Author(s): ROSSI, C., FERRARA, G., LA VERSA, F., DRID, P., GIUSTINO, V., PEDONE, F., BIANCO, A., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF PALERMO, Country: ITALY, Abstract-ID: 1359

Background:
Self-regulation represents a fundamental psychological competence in sport, influencing training adherence, goal management, and performance. It involves processes of monitoring, evaluating, and modulating behavior in order to achieve personal goals, enabling individuals to plan actions, initiate them effectively, and adjust them according to feedback. These skills are crucial for maintaining long-term commitment and coping with difficulties. Despite growing interest in psychological competencies in sport, systematic evidence comparing self-regulation levels between practitioners and non-practitioners remains limited, and the contribution of different types of sport participation is still unclear. Therefore, the present preliminary study aimed to examine differences in self-regulation between adults who practice sport and those who do not, and to compare, within the athletic sample, profiles of individual- and team-sport athletes.
Methods:
The study analyzed scores from the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) in a total sample of 819 adults (mean age: 19.36+-1.72 years), including 425 sport practitioners and 394 non-practitioners. Within the sport group, 207 participants were involved in individual sports and 218 in team sports. Independent-samples t-tests were conducted to examine: (a) differences in self-regulation between practitioners and non-practitioners and (b) differences between individual- and team-sport athletes across the various dimensions of self-regulation.
Results:
Sport practitioners showed significantly higher levels of self-regulation than non-practitioners across all SSRQ dimensions: assessing (p < .001), searching (p < .001), planning (p < .001), triggering (p < .001), implementing (p < .001), and receiving (p < .001). Descriptive analyses confirmed a consistent pattern, with higher mean scores in the sport group across all domains. Comparisons between individual and team sports revealed largely overlapping profiles, with negligible differences in every dimension considered.
Conclusions:
These findings support the hypothesis that sport participation is strongly associated with higher self-regulation. The findings observed suggest that sport may be a privileged context for the development of transferable psychological skills, relevant in performance and for life skills. However, further evidence is needed to better clarify potential differences related to specific types of sport.