The Turkish adaptation of the athletic perceptions of Performance Scale: shame, guilt, and performance concerns and their associations with mental health problems among Turkish elite-level adult athletes

BACKGROUND: There are many sport-specific factors in daily sport/competition environment that may negatively affect athletes and cause athletic shame or guilt linked with mental health problems. The aim of the present study was to establish psychometric data for the Turkish version of the Athletic Perceptions of Performance Scale (APPS-Tr) and evaluate correlates of athletic shame and guilt among adult Turkish professional athletes. METHODS: This cross-sectional online survey study utilized standardized scales to assess athletic shame and guilt, performance concerns, athlete-specific stress, depression, and anxiety. The survey was distributed to 960 Turkish professional athletes. A subset of participants (N.=45) provided APPS-Tr test-retest data at 30 days. RESULTS: A total of 426 athletes participated. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the APPS-Tr, test-retest data confirmed its temporal stability, and the reliability values were within an acceptable range. Younger athletes (compared to older counterparts) reported higher athletic guilt scores (P<0.01), while athletes with less sport experience (compared to more sporting experienced counterparts) reported higher athletic shame scores (P=0.04). Athletes who had experienced recent adverse life events were more likely to endorse athletic shame and guilt and performance concerns (P=0.01, P=0.01, P<0.01, respectively). Athletic shame was more strongly associated with athlete-specific stress, depression, and anxiety than athletic guilt (r>0.30 versus r<0.30). CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide cross-cultural validation of the APPS assessing athletic shame and guilt among adult elite athletes. Consistent with other studies, athletic shame was more strongly associated with mental health problems than athletic guilt. Results suggest that athletes experiencing athletic shame and performance concerns may benefit from supportive coaching and/or mental health support.