Original Research

Athletes’ religiosity: How it plays a role in athletes’ anxiety and life satisfaction

Tri S. Guntoro, Miftah F.P. Putra
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 78, No 1 | a7802 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i1.7802 | © 2022 Tri S. Guntoro, Miftah F.P. Putra | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 01 June 2022 | Published: 04 November 2022

About the author(s)

Tri S. Guntoro, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Cenderawasih, Jayapura, Indonesia
Miftah F.P. Putra, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Cenderawasih, Jayapura, Indonesia

Abstract

Many studies related to religious and sports issues have been carried out. However, there are limited studies, especially those related to religiosity, anxiety and life satisfaction. To cope with this situation, this study aims to: (1) assess the religiosity, anxiety and life satisfaction of athletes; (2) determine the role of gender and the type of sport in those constructs and (3) establish the correlations between the constructs. The study involved 244 elite athletes from Papua province of Indonesia, with an average age of 22.2 years. The athletes were from a variety of sports, either individual or team sports. The religiosity, anxiety and life satisfaction were measured using Spirituality in Sports Test (SIST), Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), respectively. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the association between explanatory variables (gender and type of sport) and all those three constructs. Path analysis was used to determine the correlations between the constructs. This study’s data suggested that both gender and the type of sport are associated significantly with the level of anxiety and life satisfaction of athletes but not with athlete religiosity. There is a strong and direct effect of religiosity on anxiety and on the happiness in life (life satisfaction). The higher the level of religiosity of the athletes, the happier their life is perceived and the lower the level of the anxiety. In conclusion, this study reveals that individual sport athletes and female athletes tend to have higher levels of anxiety and lower life satisfaction. In addition, religiosity has a direct effect on anxiety and life satisfaction of the athletes. Therefore, religious values might need to be internalised during the training of athletes to reduce the anxiety during the competitions.

Contribution: This study provides a new insight into the role of religiosity in anxiety and life satisfaction of athletes. This study also identifies the groups of athletes that are prone to have higher anxiety and therefore should be concerned and targeted. The findings of this study could be used as a complement strategy to increase the athletes’ happiness and to reduce the anxiety during the coaching and training processes in order to be able to achieve targeted results in a competition.


Keywords

religiosity; anxiety; elite athlete; life satisfaction; spirituality; sport psychology.

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Crossref Citations

1. Development and validation mental training model: Mental Toughness Training Circle (MTTC)
Sutoro ., Tri Setyo Guntoro, Miftah Fariz Prima Putra
F1000Research  vol: 12  first page: 169  year: 2023  
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.129010.1