Predictive role of self-regulation and impulsivity in sport achievement: A comparison between contact and noncontact sports

This study investigated the association of self-regulation and impulsivity with sport achievement. Predictive role of self-regulation and impulsivity in sport achievement was compared between contact and noncontact sports. A total of 223 volunteer athletes (102 contact, 121 noncontact) from different Iranian sport federations of wrestling, taekwondo, basketball, football, volleyball, track and field, swimming, gymnastics, and weight lifting participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Self-Regulation Inventory (SRI-25), The Barrat Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), and the Sport Achievement Scale (SAS). It was found that in contact sports group measures of both self-regulation (t=4.69, ß=0.39) and motor impulsivity (t=4.79, ß=0.49), cognitional impulsivity (t=2.26, ß=0.22) were positively correlated to sport achievement, while in noncontact sports group, the correlation to sport achievement was positive for self-regulation (t=11.72, ß=0.73) and negative for motor impulsivity (t=-2.32, ß=0.20). On the basis of the results of the present study it can be concluded that Impulsivity and self-regulation were the one of the explaining factors for sport achievement in contact and noncontact sports, respectively.