Psychological insights into school-age Greek rowers at Interscholastic Regatta: a cross-sectional study

Dimakopoulou, E ORCID: 0000-0002-4565-6471, Ntomali, S ORCID: 0000-0001-5048-5585, Kaloupsis, S, Karydaki, M ORCID: 0000-0002-9604-8441 and Bampouras, TM ORCID: 0000-0002-8991-4655 Psychological insights into school-age Greek rowers at Interscholastic Regatta: a cross-sectional study. BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation. ISSN 2052-1847 (Accepted)

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Abstract

Background
The PanHellenic Interscholastic Regatta presents a unique competitive environment for adolescent rowers, combining athletic performance with university admission bonus points. This dual-pressure context may influence athletes’ psychological states, particularly competitive anxiety, self-confidence, and motivational orientation.

Methods
A total of 132 school-age rowers (66 males, 66 females; aged 15–18 years) competing at the Panhellenic Interscholastic Regatta participated in the study. Athletes completed validated Greek versions of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-II (CSAI-II) and the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) approximately 30–60 min before competition. Differences across age groups were examined using ANCOVA with previous experience as covariate, while the relationship between the CSAI-II constructs and TEOSQ was assessed with point-biserial correlation coefficient.

Results
Overall levels of anxiety and self-confidence were comparable to those reported in similar youth sport populations. No significant differences were observed between age groups in cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, or self-confidence (p > 0.05), regardless of accounting for prior experience. Goal orientation was not significantly associated with cognitive anxiety or self-confidence; however, a small-to-moderate significant negative relationship was found between task orientation and somatic anxiety (r = -0.18, p < 0.05), indicating that more task-oriented athletes experienced lower physiological symptoms of anxiety.

Conclusions
School-age rowers competing in the Panhellenic Interscholastic Regatta demonstrated no differences in their psychological profiles across age groups, potentially due to prior competitive experience and similar sport exposure. Task-oriented motivation appears to have a weak-to-moderate relationship with somatic anxiety. These findings provide some information from an original and unexplored context on how to support young athletes in such environments.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Adolescence; Competitive anxiety; Goal orientation; Rowing; School sport; Self-confidence; 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences; 3202 Clinical Sciences; Behavioral and Social Science; Brain Disorders; Mental Health; Basic Behavioral and Social Science; Mental health; 1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC1200 Sports Medicine
Divisions:	Sport and Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Springer
Date of acceptance:	7 July 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	28 July 2026
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2026 15:15
Last Modified:	28 Jul 2026 15:15
DOI or ID number:	10.1186/s13102-026-01875-7
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29078

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