AUTHOR=Limpo Teresa , Rödel Gabriela , Tadrist Sid 

TITLE=Examining karate and football perceptions and their links with athlete engagement and quality of life

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.971677

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2022.971677

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=<p>The importance of perceptions as determinants of people's behavior has been well-established, but little is known about athletes' perceptions of their sport and the links of these perceptions with other correlates. In this study, we compared karate (<italic>n</italic> = 51) and football (<italic>n</italic> = 49) athletes' perceived benefits and aggressiveness risks from their sports and examined whether these perceptions predicted athletes' engagement and quality of life (QoL). Participants completed perception measures of karate and football, and engagement and QoL measures. Results showed that karateka perceived more benefits and fewer risks in karate than football, but footballers generally perceived equal benefits and risks in both sports. Both athlete groups perceived similar physical and psychological benefits in their own sport, but deemed physical benefits as prominent outcomes in the other sport. Notably, karateka's perceived benefits about karate predicted engagement directly and QoL indirectly <italic>via</italic> vigor. Overall, karate athletes' perceptions seemed to be relevant to experiencing fulfillment in training and general well-being.</p>