The Effect of Childhood Adverse Experiences on Change in Outlook and Hardiness of Athletes

In professional sports, increasing desires to win and achieve high-level goals are common causes for competitive stress. However, some players seem to manage stressful situations better than others. The purpose in this study is to determine the effect of childhood adverse experiences on change in outlook and hardiness of athletes.

The participants in this study included 201 (99 girls, 112 boys) athletes aged 18-22 years old from different sports in Isfahan, Iran, who participated in national competitions. To collect the data, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire, the Changes in Outlook Questionnaire (CiOQ), and short hardiness scale were used. The direct and indirect effects of the variables were examined to investigate the mediating role.

The results showed that adverse childhood experiences affect positive (P = 0.048) and negative (P = 0.001) outlook on life and positive (P = 0.021) and negative (P = 0.003) outlook affect hardiness. Adverse childhood experiences did not have a direct effect on hardiness (P < 0.05), but through mediation, the effect was significant (P = 0.02).

Adverse childhood experiences affect the athletes' outlook, with positive and negative outlook increasing and decreasing hardiness, respectively.