Predictive ability of self-handicapping and self-esteem in physical activity achievement context

Self-handicapping and self-esteem were assessed as predictors of completion of or withdrawal from military recruit training. Three hundred and fifty three male recruits completed trait self-handicapping and self-esteem measures. Discriminant function analysis indicated that successful completion of training could be correctly predicted from these two constructs, with 92.6% accuracy. Moreover, recruits voluntarily withdrawing from training were correctly predicted with 58.8% accuracy. These prediction rates were significantly better than chance, based on known pass rates, and represent an improvement over current prediction based solely on physical fitness testing. Results show that psychological measures can provide a significant source of information from which to predict performance in real, multifaceted achievement domains. The relevance of the results to theoretical and applied perspectives is discussed.