Influence of Competitive Anxiety and Psychological Stress as Predictors of Sports Injuries in Youth Soccer Players: a prospective cohort study

The present study investigated the role of competitive anxiety and psychological stress in the occurrence of sports injuries in teenage football players. One hundred twenty-two youth football players in Lorestan Province, aged 14 to 17, participated in a prospective cohort study in the season of 2019-2020. Competitive anxiety was assessed using the competitive anxiety scale and psychological stress was assessed using the Kessler psychological distress scale. Independent t-tests and logistic regression were used to analyze statistical data. The average competitive anxiety was also significantly higher for injured soccer players than for healthy soccer players (p=0.01). An increase in competitive anxiety was associated with an increase in the risk of sports injuries, and for each increased score of competitive anxiety based on the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 scale, the probability of sports injuries increased by 13%. The average stress of injured footballers is significantly higher than healthy footballers (p=0.02). An increase in stress was associated with an increase in the probability of sports injuries, and for each point of increase in stress based on the Kessler psychological distress scale, the likelihood of sports injuries increased by 22%. The results indicate that increasing stress and anxiety in sports competitions increases the likelihood of sports injuries. Therefore, the management of these two variables in adolescent soccer players seems necessary, and targeted programs can focus on mental health and injury prevention for athletes, especially for those who show symptoms of anxiety and stress.