Investigation of The Relationship Between Athletes' Psychological Resilience, Emotional Reactivity, Psychological Maladjustment and Trait Anger Control

The purpose of the research is to examine the relationship between athletes' psychological resilience, emotional reactivity, psychological maladjustment and trait anger levels and the mediating role of psychological resilience in this relationship. The data were obtained from a total of 972 athletes, 298 women and 674 men, in different sports branches (boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, athletics, soccer, volleyball, handball, basketball). In the data collection process, the emotional reactivity scale adapted to Turkish culture, the depression, anxiety, stress scale, the anger and expression style scale and the short psychological resilience scale were used. In the analysis of the data, the structural equation model was used to determine the direct and indirect predictive effects between variables. In line with the findings, although emotional reactivity in athletes exerts pressure on psychological maladjustment (depression, anxiety, and stress), psychological resilience has a protective function. It can be said that athletes with high psychological resilience may be in a more positive position in terms of showing trait anger and psychological maladjustment, whereas athletes with low psychological resilience may be in a disadvantageous position. The results of the study revealed that emotional reactivity has a positive predictor of depression, anxiety, and trait anger. On the other hand, psychological resilience was evaluated to have a strong protective function on emotional reactivity, psychological maladjustment and trait anger among athletes, and this finding was discussed in the context of the literature.