Conflict Stress and Competitive Readiness: Survey Evidence from Athletes Affected by the Iran–Israel–USA War

Abstract

Civilian populations are exposed to significant psychological pressure due to armed conflicts, and this applies to the case of athletes whose performance is largely determined by their mental strength. The proposed research fills a significant gap in the sport psychology literature by investigating the connection between stress as the result of a conflict and the competitiveness preparation in the athletes having certain experiences as the war in Iran-Israel-USA. The study adopted a survey design in the form of a cross-sectional survey that was conducted on 412 athletes in the conflict-affected regions. The standardized tools, such as the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2), and Well-being Index created by WHO-5, were used. The analysis of data was carried out with SPSS (v. 27) using the descriptive statistics, regression models, and mediation analysis. Athletes were found to have a high level of stress (M = 24.6, SD = 6.1), which significantly forecasted low levels of competitive readiness (b = 0.48, p <.001). Part of this relationship was due to anxiety and the effect of stress was moderated by social support. Athletes that received training in a formalized context were more ready (p <. 01). The stress associated with conflict heavily impairs the ability of the athletes to compete effectively, most of the time by creating an increase in anxiety and a loss of psychological mental health. Specific psychological interventions and well-structured, organized training environments are essential for sustaining performance levels during periods of conflict, whether internal (e.g., stress, anxiety, or self-doubt) or external (e.g., team disputes, competitive pressure, environmental challenges, or wars).