M.A. Thesis:

The relationship of early maladaptive schemas to competitive anxiety and sports aggression: Mediation by psychological toughness of adolescent athletes.

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and competitive anxiety and sports aggression: mediation of mental toughness in adolescent athletes in the academic year 2023-2024. The research method was descriptive-correlation type and the statistical population included all male student athletes of Sabzevar city (158 people), of which 120 people were selected using Morgan's table and and they were selected by stratified random sampling method (according to educational level). In order to collect the required data, Martens et al.'s competitive anxiety questionnaire (1990), Maxwell and Morris' athletic aggression (2007), Yang and Brown's (2003) primary maladaptive schemas, and Sheard and Golby's (2009) mental toughness were used. The collected data were analyzed by Pearson correlation method and structural equation modeling using SPSS24 and 3Smart PLS software. The results of the research indicated the existence of a significant relationship between early maladaptive schemas, competitive anxiety, sports aggression and mental toughness. Also, the mediating role of psychological toughness in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas, competitive anxiety and sports aggression was confirmed.

Keywords: early maladaptive schemas, competitive anxiety, sports aggression, psychological toughness