This article was downloaded by: [171.67.34.69]On: 29 September 2013, At: 04:30Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Applied Sport PsychologyPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uasp20

Success and Failure, Fear of Failure,and Coping Responses of AdolescentAcademy Football PlayersSam S. Sagar a , Bradley K. Busch b & Sophia Jowett ca Leeds Metropolitan University, UKb Middlesex University, UKc Loughborough University, UKPublished online: 27 Apr 2010.

To cite this article: Sam S. Sagar , Bradley K. Busch & Sophia Jowett (2010) Success and Failure, Fearof Failure, and Coping Responses of Adolescent Academy Football Players, Journal of Applied SportPsychology, 22:2, 213-230, DOI: 10.1080/10413201003664962

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10413201003664962

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

JOURNAL OF APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY, 22: 213–230, 2010Copyright C© Association for Applied Sport PsychologyISSN: 1041-3200 print / 1533-1571 onlineDOI: 10.1080/10413201003664962

Success and Failure, Fear of Failure, and Coping Responsesof Adolescent Academy Football Players

SAM S. SAGAR

Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

BRADLEY K. BUSCH

Middlesex University, UK

SOPHIA JOWETT

Loughborough University, UK

The study examined fear of failure among 81 male adolescent football players (age 16–18 years)in English football academies. Four players who reported high fear of failure were interviewed.They perceived the consequences of failure to be both interpersonal and intrapersonal. Fearof failure affected their sporting performance and interpersonal behavior. They employedpredominantly ineffective coping strategies to deal with fear of failure, and both effectiveand ineffective strategies to deal with failure experiences. The findings of this study enhanceunderstanding of the fear of failure construct in sport, contributing both to research and practice.

INTRODUCTION

Despite large financial investments (40 million every year) in English youth football (soccer)academies, only 25–30 English players aged 23 years or under enter the English FootballPremier League each year (“Next Rooney”, 2007). Consequently, concerns are raised aboutthe thinning supply of talented English football players, increasing the pressure on academydirectors, managers, and coaches to produce more top English players. At the same time, youngplayers in these academies experience pressure to produce top performances and to be selectedto the Premier League. They encounter a range of personal and interpersonal challenges thatcan affect their experiences and personal development (Richardson, Gilbourne, & Littlewood,2004). They must, therefore, learn to cope effectively with the stressors if they are to pursuea professional football career (Holt & Dunn, 2004), or else their sporting performance andsubjective well-being can be impaired (Lazarus, 2000; Sagar, Lavallee, & Spray, 2009).

In recent years, professional British football players and coaches have openly discussedin the media the fear of failure of professional players. Some players described their fear of

Received 24 August 2009; accepted 22 December 2009.Address correspondence to Sam S. Sagar, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Leeds

Metropolitan University, Leeds, LS1 3HE UK. E-mail: S.Sager@leedsmet.ac.uk

213

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

214 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

failure as a motivator (“Fear of Failure”, 2007), as hindering their sporting performances andgeneral well-being (“Barton’s England”, 2007), or as having both a negative and a positiveeffect on their sporting performance and achievements (“Wilkinson driven”, 2003). Similarly,some coaches, who coach professional players, view fear of failure as having a positive (“Fearof failure can work”, 2008) or a negative influence on players’ performances (“Stop playing”,2008).

Despite this increasing openness about experiences of fear of failure in sport, fear of failureremains an under-studied phenomenon in the sport domain (Sagar, Lavallee, & Spray, 2007;Sagar et al., 2009). Accordingly, the present exploratory study examined fear of failure amongyoung English academy football players, seeking to provide much needed theoretical clarityand research findings about fear of failure in sport. To that end, we examined fear of failureamong youth players, their perceptions of success and failure in football and its consequences,and their coping responses to failure and to fear of failure. The study contributes to theknowledge of psychologists and others who work with football players and coaches. First,however, we delineate theories about fear of failure, perceptions of success and failure, andcoping behavior.

Fear of Failure

Fear of failure has been conceptualized as the motive to avoid failure associated withanticipatory shame in evaluative situations (Atkinson, 1957). This shame-based avoidancemotive involves cognitive, behavioral, and emotional experiences and typically prompts thepursuit of avoidance goals and strategies (e.g., performance- and mastery-avoidance goals,low achievement, self-handicapping) that, in turn, exert adverse effects (Conroy & Elliot,2004; Elliot & Church, 1997). High fear of failure has been associated with a prevalence ofnegative psychological and physical effects (e.g., anxiety, depression, eating disorders; seeConroy, 2001; Sagar et al., 2007). Limited sport-related research has associated fear of failurewith athletic stress, worry, anxiety (cognitive and somatic; Conroy, Willow, & Metzler, 2002),dropout (Orlick, 1974), avoidance goals (Conroy & Elliot, 2004), impaired interpersonalbehavior and sporting performance (Sagar et al., 2009), and drug abuse (Anshel, 1991). Thus,fear of failure can have important implications for adolescent athletes.

Although early achievement motivation theorists (e.g., Atkinson, 1957) viewed fear of fail-ure as a unidimensional construct (positioning shame at its core), contemporary theorists viewit as a multidimensional construct. For example, Conroy et al. (2002) conceptualized fear offailure as the tendency to appraise threat to the achievement of personally meaningful goalswhen one fails in the performance. Individuals who have learned to associate failure with aver-sive consequences will perceive failure as threatening and experience fear and apprehensionin evaluative situations. Conroy et al. proposed five beliefs about the consequences of failurethat are associated with threat appraisal and feared: experiencing shame and embarrassment,devaluing one’s self-estimate, important others losing interest, upsetting important others, andhaving an uncertain future. The strength of one’s belief that these aversive consequences willoccur after failure indicates one’s tendency to associate failure with threats and, subsequently,to fear failure; the stronger the belief, the greater the fear will be. This conceptualization of fearof failure underpinned the present study. Accordingly, we sought to examine how adolescentfootball players, who indicated a high level of fear of failure, appraised the consequences oftheir failure. Such information can enhance the understanding of researchers and practitionersof what young athletes fear about failing in sport.

To date, only one study has investigated adolescents’ appraisal of the consequences of theirfailure in sport. Sagar et al.’s (2007) interview-based study examined the appraisal of nine

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 215

adolescent elite athletes who participated in a variety of sports. The findings revealed thatthe most commonly perceived aversive consequences of failure were diminished perceptionof self, having no sense of achievement, and the emotional cost of failure. These perceivedconsequences correspond with Conroy’s et al.’s (2002) model for identifying fears of devaluingself-estimate (i.e., the first two consequences) and of experiencing shame and embarrassmentupon failure (i.e., the latter consequence). Although their study assessed the quality or contentof fear of failure, it did not assess the level of fear of failure among adolescent elite athletes.

Perceptions of Success and Failure in Sport

Although perceptions of success and failure in sport differ among athletes, many equatesuccess and failure with winning and losing, respectively (Sagar et al., 2007), and/or withquality of performance (Passer, 1988; Sagar et al., 2007). The experience of failure of thosewho perceive success and failure in terms of winning and losing will be pervasive because atleast half of competitors in any given competition suffer defeat. Such athletes are likely to viewthemselves as failing when they lose competitions (Sagar et al., 2007). Some researchers viewsuccess and failure as relating to individuals’ perceptions of the quality of their performances(and not merely performance outcomes; Maehr & Nicholls, 1980), whether or not they achievedtheir standards of excellence and personal accomplishments (McAuley, 1985), how well theirbasic needs are met (Deci & Ryan, 1985), and in terms of affiliation and perceived control(Conroy, Poczwardowski, & Henschen, 2001).

Coping Responses

Coping is a dynamic process that involves a person constantly changing cognitive andbehavioral efforts to manage (i.e., reduce, tolerate, master) internal and external demands thatare appraised as stressful (Lazarus, 1999). Appraisal of harm, loss, or threat to one’s meaningfulgoal(s) and well-being can be followed by negative emotions such as fear, shame, and anxiety.Negative emotions will be followed by a coping response in the form of problem-focusedcoping, emotion-focused coping, and avoidance-focused coping strategies that aim to controlthe stressor or its effects (Lazarus, 1999, 2000). Problem-focused coping strategies are task-focused strategies that aim to reduce emotional distress by directing efforts to alter or managethe stressor (e.g., planning, making decisions, gathering information, acquiring resources/skillsto help deal with the underlying problem) and are associated with positive affect and well-beingduring stressful situations (Carver & Scheier, 1998; Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000). Emotion-focused coping strategies (e.g., positive self-talk, seeking social support, reinterpretation) areoften employed when one perceives that nothing can be done to modify the stressor, andare used to help reduce the emotional distress. Finally, avoidance-focused coping strategies(i.e., cognitive avoidance and avoidant action) attempt to neutralize distressing emotions bythe avoidance of dealing with the problem, thereby reducing tension through cognitive andbehavioral disengagement strategies (e.g., daydreaming, sleep, distraction; Carver, Scheier, &Weintraub, 1989). These strategies reduce distressing emotions in the short term, however,are considered ineffective for managing long-term threats (Carver et al., 1989) and have beenassociated with poor psychological adjustment (e.g., mental health, negative emotional andmotivational outcomes) in children and adolescents (Compas, Connor, Saltzman, Thomsen,& Wadsworth, 2001; Herman, Stemmler, & Petersen, 1995). This framework, which haspreviously been employed by researchers to examine athletes’ coping responses to failure andfear of failure (e.g., Poczwardowski & Conroy, 2002; Sagar et al., 2009) and to stressors infootball (Reeves, Nicholls, & McKenna, 2009), guided the present study.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

216 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

Effective coping responses (i.e., allow for positive psychological adjustment) to failureand to fear of failure, which are sources of stress and anxiety for athletes (Conroy et al.,2002; Gould, Horn, & Spreemann, 1983), are important in sport. Athletes who do not possesseffective coping skills to deal with these stressors are likely to experience poor performance,negative affect, and may eventually drop out of sport (Sagar et al., 2009). Knowledge aboutathletes’ coping responses to failure and to fear of failure is currently sparse having beenexamined only by two studies. The first study, which examined the coping responses of adultathletes to failure, reported that they employed a combination of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidance-focused coping strategies (Poczwardowski & Conroy, 2002). Questionsremain, however, as to how adolescent athletes cope with experiences of failure. The secondstudy examined the effect of fear of failure on elite adolescent athletes and their copingresponses to it (Sagar et al., 2009). Findings showed that fear of failure affected the athletes’sporting performance, interpersonal behavior, schoolwork, and well-being. Avoidance-focusedcoping strategies were most frequently reported by the athletes and problem-focused copingstrategies were least reported. The authors, therefore, concluded that the athletes employedpredominantly ineffective coping strategies to deal with their fear of failure and encouragedresearchers to investigate adolescent athletes’ coping responses both to failure and to fear offailure. Accordingly, the present study examined these responses among adolescent footballplayers.

The Present Study

The aforementioned studies leave several open questions. First, it is not known what levelsof fear of failure exist among adolescent athletes. Following from Sagar et al.’s (2007) study,which examined the appraisal of the consequences of failure by nine adolescent athletes, thereis a need to examine both dimensions and levels of fear of failure among a larger sample ofadolescent athletes. Second, following from Poczwardowski and Conroy’s (2002) study, whichexamined the coping responses to failure of adult elite athletes, questions remain as to howadolescent athletes cope with their experiences of failure in sport. Based on developmentaldifferences between adolescence and adulthood, adolescent coping is unique and distinct fromadult coping and, as such, merits studying (e.g., Compas et al., 2001; Skinner & Edge, 1998;Williams & McGillicuddy, 2000). Third, Sagar et al. (2009) advocated the need for moreresearch to document both the coping responses to failure and to fear of failure of adolescentathletes because coping responses to these distinct stressors are likely to be different. Fear offailure is an anticipatory state whereby the athlete thinks about the potential consequencesof failing; thus it happens before failure occurs. On the other hand, coping with failure isa post-event reaction in which the athlete attempts to adjust to the reality of actual failure.Such findings can enhance psychologists’ understanding of the fear of failure phenomenon insport and help them design intervention programs to reduce or regulate the fear of failure ofadolescent athletes.

Finally, we considered fear of failure to be an important construct for investigation in ourquest to understand why English football academies are failing to produce successful youngEnglish football players. Recently, The Lewis Review (Lewis, 2007), which was commis-sioned by the Football Association, Football League, and the Premier League, examined thedevelopment of English youth football players in English academies. The report stated thatyoung football players faced a stressful time due to pressure and the challenges to win andto enter the first team and the Premier League; and that academies “tend to place an over-emphasis on results at all age groups and to focus on winning matches rather than developingtalented young players, which leads to a climate of fear” (p. 16). Moreover, English football

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 217

environments have been described as hindering players’ performances because they are “feardriven” (Eriksson, Raildo, & Matson, 2002). Currently, however, it is not known what situa-tional factors in football academies are contributing to this fear among adolescent players. Thepresent study, therefore, examined possible situational factors; while recognizing that fear offailure is deeply rooted in self-evaluative dispositions (Conroy & Elliot, 2004).

Against this background, the present study investigated fear of failure among English ado-lescent academy football players, a unique and specialist population that competes at elite level(national and international), whose performances are regularly evaluated (by selectors/judgesand the public), and for whom failure can have adverse consequences. Elite level athletesinvest substantial time in their sport and the results of their performances can have profoundconsequences on their lives and future sporting careers (Conroy et al., 2001).

The present study had two main aims. Its first aim was to assess, through a survey, thedimensions and levels of fear of failure among the players. Performance success is highlyvalued in football academies by the managers, coaches, and players. Sustainable success (e.g.,adolescents’ selection for the first team) prepares young players for the next level of theirfootball careers. There is a highly pressurized climate for success in football academies andadolescent players typically have as their goals to be selected for the first team, to becomeprofessional players and then enter the Football Premier League. We, therefore, speculatedthat adolescent academy players were likely to perceive failure as a threat to achieving thesegoals, and to fear it.

The study’s second aim was to examine, through a qualitative inquiry, the experiences ofselected players who had reported high fear of failure levels in the survey. We set out to examinethe players’ perceptions of success and failure in football, their appraisal of the consequences oftheir success and failure experiences in football, the effect of fear of failure on them, and theircoping responses both to failure and to fear of failure. We also sought to examine situationalfactors that contributed to the players’ fears of failure. A qualitative inquiry was deemedsuitable for investigating the study’s second aim because it provides flexibility and the freedomto examine players’ experiences of success and failure in football and the meanings that theyassign to these experiences. Specifically, we adopted the social constructionist theoreticalperspective, which advocates that people construct meaning through their interactions withthe environment (Schwandt, 2003), thereby accounting for environmental/situational factors.

METHOD

Participants

Eighty-one male football players (11 goalkeepers, 26 defenders, 27 midfielders, and 17strikers) from four English football academies (non-boarding academies located in the northernand southern regions of England offering daily training) volunteered to participate in the presentstudy. The players were between 16 to 18 years of age (M = 16.9 years, SD = .86) and hadbeen playing football for between 8 to 12 years (M = 10 years, SD = 2.7). All were active(as opposed to reserve) members of their squads and had been training with their respectiveacademies for at least 6 months.

Procedures

After obtaining university ethical approval for the study and the permission of the fouracademy directors, players were approached at their academies. They were asked if they wouldvolunteer for the study, and were informed of its aims (to examine players’ experiences of

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

218 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

football competition) and procedures, its confidential and anonymous nature, and the criterionfor participation (i.e., to be active players in the academy for at least 6 months at the time of thestudy). This information was also explained to the players’ coaches and parents (or guardians)through a letter that was sent to them. Parents or guardian provided consent for participationof players who were under the age of 18 years, while those aged 18 years and over signed theirown consent form for participation.

Data Collection

Data were collected at the academies’ training grounds in two phases. Phase 1 employeda quantitative methodology (survey), and Phase 2 employed a qualitative methodology (inter-view). Each phase is presented separately below.

Phase 1: Quantitative Data Collection

MeasuresThe Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI; Conroy et al., 2002) was employed to

measure dimensions and levels of fear of failure among the players. We chose the PFAI forthis study for two main reasons: (a) it conceptualizes and operationalizes fear of failure as amultidimensional construct; and, (b) it has been subjected to rigorous psychometric evaluationsof validity and reliability with youth samples (e.g., mean age 13 years; see Conroy, Coatsworth,& Fifer, 2005; Conroy et al., 2002). In the present study, the PFAI served as a diagnostic tooland, as such, helped us identify players with high fear of failure levels. The measure consistsof 25 items measuring beliefs associated with aversive consequences of failure. It has fivesubscales capturing: fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment (7 items; e.g., “When Iam failing, it is embarrassing if others are there to see it”), fear of devaluing one’s self-estimate(4 items; e.g., “When I am failing, I blame my lack of talent”), fear of important others losinginterest (5 items; e.g., “When I am not succeeding, people are less interested in me”), fear ofupsetting important others (5 items; “When I am failing, people who are important to me aredisappointed”), and fear of having an uncertain future (4 items; e.g., “When I am failing, itupsets my ‘plan’ for the future”). Players were asked to rate how strongly they believed eachconsequence was likely to occur after failure (i.e., “Please indicate how often you believe eachstatement is true for you in football”). Responses were recorded on a 5-point scale from 0(do not believe at all) to 4 (believe 100% of the time). Players took approximately 10 min. tocomplete the measure in their academy training grounds after a training session. Scores werecomputed for each subscales of the PFAI. An overall fear of failure score was also computed.

Phase 2: Qualitative Data Collection

Following on from the survey, and after identifying players who experienced high levels offear of failure, one player from each of the four academies, who reported believing 70% ofthe time (i.e., M > 2.75; Conroy et al., 2002) that adverse consequences would occur to himafter failure, was selected and invited for a follow-up interview. Thus, a total of four playersparticipated in in-depth interviews (with the second author) that focused on their fear of failureexperiences. We considered these players to be relevant case studies, fitting the aims of thepresent study and likely to provide rich data that would be of interest and value to the study,and lead to saturation (Curtis, Gesler, Smith, & Washburn, 2000; Morse, 1995). Moreover, thein-depth interviews conducted with each of the players yielded a large amount of data, and aquality of data that extracted meaning.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 219

Each of the four players was contacted by telephone by the second author to invite them toparticipate in a study interview and to arrange a pre-interview meeting with them. The aim ofthis meeting was to meet the players (individually) in a more personal manner than the initialmeeting (i.e., when the players were asked to complete the questionnaire), and to build rapport(Arskey & Knight, 1999). The meeting also provided an opportunity to explain the aim of thestudy to the players (i.e., to learn about young players’ experiences of competition in football),to answer their questions regarding the study and the interview, to discuss any concerns thatthey might have about participating in the interview, and to arrange a mutually convenienttime for the interview.

At the time of the study, the players had been members of their academies for 2–3 yearsand played in different positions. Player 1 (P1) was a midfielder (age 17 years), Player 2 (P2)was a goal-keeper (age 16 years), Player 3 (P3) was a defender (age 16 years), and Player 4(P4) was a striker (age 16 years). Interviews were conducted individually with each player ina room in the academy where only the player and the researcher were present. Each interviewlasted 80–90 minutes and was audio-recorded with the players’ consent.

Interview Design and Structure

A semi-structured interview was conducted individually with each of the players to allowhim to relate to his own experiences in a free and open manner, and to disclose more informationthan perhaps he would disclose in a focus group interview. A pre-designed interview guidewas used as a flexible framework and was based on key questions most pertinent to the study.Although all the players were asked the same questions in the same way, the order of topicsand the questioning were free to vary within the natural flow of the conversation, and relatedissues that were thought to be important by the players were allowed to surface. The interviewguide was divided into four sections, along with pre- and post-interview sections. The pre-interview section aimed to reiterate the study’s aims and procedures, to reassure the players ofconfidentiality and anonymity, to obtain their general background information (e.g., how theygot into football, who supported them), to orient them to the interview process, and to buildrapport so that they would feel comfortable to disclose information (Arksey & Knight, 1999).

The first section of the interview explored how the players perceived success and failurein football (e.g., “Tell me what it means to you to be successful/unsuccessful in football”).The second section focused on how they appraised the consequences of success and failurein football. The players were asked to describe a past experience of what they considered wastheir best success in football and a past experience of what they considered was their worstfailure in football, and the consequences that followed these experiences (e.g., their behavior,thoughts, and emotions, others’ reactions to them). The third section examined how the playerscoped with the failure experience that they had described (e.g., “Tell me what you did andtold yourself to help you get over that experience”; the question was phrased in this way toinvite the players to talk about their behavioral and cognitive coping responses). The fourthand final section focused on situational factors and aimed at ascertaining the players’ thoughtsand concerns about future possible failure (e.g., “Describe your thoughts and behavior beforecompetitions”), the effect of those factors on the players, and how the players dealt withsuch thoughts and concerns. The post-interview section offered both parties an opportunity toclarify and refine aspects of the interview. It also allowed the players the opportunity to talkabout some of the issues that were raised in the interview and to “let go” of any emotions thatin-depth interviews can evoke (King, 1996); providing closure on the experience and ensuringthat the players left the interview in a positive frame of mind.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

220 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

Data Analyses

The PFAI (Conroy et al., 2002) was analyzed for descriptive statistics to identify players’levels and dimensions of fear of failure. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and theninductively and deductively analyzed using the principles of thematic analysis (Smith, 1995)to identify meaning units and common themes and categories; meaning units were raw-data quotes that were taken from the interview transcripts and that had common meaningand captured a distinct concept (Tesch, 1990). These meaning units were coded and thenorganized into a hierarchical structure, resulting in higher- and lower-order themes. Theinductive process, which moved through several stages, revealed salient themes and conceptsin the data and determined the relation between them and how they reflected the phenomenastudied. Constant comparison of codes for similarities and differences enabled us to categorizethe data while concurrently writing conceptual and theoretical memos (Strauss & Corbin,1998). This process helped us to interpret the data and develop an explanation of the issueunder investigation and to construct subthemes. It also served as a form of trustworthiness (inthat we were constantly re-affirming the meanings of the categories). Furthermore, the researchteam conducted code checks to ensure coding reliability (inter-rater reliability) and to minimizeinterpretive bias (Patton, 2002). Each researcher identified and coded meaning units in each ofthe four interviews and, subsequently, engaged in several team reflective discussions to ensureagreement in the process of interpretation, coding, and labelling of themes. This process ofreflection and verification between the researchers continued until all themes were agreed andverified, after which the final higher- and lower-order themes and categories were established.

Trustworthiness of DataWe employed several techniques to ensure the trustworthiness and credibility of the inter-

view data. First, we conducted member checks by giving each of the four players a transcriptof his interview to verify its accuracy. Short meetings (10–15 mins) were then held (by theinterviewer) with each of the players, asking them if the data portrayed a recognizable and fairrepresentation of their experiences (see Patton, 2002). The players were then given a writtensummary of the emerging data themes. All four players agreed with our interpretations andreported being able to relate to their own experiences when reading their interview transcriptsand summaries. Thus, member checking was a process that we conducted on an ongoing basisthroughout the analytical process. We also established trustworthiness of the analytical processthrough an audit trail (e.g., journals, memos), which is a record of the development of theanalysis process, and that allowed us to verify rigor and to minimize interpretive bias (Patton,2002). Finally, we took a collaborative approach in the process of data analysis to reduceinterpretive bias. Analytical journals and memos containing questions used to interrogate thedata, and decisions about conceptual development of coding, categories, and themes, wereaccessed by each member of the research team who acted as a peer debriefer by going throughthe audit trail and raising questions of bias when necessary. Following this collaborative effortof all the researchers in the process of interpretation and reconstructing participants’ meanings(e.g., coding the data, establishing themes), the data were verified and contextualized.

RESULTS

Quantitative Results

Descriptive statistics for the five subscales of fear of failure for the entire sample showedthat fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment was the highest fear (M = 2.03,

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 221

SD = .83), followed by fears of having an uncertain future, of upsetting important others(M = 1.78, SD = .71, for each fear), of important others losing interest (M = 1.47, SD =.80), and of devaluing self-estimate (M = 1.24, SD = .66). All fears showed low to moderatelevels.

Descriptive statistics for the four players interviewed showed high levels of general fear offailure (M = 2.88–3.00, SD = .37–.42). When examining the specific fears, findings showedthat fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment was the highest fear among the four players(M = 3.10–3.14, SD = .37–.52). Fear of important others losing interest was also high amongall four players (M = 2.96–3.05, SD = .36–.47). Fear of devaluing self-estimate was high forPlayer 1 (M = 2.86, SD = .36) and moderate for Players 2, 3, and 4 (M = 2.00–2.16, SD =.38–.50). Fear of having an uncertain future was high for Players 1 and 4 (M = 3.00, SD =.35; M = 3.05, SD = .57, respectively). Finally, fear of upsetting important others was highfor Players 2 and 3 (M = 2.82, SD = .36; M = 3.00, SD = .54, respectively) and moderatefor Players 1 and 4 (M = 2.00–2.03, SD = .58).

Qualitative Results

The results of the qualitative data are presented below in five sections: perceptions ofsuccess and failure in football, appraisal of the consequences of success and failure in football,situational factors contributing to fear of failure, effects of fear of failure on the players, andcoping responses to fear of failure and to failure.

Perceptions of Success and Failure in Football

The players perceived failure as being the opposite of success (therefore we only reporthere perceptions of failure). Data analysis revealed three higher-order themes for the players’perceptions of failure in football:

(a) Not Performing Well (n = 3), which included missing an opportunity (e.g., “I’ve doneso many matches sitting on the bench, just waiting for week after week to come on[the pitch to play]. . .then I get my chance [to play] and I just destroy it” [P1]), makingmistakes (e.g., “If I’ve made any form of mistake. . .I see it as an unsuccessful gamefor me” [P2]), and not achieving personal goals or standards (e.g., “If you set yourselfgoals and you don’t achieve them, that’s a failure” [P3]);

(b) Attaining Undesirable Match-Outcome (n = 2), which encompassed not winning (e.g.,“If you’re not winning, but enjoying it, it’s still unsuccessful” [P4]) and not keeping a“clean sheet” (e.g., “My goals are in black and white. . .clean sheet is success and, notclean sheet is a failure. There’s no in-between for me” [P2]); and,

(c) Not Receiving Recognition/Acknowledgement (n = 2), which encompassed others notsaying you’re good, and not receiving a professional contract.

Appraisal of the Consequences of Success and Failure in Football

The players appraised five positive consequences of success. These were:

(a) Receiving Recognition from Others (n = 3), which related to receiving praise, encour-agement and acknowledgement from parents, teammates, and friends;

(b) Pleasing Others (n = 3) related to parents and managers (e.g., “The manager whengiving the talk after the game says he’s happy with the performance” [P4]);

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

222 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

(c) Enhanced Perception of Self (n = 3) related to perception of one’s sporting ability aftersuccess (e.g., “I felt that I was better than everyone else [players] I knew” [P2]);

(d) Enhanced Social Status and Interaction (n = 2) related to an improved self-image aftera successful performance, increased respect from others (e.g., teammates, coaches)and, increased social interaction (e.g., “I started speaking to a lot more people that Ididn’t know before [the successful performance]. . . . So I got to know more people as aresult ‘cos they saw it and heard about it and they began to speak to me about it” [P3]);and,

(e) Tangible Gain (n = 1; e.g., “you can get everything if you’re successful, like, stuff thatyou normally can’t get” [P1]).

The players appraised six consequences of failure as aversive:

(a) Emotional Cost (n = 3), which related to feeling embarrassed (“to talk to people” [P1]),disappointed, and dejected after failure;

(b) Diminished Perception of Self (n = 3) related to perception of one’s sporting abilityafter failure (e.g., “I felt I was worst player in the world” [P4]);

(c) Reduced Social Status and Interaction (n = 3) related to losing others’ respect (team-mates and coaches; e.g., “The coach would lose respect for you ‘cos he’ll think ‘all thiswork I’ve done with him and he’s, kinda, thrown it at my face’ ” [P2]), impaired com-munication with others (e.g., For a week after that game [failure]. . .I walked past them[coaches and teammates] and said nothing, complete silence” [P1]), and self-imposedisolation (e.g., “I felt embarrassed speaking to my teammates. . .I’d just go to my roomand close the door” [P1]; “I just stayed away from people” [P3]);

(d) Punitive Behavior from Others (n = 2) related to receiving criticism from teammates,coaches, and parents after failure (e.g., “If you play bad or lose, people are shouting,hollering all sorts of abuse at you” [P3]), and to withdrawal of parental love (e.g., “He[dad] was so annoyed we lost, he just left me there [at game venue]. . .and I didn’t getany dinner later at home” [P3]; “You go home after [losing] and you’re in the dog housewith your parents and my dad doesn’t talk to me” [P2]);

(e) Uncertain Future (n = 3) related to the possibility of “getting dropped from the firstteam” (P1) or from the academy (P3) after failure; and,

(f) Letting Down Important Others (n = 2) related to parents and coaches.

Situational Factors Contributing to Fear of Failure

The players reported four situational factors that contributed to their thoughts of failure andfear of failure. Two players attributed it to the pressure to succeed, which came both from theself (e.g., “Knowing that I’ve got to play well and win brings it [fear of failure] on, I think aboutfailing” [P4]) and from parents (e.g., “My dad is always on my case. . . it brings me down andmakes me conscious of the decisions I make in the game. So it’s a worry, a pressure not to makemistakes” [P3]). Some players (n = 2) thought about failure following a bad performance bothin training sessions (e.g., “I feel it [fear of failure] when I’m not training well. That’s when Ithink ‘I’m not going to get this or that’, ‘I’m not going to have the life I want’, or whatever”[P1]) and in competitions (e.g., “I’ll be sitting in the corner, worried about ‘am I going toimprove my game?’ and I worry that I won’t get anywhere” [P4]). Others (n = 2) revealed thatthe score of the match contributed to their thoughts of failure and of its consequences (e.g.,

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 223

“If your opponent scores and it’s 1-nil to them at half time, then the thoughts of you losingbegin to sink in and you start to worry about the bad stuff that will follow it” [P3]), as well asthe opponent’s good reputation. Finally, three players (P2, 3, 4) revealed that they engaged inthoughts of failure when they were alone. For example, Player 3 disclosed:

“At night I’m thinking about stepping out onto the pitch and making an error and what willhappen then . . . . I’d be thinking about what I’m going to do in the game and about what if Idon’t do it, what’s going to happen afterwards and what the consequences will be.”

Effects of Fear of Failure on the Players

It appears that fearing failure affected the players in three ways. It affected their subjectivewell-being, interpersonal behavior, and sporting performance. Three players revealed that fearof failure negatively influenced their well-being prior to competitions. It affected their generalmood (e.g., “I get grouchy” [P3]; “I’ll be in a negative mood and on the phone to friends[saying] ‘I’m never gonna make it, what am I doing here [in the academy]?’ ” [P1]), and sleepquality (e.g., “I’ll be thinking lots about the match and I won’t sleep well the night before ‘cosI’d be thinking about, like, what will happen if we lose” [P4]). Some players (n = 3) felt thatfear of failure affected their performance by making them less confident and less inclined totake risks in the game and, thereby, altering their task selection (e.g., “I’d stay back more andwouldn’t come out for a catch and shout ‘keeper’s’, I’d just leave it to the defenders” [P4]).

Finally, fearing failure also appears to adversely influence the players’ (n = 2) interpersonalbehavior, affecting their social interactions in the short-term. For example, Player 1 stated thatit made him communicate with others less openly and freely than usual, saying: “If someoneasks me a question I won’t be like ‘yeah’ (sounding cheerful) in a nice way, I’ll just answerit as quickly as I can (to get it) over and done with ‘cos I don’t want to talk’.” When Player4 feared failure, he became argumentative more than usual. He described such an interactionwith his coach: “I just snapped at him and told him where to go, and to stuff his advice! Ishouldn’t have said it ‘cos he was trying to help. But when there are no games on and I don’tfeel like this (fearful of failure) we get on well’.”

Coping Responses to Fear of Failure and to Failure

Coping responses were divided into three categories: avoidance-focused coping strategies(divided into cognitive and behavioral), emotion-focused coping strategies, and problem-focused coping strategies. Coping responses to fear of failure and coping responses to failureare presented separately below; each presents the strategies in the order most cited by theplayers.

Coping Responses to Fear of FailureAll four players employed avoidance-focused coping strategies to deal with their fear of

failure. They employed a cognitive strategy, Mental Disengagement (n = 4), which encom-passed pushing thoughts of failure away (e.g., “I try to block it out, push it away” [P3]), tryingnot to think about the consequences of failure, and thinking about other things. Some players(n = 3) also employed a behavioral strategy, Not Talking About Fear of Failure (e.g., “I won’ttell anyone about my fears, I keep it to myself” [P1]; “I never let them [teammates, coaches]know how I feel ‘cos they wouldn’t be as confident in me to succeed if I’m all nervous andscared” [P4]).

Three of the players also employed emotion-focused coping strategies to deal with theirfear of failure. The only strategy they described was Seeking Emotional Support from family

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

224 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

members (e.g., “Whenever I get these thoughts and worries about it [failing], I’d phone myparents to talk about it” [P1]). Finally, a problem-focused coping strategy, Increasing Effortand Training, was employed only by Player 1 who revealed: “I’ll push myself and train hardtill I think I’m good enough so that I don’t fail . . . . I do it with everything that I turn up to do‘cos I don’t want to fail.”

Coping Responses to FailureProblem-focused coping strategies were employed by all four players to deal with their

failure experiences. This category comprised four higher-order themes:

(a) Increased Effort and Training (n = 3; e.g., “I got working and working ‘cos I didn’twant anyone thinking I’m a failure” [P4]);

(b) Increased Determination to Prove Ability (n = 3) to oneself and to others (e.g., “Iwanted to prove people wrong, prove that I’m actually a good goalkeeper” [P1]);

(c) Learning From Mistakes (n = 2) referred to analyzing and learning from the failedperformance; and,

(d) Seeking Instrumental Support (n = 2) related to seeking advice on ways to improvefrom the manager/coach and parents.

Emotion-focused coping strategies were employed by three players after failure and in-cluded: Seeking Emotional Support (n = 3) from parents, friends, and teammates (e.g., “Beingwith teammates and helping each other get over it [the failure], and also [being] with friends”[P4]); and, Positive Reinterpretation of Failure (P1; e.g., “I’d tell myself to try and turn thisfailure, the negative stuff, into a positive . . . . So then I feel better” [P1]).

Finally, avoidance-focused coping strategies were employed by three players and weredivided into cognitive and behavioral strategies. Cognitive strategies comprised Mental Disen-gagement (n = 3), which encompassed trying not to think about the failure, and thinking aboutother things (e.g., “Once I get home, I focus on other things and try to push it [the failure]out of my head” [P2]). Behavioral strategies comprised Not Talking About the Failure (n = 2)(e.g., “I’d keep quiet on the journey back [post failure] and next day I’d pretend like nothinghappened” [P1]).

DISCUSSION

The present study investigated fear of failure among English adolescent academy footballplayers. We examined, through a survey (using the PFAI; Conroy et al., 2001), the dimensionsand levels of fear of failure among the players. We also examined, through a qualitativeinquiry, the experiences of four players who had reported high fear of failure levels in thesurvey. Findings from the survey revealed low to moderate levels of fear of failure among theentire sample. Fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment upon failure, which was at amoderate level, was the highest fear. This fear was also the highest fear among the four playersinterviewed, showing high levels. This finding is consistent with that reported recently in adultathletes who competed in a variety of sports (Sagar & Stoeber, 2009). It appears that fear ofexperiencing shame and embarrassment upon failure is a predominant fear among athletesacross ages and sports.

Shame is a painful emotion that is associated with feelings of inadequacy and that one’sentire self is a failure, and with believing that others judge one negatively and as unworthyof praise (Lewis, 1992; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Shame and embarrassment occur when

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 225

one concludes—through cognitive processes of self-evaluation—that one has failed; thus, notall failures will lead to experiencing shame. Athletes’ interpretations of their mistakes andperformances as failure can have negative implications for them, especially for those who areconcerned about mistakes and others’ negative evaluations. Sporting performances typicallytake place in the public arena and, thus, mistakes and failures expose the athletes both to selfand others’ negative evaluation. This public exposure can elicit fear of failure, specificallyfear of experiencing shame and embarrassment upon failure. According to Lazarus (1991),shame results from one’s failure to live up to one’s ego-ideal, which is an image of personalexcellence that one strives for; thus, shame is associated with perceptions of personal failureand self-deficiency. We assume that many athletes’ ego-ideal include the image of themselvesas athletically competent or even excellent in their sporting pursuits and, as such, it is plausibleto expect football players to perceive failure as shameful and to fear it.

This finding has important implications for adolescent athletes because fear of experiencingshame and embarrassment has been associated with negative self-talk (i.e., increased self-blame and reduced affirmation while failing; Conroy & Metzler, 2004). Moreover, playershigh in fear of failure (compared to those who are low in fear of failure) experience greaterlevels of shame when they fail and are more likely to generalize specific failure experienceto the global self (McGregor & Elliot, 2005). Such players are likely to orient to and seek toavoid failure and making mistakes. This failure-avoidance motive (i.e., fear of failure) is likelyto be a self-perpetuating process that serves to maintain and exacerbate the tendency to avoidfailure, which leads to more mistakes and failures (McGregor & Elliot, 2005).

The qualitative data revealed that the interviewed players perceived success and failure infootball as being opposites (or the end points of the same continuum). They viewed failurein terms of competition outcomes (i.e., losing), quality of performance (i.e., not performingwell), and affiliation (i.e., not receiving recognition from others). This finding supports theliterature (e.g., Passer, 1988; Sagar et al., 2007). Nevertheless, it is worth noting that playerswho perceive success and failure in terms of winning and losing are likely to view themselvesas failures when they lose competitions (Sagar et al., 2007). Win-loss outcomes can greatlyinfluence their perceived competence (Horn & Hasbrook, 1986) and emotional states (Wilson& Kerr, 1999).

The interviewed players appraised several positive consequences of success. Those mostcommonly cited related to enhanced interpersonal relationships with significant others aftersuccess (i.e., receiving recognition from others, pleasing others, and enhanced social statusand interaction). This enhancement, however, may relate merely to the quality of exchangesthat follow success, rather than be an enduring enhancement of interpersonal relationships.The players appraised several aversive consequences of failure that were both intrapersonal(i.e., emotional cost, diminished perception of self, having an uncertain future after failure)and interpersonal consequences (i.e., reduced social status and interaction, receiving punitivebehaviors from others, letting down important others). These findings support previous researchthat examined junior athletes’ (Sagar et al., 2007) and adult athletes’ (Conroy et al., 2001)appraisals of the consequences of failure in sport.

The players’ appraisal of failure as having aversive interpersonal consequences explainswhy all four of them experienced high levels of fear of important others losing interest inthem after failure. This interpersonal fear indicates anticipation of relational consequencessuch as losing social value, status, and influence in the performance domain. Our findingsshow that the players appraised these consequences of failure as threat, and feared them.This explanation accords with current conceptualization of fear of failure that appraising theconsequences of failure to be aversive provides the basis for fear of failure (Birney, Burdick,& Teevan, 1969; Conroy et al., 2002) and that the anticipation of a threatening outcome elicits

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

226 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

fear (Lazarus, 1999, 2000). Failure is appraised differently by athletes, and the strength ofbelief that aversive consequences will occur after failure also differs among athletes. Failureaffects them differently and their fear of failure levels also differ. Therefore, if we are tounderstand why adolescent football players fear failure, we must examine their appraisal ofthe consequences of their failure (both in training and competition). Concurrently, we mustalso examine their core self-evaluative processes that underline the motive to avoid failure(i.e., fear of failure). Such knowledge can enhance conceptualization of fear of failure, andhelp practitioners’ endeavors to reduce or regulate athletes’ fear of failure.

Sport is a significant achievement domain for adolescents (Treasure, 2001) and the increas-ing pressure to achieve top sporting performances can bring with it an increase in fear offailure among athletes (Hosek & Man, 1989). We, therefore, speculated that adolescent foot-ball players who are in highly competitive environments, such as football academies wherethe pressure to succeed from academy managers, coaches, and parents is great, are likelyto fear failure. The qualitative data revealed several situational factors that contributed to theplayers’ thoughts of failure and to fearing it (e.g., performing badly, competing against a strongopponent, feeling pressure from self and others to succeed). Fearing failure appears to affectthe players’ performance in competitions, preventing them from performing to their optimallevels. It also seems to affect their interpersonal behavior in the short term. These findingsare in line with those reported recently by Sagar et al. (2009), who examined fear of failureamong elite adolescent athletes from a variety of sports. It appears that fear of failure can haveadverse effects on elite adolescent athletes in football and across sports. We, therefore, echoThe Lewis Review’s (Lewis, 2007) recommendation that football academies should focus onyoung players’ personal development rather than on their competition results.

All four interviewed players employed a combination of problem-focused, emotion-focused,and avoidance-focused coping strategies to deal with their fear of failure. Avoidance-focusedcoping strategies were the most frequently reported (by all four players) and problem-focusedcoping strategies were the least frequently reported (only reported by one player). Thesefindings are consistent with those reported by Sagar et al. (2009), who concluded that adolescentelite athletes engaged predominantly in ineffective coping strategies to deal with their fear offailure. Avoidance-focused coping strategies have been associated with poor psychologicaladjustment (e.g., negative emotional and motivational outcomes) in children and adolescents(Compas et al., 2001; Herman et al., 1995) and have been described as “dysfunctional” and“less useful” in most situations (because they often lead to negative emotional and motivationaloutcomes), while problem-focused coping strategies have been described as effective (Carveret al., 1989; Carver & Scheier, 1998). Although most stressors elicit both emotion-focusedand problem-focused coping strategies, the former tend to occur when individuals feel that thestressor is uncontrollable and must be endured, while the latter occur mostly when individualsfeel that something constructive can be done about the stressor (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000).We suggest that fear of failure may be a stressor that the players perceived to be beyond theircontrol and to be endured and, therefore, they employed more avoidance-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies than problem-focused coping strategies. After all, athletes usuallydo not have complete control over the outcome of their performances or the consequences oftheir failures. In situations where adolescents feel having little control, avoidance or distancing(i.e., deliberate efforts to take one’s mind off the problem) can be a more adaptive responsethan active problem-focused attempts to change the situation (Herman et al., 1995; Terry &Hynes, 1998). Nevertheless, although removing one’s self from an intensely stressful situationmay be initially necessary, this pattern of withdrawal can be detrimental in the long run.

Although the four players employed predominantly avoidance-focused coping strategiesto deal with their fear of failure, they employed primarily problem-focused coping strategies

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 227

to deal with failure experiences. Nonetheless, despite employing many effective strategies(i.e., problem-focused coping strategies) to deal with failure experiences, they also employedineffective strategies (i.e., emotion- and avoidance-focused coping strategies; Carver et al.,1989; Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000). It is also worth noting that three of the four playersreported that they increased training and effort as a response to failure and to fear of failure.Although such a behavior serves to reduce fear of failure (Birney et al., 1969), and the playersresponded in this way in an attempt to avoid failure, it does not guarantee that the skill willbe improved and goal attainment will become more probable. Furthermore, if non-attainmentfollows maximum effort, it becomes much more difficult to avoid negative implications aboutthe athlete’s underlying skill. Moreover, increased training can lead to overtraining, which is apotential source of burnout in junior athletes that can lead to their withdrawal from the sport(Gould, Udry, Tuffey, & Loehr, 1996). Accordingly, although the players viewed increasedtraining as a positive response to failure and to fear of failure, it may be an ineffective ormaladaptive response. Practitioners are, therefore, advised to monitor regularly the fears offailure of adolescent football players and pay close attention to their coping responses to failureand to fear of failure. They can help players develop and employ adaptive coping skills (i.e.,that allow for positive psychological adjustment) to manage these stressors.

Limitations and Future Directions

The present study represents one of the first attempts to investigate fear of failure amongEnglish adolescent academy football players. Although an exploratory study, it has yieldedvaluable findings and offers theorists and practitioners an insight into the fears of failureof adolescent athletes. However, due to the small number of participants, the findings arenot likely to be generalizable to the wider population of adolescent athletes. Future researchshould, therefore, attempt to examine fear of failure among a larger sample size, therebyproducing empirical findings that are generalizable. Research will also benefit from obtainingboth self-reported and informant ratings of fear of failure from, for example, athletes’ friends,teammates, parents, and coaches. Furthermore, the present study was a cross-sectional designand, as such, its findings do not inform us as to whether adolescent football players’ threatappraisal and fear of failure levels fluctuate over time in accordance with events in the sportingseason (e.g., selection events, major/minor competitions). Future research, therefore, willbenefit from a longitudinal design that samples players’ fears of failure over a sporting seasonand examines the effects of and contributors to their fear of failure without suffering from along recall bias. Finally, because coping recall is also subject to bias (Smith, Leffingwell, &Ptacek, 1999), obtaining measures in closer proximity to the event can yield robust findings.

It is important to continue to investigate fear of failure among young athletes because (a) itallows researchers to explore the development of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors thathave social implications, and (b) fear of failure may contribute to performance decrements andfrustration and can detract from the quality of the experience of sport participation (Conroy,2001). Ignoring young athletes’ fear of failure can potentially have negative consequences forthem because they may continue to experience distress in achievement settings (beyond sport)and learn to associate distress with achievement activity. This association can be a barrier totheir future participation in achievement activities, which may be especially disadvantageousfor children because early performance levels often determine later achievement opportunities.Moreover, the negative effects of fear of failure may worsen over time (Conroy, 2001). We,therefore, encourage researchers to continue to examine fear of failure among adolescent andchild athletes (male and female) and their coping behaviors. Researchers may also considerexamining fear of failure in relation to individual variables (e.g., personality factors such as

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

228 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

optimism-pessimism, self-handicapping, self-evaluative processes) and interpersonal variables(e.g., coach-athlete, parent-athlete, and peer-athlete relationships). Such research will enhanceconceptual understanding of the fear of failure construct in sport and will inform prevention,assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of fear of failure and other performance anxiety issuesin sport.

Conclusions

The present study extends knowledge on the fear of failure construct in the sport domain, andspecifically in elite youth football. The findings can help theorists develop a better conceptualunderstanding of the fear of failure construct in sport, where knowledge is currently sparse.They can also inform practitioners and enhance their work with coaches, adolescent athletes,and their families, enabling them to contribute, not only to the athletes’ sporting performances,but also to the quality of their lives, sport participation, and social development. Accordingly,fear of failure is an issue that can complement the customary performance enhancement effortsof practitioners.

REFERENCES

Anshel, M. H. (1991). Causes for drug abuse in sport: A survey of intercollegiate athletes. Journal ofSport Behavior, 14, 283–307.

Arskey, H., & Knight, P. (1999). Interviewing for social sciences. London: Sage.Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64,

359–372.Barton’s England hopes. (2007, October 23). The Mirror. Retrieved January 4, 2008, from

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2007/10/23/barton-s-england-hopes-89520-19993644/Birney, R. C., Burdick, H., & Teevan, R. D. (1969). Fear of failure. New York: Van Nostrad.Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). Self-regulation of behavior. New York: Cambridge.Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically

based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283.Compas, B. E., Connor, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with

stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and theory. Psychological Bulletin,127, 87–127.

Conroy, D. E. (2001). Fear of failure: An exemplar for social development research in sport. Quest, 53,165–183.

Conroy, D. E., Coatsworth, J. D., & Fifer, A. M. (2005). Testing dynamic relations between perceivedcompetence and fear of failure in young athletes. European Review of Applied Psychology, 55,99–110.

Conroy, D. E., & Elliot, A. J. (2004). Fear of failure and achievement goals in sport: Addressing the issueof the chicken and the egg. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 17, 271–286.

Conroy, D. E., & Metzler, J. N. (2004). Patterns of self-talk associated with different forms of competitiveanxiety. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 26, 69–89.

Conroy, D. E., Poczwardowski, A., & Henschen, K. P. (2001). Evaluative criteria and consequencesassociated with failure and success for elite athletes and performing artists. Journal of AppliedSport Psychology, 13, 300–322.

Conroy, D. E., Willow, J. P., & Metzler, J. N. (2002). Multidimensional fear of failure measurement: ThePerformance Failure Appraisal Inventory. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 76–90.

Curtis, S., Gesler, W., Smith, G., & Washburn, S. (2000). Approaches to sampling and case selectionin qualitative research: Examples in the geography of health. Social Science and Medicine, 50,1001–1014.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. NewYork: Plenum.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

FEAR OF FAILURE IN FOOTBALL 229

Elliot, A. J., & Church, M. A. (1997). A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievementmotivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 218–232.

Eriksson, S. G., Raildo, W., & Matson, H. (2002). Sven Goran Eriksson on Football. London: Carlton.Fear of failure can work in our favour, insists Strachan. (2008, March 4). The Scotsman. Re-

trieved March 25, 2008 from http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/european-club/Fear-of-failure-can-work.3838392.jp

Fear of failure drives captain Giggs. (2007, March 22). The Daily Mail. Retrieved March 25, 2008from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-444036/Fear-failure-drives-captain-Giggs.html

Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. T. (2000). Positive affect and the other side of coping. American Psychol-ogist, 55, 647–654.

Gould, D., Horn, T., & Spreemann, J. (1983). Sources of stress in junior elite wrestlers. Journal of SportPsychology, 5, 159–171.

Gould, D., Udry, E., Tuffey, S., & Loehr, J. (1996). Burnout in competitive junior tennis players: I. Aquantitative psychological assessment. The Sport Psychologist, 10, 322–340.

Herman, S. M., Stemmler, M., & Petersen, A. C. (1995). Approach and avoidant coping: Implicationsfor adolescent mental health. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 649–665.

Holt, N. L., & Dunn, J. G. H. (2004). The psychosocial competencies and environmental conditionsassociated with soccer success. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 16, 199–219.

Horn, T., & Hasbrook, C. (1986). Informational components influencing children’s perceptions of theirphysical competence. In M. Weiss, & D. Gould (Eds.), Sport for children and youths (pp. 81–88).Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Hosek, V., & Man, F. (1989). Training to reduce anxiety and fear in top athletes. In D. Hackfort, &C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Anxiety in sport: An international perspective (pp. 247–259). New York:Hemisphere.

King, E. (1996). The use of the self in qualitative research. In J. T. E. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook ofqualitative research methods for psychologists and the social scientists (pp. 175–187). Leicester,UK: BPS.

Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. New York: Oxford University.Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and emotions: A new synthesis. London: Free Association.Lazarus, R. S. (2000). How emotions influence performance in competitive sports. The Sport Psycholo-

gist, 14, 229–252.Lewis, M. (1992). Shame: The exposed self. New York: Free Press.Lewis, R. (2007). The Lewis Review: A review of young player development in professional football.

Retrieved October 5, 2007 from http://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0001/3697/ReviewofYoungPlayerDevelopment1 1 .pdf

Maehr, M. L., & Nicholls, J. (1980). Culture and achievement motivation. In N. Warren (Ed.), Studies incross cultural psychology (vol 3, pp. 221–267). New York: Academic.

McAuley, E. (1985). Success and causality in sport: The influence of perception. Journal of SportPsychology, 7, 13–22.

McGregor, H. A., & Elliot, A. J. (2005). The shame of failure: Examining the link between fear of failureand shame. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 218–231.

Morse, J. M. (1995). The significance of saturation. Qualitative Health Research, 5, 147–149.Orlick, T. D. (1974). The athletic dropout: A high price of inefficiency. Canadian Association for Health,

Physical Education and Recreation Journal, November/December, pp. 21–27.Passer, M. W. (1988). Determinants and consequences of children’s competitive stress. In F. L. Smoll, R.

A. Magill, & M. J. Ash (Eds.), Children in sport (pp. 130–143). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Islands, CA: Sage.Poczwardowski, A., & Conroy, D. E. (2002). Coping responses to failure and success among elite athletes

and performing artists. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 313–329.Reeves, C. W., Nicholls, A. R., & McKenna, J. (2009). Stressors and coping responses among early and

middle adolescent premier league academy soccer players. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology,21, 31–48.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013

230 S. S. SAGAR ET AL.

Richardson, D., Gilbourne, D., & Littlewood, M. (2004). Developing support mechanisms for eliteyoung players in a professional soccer academy. European Sport Management Quarterly, 4, 195–214.

Sagar, S. S., Lavallee, D., & Spray, C. M. (2007). Why young elite athletes fear failure: Consequencesof failure. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25, 1171–1184.

Sagar, S. S., Lavallee, D., & Spray, C. M. (2009). Coping with the effects of fear of failure: A preliminaryinvestigation of young elite athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 3, 73–98.

Sagar, S. S., & Stoeber, J. (2009). Perfectionism, fear of failure and affective responses to success andfailure: The central role of fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment. Journal of Sport andExercise Psychology, 31, 602–627.

Schwandt, T. A. (2003). Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: Interpretivism, hermeneu-tics, and social constructionism. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitativeresearch: Theories and issues (2nd ed., pp. 292–331). London: Sage.

Skinner, E. A., & Edge, K. (1998). Reflections on coping and development across the lifespan. Interna-tional Journal for the Study of Behavioral Development, 22, 357–366.

Smith, J. A. (1995). Semi-structured interviewing and qualitative analysis. In J.A. Smith, R. Hare, & L.Van Langenhove (Eds.), Rethinking methods in psychology. London: Sage.

Smith, R. E., Leffingwell, T. R., & Ptacek, T. R. (1999). Can people remember how they coped? Factorsassociated with discordance between same-day and retrospective reports. Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 76, 1050–1061.

Stop playing with fear, Capello cracks the whip on England’s underperformers. (2008, March 25).The Daily Mail. Retrieved March 25, 2008 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-544110/Stop-playing-fear-Capello-cracks-whip-Englands-underperformers.html

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures andtechniques (2nd Ed). London: Sage.

Tangney, J., & Dearing, R. (2002). Shame and guilt. New York: Guilford.Terry, D. J., & Hynes, G. J. (1998). Adjustment to a low-control situation: Re-examining the role of

coping responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1078–1092.Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research analysis types and software tools. New York: Falmer.The next Rooney or Richards? The pool is shrinking before our very eyes. (2007, January 3). The Times.

Retrieved May 2, 2007 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article1288851.eceTreasure, D. C. (2001). Enhancing young people’s motivation: An achievement goal approach. In G. C.

Roberts (Ed.), Advances in motivation in sport and exercise (pp. 177–198). Champaign, IL: HumanKinetics.

Wilkinson driven to new peaks by fear of failure. (2003, February 15). The Sunday Times. Retrieved June13, 2004 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article847284.ece

Williams, K. & McGillicuddy, D. A. (2000). Coping strategies in adolescents. Journal of AppliedDevelopmental Psychology, 20, 537–549.

Wilson, G. V. & Kerr, J. H. (1999). Affective responses to success and failure: A study of winning andlosing in competitive rugby. Personality and Individual Differences, 16, 85–99.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

171.

67.3

4.69

] at

04:

30 2

9 Se

ptem

ber

2013