The mediating role of fear of negative evaluation in relation to communication patterns and motivation to progress in professional athletes

Introduction: Two of the most important psychological structures that affect the quality of performance of professional athletes are the motivation for progress and the fear of negative evaluation. The current study was conducted to investigate the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation in relation to communication patterns with the motivation for progress of professional athletes. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all professional athletes exercising in sports clubs in Mashhad in 2018. Among them 400 cases were selected. They fulfilled the revised scale of Richie and Fitz Patrick's (1990) communication patterns, the Lori Negative Negative Assessment Fear Questionnaire (1983), and the Hermans Progress Motivation Questionnaire (1970). Data was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient test and structural equation modeling. Results: The findings indicated that 59% of the variance of the fear of negative evaluation and also 62% of the variance of the motivation for progress are explained by the fear of negative evaluation but communication patterns can directly explain 55% of the variance in the intention of progressing. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the fear of negative evaluation has a mediating role in the relationship between communication patterns and motivation of professional athletes. Also,there is a significant relationship between fear of negative evaluation and communication patterns with motivation to progress.