Gender-moderated personal growth and rest intolerance among Chinese athletes: a sequential explanatory mixed-methods study

In competitive sports settings, rest intolerance has emerged as a negative factor affecting the psychological well-being of Chinese athletes, yet no research has addressed this phenomenon. This study aims to investigate the potential mediating role of multidimensional competitive orientations in the relationship between personal growth and rest intolerance among Chinese athletes, using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, while also examining the moderating influence of gender. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted to further explore how this relationship evolves within the context of Chinese culture and the sports environment. A total of 691 participants (391 males) were recruited for quantitative analysis, and 12 participants for qualitative analysis. The results revealed that hypercompetitive orientation and anxiety-driven competition avoidance mediate the relationship between athletes’ personal growth and rest intolerance, while other relationships were non-significant. Furthermore, gender moderated this relationship, with female athletes reporting stronger associations. Additionally, the study identified that rest intolerance under hypercompetitive orientation includes two dimensions: gold medal-oriented determinism and the elimination mechanism within the whole-nation system. Rest intolerance under anxiety-driven competition avoidance encompasses three dimensions: athletes’ retirement anxiety, social expectation anxiety, and physiological constraints in females. Excessive family intervention was found to be a primary factor contributing to rest intolerance in female athletes under the lack of interest toward competition. It is hoped that this research will provide insights into the phenomenon of rest intolerance among Chinese athletes and attempt to propose an analytical framework and theoretical response with explanatory power within the Chinese context.