Mental health correlates of athletic shame and guilt among elite-level youth athletes in Turkey

This study evaluated the mental health correlates of athletic shame and guilt among elite-level youth athletes and provided psychometric data on the Turkish version of the Athletic Perceptions of Performance Scale. Cross-sectional. An online survey was sent to 645 Turkish elite-level youth athletes incorporating standardized scales assessing athletic shame, guilt, and symptoms of high prevalence mental disorders. A subset of participants (n = 45) provided test–retest data at 30 days. A total of 301 elite youth athletes participated (M = 16.42 ± 0.49 years; 48.7 % response rate) equally representing team and individual sports. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the Turkish version of the Athletic Perceptions of Performance Scale and test–retest data supported temporal stability. Female athletes (compared to male athletes) and athletes participating in an individual sport (compared to participating in a team sport) reported higher athletic shame-proneness scores (p