New Approach in Teaching and Learning

The relationship between perfectionism and perceived stress with the mediating role of self-compassion in female athletes

10.22034/jnael.2026.251326
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 5
Spring 2026
New Approach in Teaching and Learning

Document Type : Original Article (Quantified)

Authors

Ali Barghamadi 1
Zahra Ebadi 2

1 M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, International Branch, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract
Abstract
The dynamic and competitive environment of sports does not only have positive and constructive stimuli, but also many negative and stressful stimuli that affect the athlete's performance .The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and perceived stress with the mediating role of self-compassion in female athletes. The method of the present study was descriptive-correlational and structural equations The statistical population of this study included all female bodybuilding athletes in Juyin County in 1403, which according to the information of the Sports and Physical Education Organization of this city, the number of these individuals was 500. The statistical sample of the study will include 218 female bodybuilding athletes in Juyin County, which was selected using the available sampling method based on the statistical population and the Morgan table. The research tools were the Ahvaz Perfectionism Questionnaires (1378), Cohen et al.'s Perceived Stress (1983), and Neff et al.'s Self-Compassion (2003). Pearson correlation and regression tests were used to analyze the data, as well as factor analysis of structural equations using SPSS26 and Lisrel8 software. The findings of the research showed that the relationship between perfectionism and perceived stress is positive and direct, meaning that when perfectionism is high, perceived stress is also high. However, the relationship between perfectionism and self-compassion is negative and inverse, meaning that when perfectionism is high, self-compassion is low (p<0.05). Also, the results of structural equations showed that after establishing the mediating role of self-compassion, perfectionism with the indirect effect of self-compassion can reduce the level of perceived stress in female athletes. Therefore, Considering the importance of the effect of perfectionism on the cognitive, emotional and functional processes of athletes, sport psychologists can design interventions to train self-acceptance and use self-compassion strategies in female athletes in order to moderate the effect of perfectionistic concerns and positively improve perfectionism, considering the ability to acquire self-compassion.

Keywords

Perfectionism
Perceived Stress
Self-Compassion
female athletes
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  • Receive Date 29 March 2026
  • Revise Date 20 April 2026
  • Accept Date 14 May 2026

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