Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports
 
Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports
Play.Stay.Thrive
An AMSSM toolkit to promote safe and
healthy participation in youth sports

Why are some athletes at higher risk for suicide?

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One emerging risk factor for suicide is perfectionism, or excessive pressure to perform.

 

  • Setting and working toward goals can be beneficial, but excessive pressure can be harmful.
  • Damaging effects of perfectionism occur when it leads to worry about making mistakes, negative evaluations, and rejections.
  • Qualities of perfectionism can include:
    • Rigid or all-or-nothing thoughts
    • Beliefs that being perfect is necessary to be successful
    • Unwillingness to talk with others about distress
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References
Cooper, Casey. “What’s Hurting our Kids.” 7 Mar. 2018. MP3 file.
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L. (2014). “The perils of perfectionism in sports” revisited: Toward a broader understanding of the pressure to be perfect and its impact on athletes and dancers. International Journal of Sports Psychology, 45:395-407.
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L. (2019). Reflections on Three Decades of Research on Multidimensional Perfectionism: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Further Advances in the Assessment of Perfectionism. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38(1):3-14.
Gustaffson H, et al. (2017). Fear of failure, psychological stress, and burnout among adolescent athletes competing in high level sport. Scand J Med Sci Sports, 27(12):2091-2102.
Smith, Martin M., et al. (2017). The Perniciousness of Perfectionism: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Perfectionism-Suicide Relationship. Journal of Personality, 86(3):522–542.