The effect of sport-specific mindfulness on dispositional flow in collegiate athletes: the sequential mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence.
- 1Department of Physical Education, Graduate School, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
- 2Postdoctoral Research Station in Sports Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
- 3Division of Physical Education, Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Laibin, China.
Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to examine the association between sport-specific mindfulness and dispositional flow in collegiate athletes and to test whether cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence showed independent and sequential indirect effects in this association.Methods
A total of 583 collegiate athletes from universities in Guangxi, Hebei, Liaoning, and Tianjin, China, completed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey assessing sport-specific mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, sport confidence, and dispositional flow. Confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation analyses, regression analyses, and sequential mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro (version 5.0, Model 6) were conducted. Indirect effects were tested using 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap samples, with sex, age group, and years of sport participation controlled.Results
Sport-specific mindfulness was significantly and positively correlated with cognitive reappraisal (r = 0.380, p < 0.001), sport confidence (r = 0.239, p < 0.001), and dispositional flow (r = 0.409, p < 0.001). After cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence were included in the model, the standardized direct effect of sport-specific mindfulness on dispositional flow remained significant (β = 0.267, 95% CI [0.190, 0.344]). The standardized total indirect effect was also significant (β = 0.144, 95% CI [0.100, 0.197]). Among the indirect pathways, cognitive reappraisal showed the largest standardized indirect effect (β = 0.113, 95% CI [0.077, 0.160]; 78.50% of the total indirect effect), followed by sport confidence (β = 0.019, 95% CI [0.005, 0.044]; 13.36%). The standardized sequential indirect effect through cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence was significant but small (β = 0.012, 95% CI [0.004, 0.026]; 8.14%).Conclusion
Sport-specific mindfulness was significantly and positively associated with dispositional flow among collegiate athletes. Cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence showed significant independent and sequential indirect effects in this association, with cognitive reappraisal accounting for the largest proportion of the total indirect effect. These findings indicate that cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence are important psychological factors for understanding the relationship between sport-specific mindfulness and dispositional flow among collegiate athletes.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026effect,
title = {{The effect of sport-specific mindfulness on dispositional flow in collegiate athletes: the sequential mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence.}},
author = {Zhenyu Wang and Jingwen Zhang and Pengwei Song},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1859598},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42851345},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The effect of sport-specific mindfulness on dispositional flow in collegiate athletes: the sequential mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence.
AU - Zhenyu Wang
AU - Jingwen Zhang
AU - Pengwei Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1859598
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42851345
AB - Objective This study aimed to examine the association between sport-specific mindfulness and dispositional flow in collegiate athletes and to test whether cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence showed independent and sequential indirect effects in this association.Methods A total of 583 collegiate athletes from universities in Guangxi, Hebei, Liaoning, and Tianjin, China, completed a cross-sectional questionnaire survey assessing sport-specific mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal, sport confidence, and dispositional flow. Confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation analyses, regression analyses, and sequential mediation analysis using the PROCESS macro (version 5.0, Model 6) were conducted. Indirect effects were tested using 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap samples, with sex, age group, and years of sport participation controlled.Results Sport-specific mindfulness was significantly and positively correlated with cognitive reappraisal (r = 0.380, p < 0.001), sport confidence (r = 0.239, p < 0.001), and dispositional flow (r = 0.409, p < 0.001). After cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence were included in the model, the standardized direct effect of sport-specific mindfulness on dispositional flow remained significant (β = 0.267, 95% CI [0.190, 0.344]). The standardized total indirect effect was also significant (β = 0.144, 95% CI [0.100, 0.197]). Among the indirect pathways, cognitive reappraisal showed the largest standardized indirect effect (β = 0.113, 95% CI [0.077, 0.160]; 78.50% of the total indirect effect), followed by sport confidence (β = 0.019, 95% CI [0.005, 0.044]; 13.36%). The standardized sequential indirect effect through cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence was significant but small (β = 0.012, 95% CI [0.004, 0.026]; 8.14%).Conclusion Sport-specific mindfulness was significantly and positively associated with dispositional flow among collegiate athletes. Cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence showed significant independent and sequential indirect effects in this association, with cognitive reappraisal accounting for the largest proportion of the total indirect effect. These findings indicate that cognitive reappraisal and sport confidence are important psychological factors for understanding the relationship between sport-specific mindfulness and dispositional flow among collegiate athletes.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -