The Relationship between Perfectionism and Self-Compassion in Elite Taekwondo Athletes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and self-compassion in elite Taekwondo athletes. Cross-sectional correlational design was employed in this study. The statistical population consisted of elite taekwondo athletes participating in the super League competition and National team. One hundred and sixty taekwondo athletes (80 male and 80 female) were selected via purposive sampling method. They completed two scales of perfectionism and self-compassion. The data were analyzed by Pearson correlation, multiple regression by inward method, and ANOVA tests. The results indicated that perfectionistic strivings (positive perfectionism) was positively associated with self-compassion, whereas perfectionistic concerns (negative perfectionism) was negatively associated with self-compassion. In addition, the results showed that two dimensions of perfectionism predict self-compassion variance. Furthermore, the data showed that the male group significantly have high positive perfectionism and use more self-compassion strategies than female group. According to results of this study, it seems that perfectionism has an effective role in self-compassion strategies of elite taekwondo athletes and improving these strategies can be useful to conduct interventions in order to balance negative impacts and facilitate positive impacts.