Correlates of competitive anxiety in student athletes: the interactive roles of competitive stress, psychological resilience, and achievement motivation

Background Competitive anxiety (CA) is a common mental health concern among college student athletes. Although competitive stress (CS) is an important correlate of CA, the roles of psychological resilience (PR) and achievement motivation (AM) in this association remain unclear. Guided by Conservation of Resources theory, this study examined whether PR and AM mediated the relationship between CS and CA. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 801 college student athletes from three universities in China (42.82% male, 57.18% female; most aged 18–22 years). Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Chinese revised Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Achievement Motivation Scale, and the Sport Anxiety Scale-2. Regression-based mediation analysis and multi-group analysis were performed, controlling for gender and training experience. Results CS was positively associated with CA ( r = 0.750, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with PR ( r = −0.611, p < 0.001) and AM ( r = −0.640, p < 0.001). PR and AM independently mediated the relationship between CS and CA, and also formed a significant chain mediation effect. The negative association between CS and PR was stronger among male athletes (Δ β = −0.144, p = 0.048). Conclusion CS was directly and indirectly associated with CA through PR and AM. These findings suggest that coaches should help athletes reduce CS, and incorporate PR training, goal setting, and AM support into regular psychological preparation to better manage CA.