable in any findings and taking part will not affect your legal, employment or student rights.

If you decide to take part, you will not be asked for any personal identifying information but may be asked for some general demographic questions regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and your sporting experience. You will then be asked to complete a series of questionnaires relating to self-esteem, perfectionism, parent and coach support, motivation, appearance anxiety, and burnout. These questionnaires are frequently used to assess these concepts and do not reflect the views of the researchers or the University of Lincoln. We expect the survey in total to take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. All responses will be anonymous, and you will not be identifiable in the presentation of any findings. You do not have to answer any questions you are not comfortable and should you feel uncomfortable at any time, feel free to end the research by closing the browser window. The data will be collated and analysed by researchers at the University of Lincoln. 

You will not be paid to participate in the study.

There are no direct benefits to you for taking part in this study, however it may be interesting for you to reflect on your sporting motivation, self-esteem, and general feelings for your sport. We also hope the findings may be of practical use for sporting coaches in understanding different athlete’s motivations and well-being.

*If you are a psychology student studying at the University of Lincoln, you will be entitled to earn 2 SONA credits for completing this study. Please note if completing via the SONA system, the data will be treated as pseudo-anonymous (as this will link to your student account). This identifying information will not be saved and will be separate to any responses, therefore you will not be identifiable in any analysis. Furthermore, all the information collected will be handled in strict confidence and only accessible by the researchers.

There are no direct or obvious risks to taking part in this study. However, the questionnaire may ask you about topics which could make you feel uncomfortable, such as self-esteem, anxiety, and burnout. If any of these topics may be overly distressing for you then please do not take part in the study. If you feel you need additional support following your participation in the research, you may wish to talk to a friend or family member, or please contact one of the following:

No one will know you have taken part in this study. We will not collect any identifiable information (such as your name or contact details) and the information we collect will be handled in strict confidence. Any responses in the questionnaire will be anonymous to ensure you will not be identified in any report or publication.
 

The data obtained from the study will be stored securely on the university OneDrive in password protected files. Only the researchers will have access to it. No paper copies of the questionnaire will be kept. The data from this study may be put in an Open Access repository to use in future research.

Your participation is voluntary, and you are free to withdraw at any point during this study, without having to give a reason, by closing your internet browser. However, as your participation will be anonymous, it will not be possible to withdraw your data once submitted, as we have no way of identifying you.

The results of the study will be written into a report as part of an undergraduate dissertation. Data will be treated confidentially, and any presentation of the results will not identify individual participants. The results may also contribute to future published articles in peer-reviewed journals which will be available to you online.
 

This research is being organised by Stephen Earl at the University of Lincoln.

All research conducted by the University of Lincoln is looked at by an independent group of people, called a Research Ethics Committee, to protect your interests. This study has been reviewed and given favourable opinion by a University of Lincoln Research Ethics Committee [approval code: UoL2025_16635].

It is very unlikely that this study would cause you any harm. If you have a concern or a complaint about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researchers who will do their best to answer your questions. The researchers contact details are given at the end of this information sheet.

If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can make a formal complaint through the University complaints procedure or by contacting ethics@lincoln.ac.uk.