Among 138 collegiate athletes surveyed about an hour before competition, selected clothing, prayer, team and coach rituals correlated with somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and confidence, but predictive models explained only 3–9%.
Key findings
- Coach factors predicted 6% of somatic anxiety; team rituals predicted 3% of cognitive anxiety and 9% of confidence. Only clothing and appearance differed by gender, higher in men.
Why this matters globally
The study frames ritual as social and emotion-regulation behavior that practitioners can understand without stigma or supernatural endorsement.
Thai researcher contribution
The Thammasat University team measured athletes close to competition and clearly reported the limited predictive strength.
Limitations to consider
Cross-sectional self-report cannot establish direction. Women were underrepresented and multiple tests may inflate chance findings; one unusually broad correlation range warrants full-text checking.