Achievement goals and physical self-perceptions of adolescent athletes

The relationship between achievement goals and physical self-perceptions of adolescent athletes was examined in this study. Participants were 208 adolescent athletes with a mean age of 16.35 + 0.48 years. Independent samples t tests, Pearson correlations, and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that female athletes’ mastery-avoidance scores were higher than male athletes’. Mastery-approach goals were related to sports competence and global physical self-concept. Performance-approach goals were associated with sports competence, global physical self-concept, and global self-esteem. Performance-avoidance goals were related only to sports competence. In addition, the mastery-approach goal was predicted by global physical self-concept, and performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals were positively predicted by sports competence.