The mediating role of psychological resilience and the moderating role of professionalism in the effect of mental wellbeing on anger and aggression in Olympic combat sports athletes

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of mental wellbeing on anger and aggression among combat sports athletes and to investigate the mediating role of psychological resilience and the moderating role of professionalism in this relationship. The study sought to conceptually elucidate the associations between athletes’ psychological resources and their levels of anger and aggression. Method: The study was designed using a relational survey model and included 333 Olympic combat sports athletes (181 males, 152 females). Data were collected using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale–Short Form, the Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale–Short Form, and the Professionalism Scale for Athletes. The validity of the measurement models was tested through confirmatory factor analysis (AMOS 21). Hypotheses were tested using SPSS 25 and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Models 4, 1, and 14. Results: The indirect effect of mental wellbeing on anger and aggression through psychological resilience was found to be significant (b = −0.302, 95% CI [−0.479, −0.148]), explaining approximately 9% of the total variance. The moderating effect of professionalism was examined, and the interaction between psychological resilience and professionalism was found to be statistically significant (b = −0.032, 95% CI [−0.051, −0.012]). Interaction analyses indicated that the effects were stronger at higher levels of professionalism. A conditional process analysis (PROCESS Model 14) revealed that professionalism moderated the indirect effect (b = −0.029, 95% CI [−0.047, −0.014]); specifically, the effect of mental wellbeing on anger and aggression through psychological resilience became more pronounced when professionalism was high. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that mental wellbeing has a significant effect on anger and aggression among combat sports athletes through psychological resilience. This effect was stronger among athletes with higher levels of professionalism, highlighting its critical role in reducing anger and aggression. The results suggest that psychological resilience and professionalism are key factors in emotional regulation and performance management among athletes. Future studies may benefit from employing longitudinal and experimental designs to examine the effects of mental wellbeing on psychological resilience over time.