The effect of attention on wellbeing in combat sport athletes: the mediating role of competitive anxiety.

Introduction: This study aimed to examine whether the effect of attentional processes on psychological well-being in combat sport athletes operates directly or indirectly through competitive anxiety within an integrated model. Methods: A total of 418 actively competing athletes participated in the study, and the relationships among athlete attention, competitive anxiety, and psychological well-being were analyzed using a regression-based mediation model. Results: The findings revealed that athlete attention had a strong and positive effect on psychological well-being (β = 0.718), while also showing a significant negative effect on competitive anxiety (β = 0.574). In turn, competitive anxiety was found to negatively predict psychological well-being (β = -0.242). When competitive anxiety was included in the model, the direct effect of attention on psychological well-being decreased (β = 0.579), indicating the presence of a mediation structure. Bootstrap analysis further confirmed that the indirect effect was statistically significant (β = 0.139, 95% CI [0.091, 0.202]), demonstrating that competitive anxiety plays a partial mediating role in this relationship. Discussion: These results suggest that attentional processes are associated with psychological well-being both directly and indirectly through their statistical association with competitive anxiety. From a theoretical perspective, the findings support the assumptions of Attentional Control Theory within a sport context and highlight the role of attention as a multidimensional regulatory mechanism. Practically, the findings suggest that interventions targeting both attentional control and anxiety regulation may be associated with more favorable psychological well-being outcomes than approaches focusing solely on performance-related outcomes.