Sports performance in function of self-efficacy: a systematic review

Abstract

The self-efficacy on sport performance has been a widely studied topic, but without reaching a consensus yet. Professionals in sports psychology highlight the importance of understanding the psychological state of the athlete, including their level of confidence and attitude to challenges to perform adequately in their discipline. For this reason, the objective of the study is to analyze the existing studies on the influence of self-efficacy on sport performance. The review was performed under the PRISMA methodology, 304 articles were identified and analyzed under the criteria of eligibility and methodological quality by the AXIS tool; finally, 10 articles were included. The results mostly indicate that self-efficacy is present in different sports, it is an element of impact, which will predict sporting behavior and consequently its success. Performance measures differ in each discipline, according to the particularity of each sport. Self-efficacy can be part of an explicative model of the athlete’s personality. The information presented allows for greater clarity in the theories of response to the sports phenomenon and to contribute to the design of intervention tools that strengthen the appropriate psychological processes. Results found shouldn´t be generalized, due to the limitations in the performance measurement, other variables to be considered and the virtues of each discipline