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Download references. The authors would like to extend their appreciation toward all the participants and gatekeepers for their utmost cooperation in this research. Without them, this research was not possible.

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nature scientific reports articles article. Download PDF. Subjects Human behaviour Psychology. Abstract In the realm of high-performance sports, athletes often prioritize success at the expense of their well-being.

The present study Athletes experience significant pressure to excel in competitive sports, impacting their psychological well-being. Psychological well-being PWB Psychological Well-being PWB is an item scale by Ryff and Keyes , assessing six components: autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance.

Athletic mental energy scale AMES. Statistical analyses Statistical analysis has been performed with SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version Results The reliability of a measure in any research study is the measure of internal consistency and is accepted if the Alpha α value of the latent construct is greater than 0.

Figure 1. Full size image. Table 1 Mediation analysis representing the relationship between Sport performance and psychological well-being with athletic mental energy as a mediator.

Full size table. Figure 2. Table 2 Mediation analysis represents the relation between performance and psychological well-being with athletic mental energy as a mediator.

Figure 3. Table 3 Mediation analysis of 6 factors of AMES. Practical applications Athletic Mental Energy AME holds a central role in sports psychology, predicting success, reducing athlete stress and burnout, and enhancing positive mental states 13 , 31 , Strengths and limitations Our research employed an empirical approach to delve into the mediating role of Athletic Mental Energy AME in the post-competitive performance-psychological well-being dynamic, encompassing two distinct studies with separate participant groups.

Conclusions Our research examined the mediating role of AME in the link between post-competition performance and psychological well-being.

Data availability The data analysed for this research paper are available from the first and corresponding author upon fair request meeting institutional guidelines. Abbreviations N: Sample size AME: Athletic mental energy AMES: Athletic mental energy scale PWB: Psychological wellbeing SP: Subjective performance VIG: Vigor CONF: Confidence MOT: Motivation CON: Concentration TIR: Tireless CAL: Calm ILSI: International life science institute SPSS: Statistical package for social sciences APA: American psychological association α: Level of statistical significance alpha IZOF: Individual zone of optimal functioning H: Items of AME F: Items of PWB AS: Amisha Singh MKA: Mandeep Kaur Arora BB: Bahniman Boruah.

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Olympic rowing, swimming, and wrestling candidates and found successful athletes scored high on vigor but low on anxiety, fatigue, depression, anger, and confusion compared to unsuccessful athletes. Similarly, the calm factor of AME also supports Ravizz's findings that athletes reported they had no fear of loss, and feeling physically mentally relaxed when they performed their best.

Further, Loehr found athletes who performed extraordinarily well-experienced seeming controlled by competition, full of energy but in an easy manner. Recently, Fletcher and Sarkar investigated resilience in Olympic gold medalists found Olympic champions possess several unique characteristics such as open to new experiences, emotional stable, and optimistic.

The calm and relaxation experiences are also frequently found in flow research e. When individuals experience flow they reported sensations of relaxation, calm, and effortless.

Thus, the affective components of AME seemed linking to peak performance experiences and flow. The cognitive components i. Self-confidence represents athletes' beliefs about whether they can accomplish the task Vealey and Chase, Literature has demonstrated a consistent relationship between high levels of confidence and successful sporting performance Feltz et al.

Past research on peak performance found when athletes were playing their best they are highly confident with no fear of failure e.

Also, when performing their best athletes reported that they were totally concentrated, with a narrow focus of attention on the present, immersed in the activity, and completely in control while acting. In a recent study on the optimal psychological state for peak performance, Anderson et al.

Thus, the cognitive components of AME coincide with the findings in peak performance research. The component of motivation in AME is relevant to sport psychology.

It is estimated that one-third of all studies in sport psychology deal with motivation in one form or another Roberts, Thus, it is not surprising that ILSI and our study identified motivation as one of the core factors of AME.

The motivation component in AME mostly refers to athletes' expectation and goals in sports e. Thus, it is suggested that AME would influence athletes' investment in sports training and competition. Those low in AME would be expected to be low in sports engagement e. Therefore, it is likely that any motivational intervention e.

However, further research is needed to confirm these inferences. The nomological validity findings provide information for researchers and practitioners.

Specifically, we found AME positively correlated with the positive state of mind. According to Horowitz et al. Hence, it is implied that athletes high in AME would be high in the positive state of mind.

In contrast, we found AME negatively correlated with athletic burnout and life stress. Past research indicated that athletes high in positive psychological attributes—such as self-confidence e. Hence, the present study not only supports past research on the relationship between athletes' positive attributes and burnout but also suggests AME has an influence on burnout.

The predictive validity findings have several theoretical implications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining how AME predicts athletic performance. For a long time, sport psychology researchers have been interested in psychological profiles that predict athletic performance.

Many hypothetical models, for example Morgan's , iceberg profile, Hanin Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning IZOF , psychological skills Mahoney et al. The present study adds to this literature and suggests that AME predicts athletic performance.

However, only four factors -confidence, motivation, tireless, and calm were the significant predictors of martial artists' success. The factors of confidence, motivation, tireless, and calm support past research on peak performance e.

Our study had several limitations. First, although we used a qualitative approach to establish an initial framework of AME, our study only offers a preliminary framework and future study is needed.

We suggest future adopting the same approach of the present study and exploring the potential model of AME. Second, our participants were all recruited from Taiwan and Malaysia, and the participants are mostly Asians. Therefore, AME needs to be examined in different continents and cultures.

Further, the samples were all college student-athletes, and our results can't be generalized to professional athletes or younger athletes. Furthermore, since the AMES is a state-like measure it is very sensitive to situational and contextual factors Rule and Traver, ; Jacobs et al, we did not examine its test-retest reliability.

We suggest future study may examine the fluctuation of AME to examine its relationship with environmental and personal factors. Moreover, on Study 3 we used college student-athletes as our participants to perform EFA. Though it is acceptable in related literature. For example, Hair et al. However, Comrey and Lee suggested that sample size as is poor, is fair, as good, as very good, and 1, or more as excellent.

We suggest future study should recruit more participants when performing EFA. We suggest that future research may validate the 6-factor, item AMES in different cultures.

Another line of future research might examine the antecedents and consequences of mental energy. For example, supplements of sucromalt e. Whether these supplements also increase AME needs further examination. In addition, we suggest future study may examine what psychological skill training increases AME.

In particular, recent studies found mindfulness training increases athletes' concentration and confidence e. Therefore, whether mindfulness training also enhances AME needs further examination. Further, research suggested that insufficient sleep influences athletes' memory, cognition, and performance Halson, Thus, whether insufficient sleep also influences AME can be another direction for researchers.

Moreover, we suggest future study may examine the associations of AMES and other sports behavior such as coach-athlete relationship Jowett and Poczwardowski, , sport confidence Beaumont et al.

Further, through 6 studies we have established the preliminary psychometric properties of the 6-factor, item AMES by examining the content validity, factor validity factorial structure, nomological validity, discriminant validity, predictive validity, measurement invariance, and reliability, there are remaining many spaces for future researchers to examine the underlying psychometric properties of AMES.

For example, future research may compare the group differences between high and low-performance athletes to establish predictive validity.

Also, researchers may conduct a laboratory or filed experiment to examine how AME influence athletic performance to examine construct validity of the 6-factor, item AMES.

Moreover, researchers may adopt a cross-cultural approach to examine the factorial validity, construct validity, and predictive validity in different cultures. In terms of application, we suggest coaches or sport psychology consultants may use this 6-factor, item AMES to monitor athletes' training loadings and AME.

Research suggests that excessive training loads increase athletes' anger, anxiety, depression, and fatigue Raglin et al.

Therefore, coaches or sport psychology consultants might use AMES to monitor athletes' training status to help athletes with appropriate training. In a similar way, coaches or sports scientists may use AMES to monitor athletes' training loadings in pre-season or in-season Jeong et al.

Specifically, the AMES can help coaches or sports scientists understand whether changes in training loadings influence athletes' mental energy. Further, it is recommended that sport psychology consultants may use AMES to assess athletes' mental strength and weakness before conducting a psychological skills training PST Weinberg and Williams, , p.

To obtain a reliable and valid measure of the AME, we conducted five studies and developed a 6-factor, item AMES.

We think this is just a starting point of the AME research in sports settings. We hope our study inspires more research on this issue, not only for the pursuit of knowledge but also for the exploration of psychological factors underlying sport excellence.

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Kee, Y. The performance may suffer due to the athlete's inability to give a hundred percent focus on the game. This may look like if an athlete is getting ready to make a tackle and he starts to notice the outside factors like if it is raining or thoughts about what he is going to do after the game.

This slip in focus could make the difference in whether or not he makes the tackle. It comes down to if anxiety leads to an increase in performance due to the drive theory or decrease performance if the athlete has become too overstimulated.

This is dependent on the athlete's state of mind during that time. Another impact of a poor mental state on performance is that it can cause a loss of interest.

This loss of interest can lead to athletes to quit the sport or take some unnecessary time off if the mental health is addressed properly. There are some factors that play into why these athletes are quitting the sport they used to love.

These factors are it is not fun anymore, they are under pressure to perform, and the perceived lack of competence Fryer, These negative mindsets allow the athlete to have a poor attitude which leads to a poor performance on the field.

The number one reason why elite athlete's dropout is due to the performance pressure set by coaches and parents Butcher et al. The mindset of it is not fun anymore makes the athlete believe that they do not want to be out there on the field. This mindset keeps building and building until they ultimately stop playing.

Overall, a loss of interest plays an impact on performance levels due to the negative mental health state of athletes. As mental health has growing awareness, there are more and more ways coming out on how to deal with mental health.

According to Felgenauer , mental stress can inhibit your ability to perform at all at times, instead, learn strategies for approaching competition with a healthier mindset. Some of the best ways to better deal with mental health is focusing on what you need to do, set realistic goals, and remember why you started the sport you love.

Yes, we all focus on our game and especially when we are having problems that is what we are mainly focused on. Individuals cannot be focusing though on performing the big shot or the sweet dangle through someone.

When an athlete is struggling mentally, they must focus on the small basic things in their sport and make sure they are performing their best in those aspects of their game before making the big play. Felgenauer states that removing the competition from the equation and focusing on what your body needs to be the best version of yourself.

Whether that includes getting better sleep, eating nutritiously, and or injury prevention practice like stretching or rest days. While every athlete wants to become a professional athlete in their specific sport, that is only meant for a select few athletes. Setting realistic goals if extremely important for mental health, as if your only goal is to go pro and be the greatest player ever, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Having a list of goals instead of one big end goal will increase your mental health. For example, you can have the end goal be going pro but, before that, set a goal that you will be in the top 5 for scoring on your team, that you will be the hardest working player on your team, and you will play your sport at the collegiate level.

Set goals that you can achieve soon, while they are getting you closer to your end goal of being a professional athlete. As a child all you want to do is play the sport you love and get better at it. When you are young that is when you fall in love with the little things, that is when you make the memories that keep you wanting to move in sports.

Felgenauer notes that burnout from immense pressure from athletes themselves can lead to mental illness. Mental health within physical activity can either be a major boost or a monumental set back based upon how well the player or players are handling both inside and outside stressors.

Within most sports mental IQ can be half the battle when it comes to succeeding. Having proper mental health can help the player make quicker and clearer decisions while having mental health issues can cause the player to react slower to decisions and make decisions that may lead to undesired player performance.

These mental health issues can stem from teammates, to coaches, and even parents which can make it difficult for the payer overcome this adversity. Mental health can even affect the players passion that they have for the sport that they play and cause major burnout within the psyche of the player.

This is why making sure that players are enjoying the sport they play and to make sure that they receive help for any issues they may have or feel is necessary to tackle early.