Performance satisfaction and postcompetition mood among runners: moderating effects of depression.

This study examined the influence of postcompetition depressed mood on the intensity of other mood dimensions assessed by the Profile of Mood States and relationships between mood and satisfaction with performance. 195 distance runners completed the Brunel Mood Scale which is a 24-item measure assessing anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor, and a Performance Satisfaction questionnaire immediately after running a 10-mi. race. To examine the proposed moderating effect of depression, participants were separated into a No-depression group of 133 and a Depressed Mood group of 62. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the Depressed Mood group reported significantly higher scores on Anger, Contusion, Fatigue, and Tension and lower Vigor scores than the No-depression group t ratios indicated that poorer performance was associated with higher Depression scores. Standard multiple regression to predict Performance Satisfaction scores from postcompetition scores on Anger, Confusion, Fatigue, Tension, and Vigor in the No-depression group indicated that only 1% (Adj. R2=.01, p>.05) of the variance was explained. By contrast, in the Depressed Mood group, the same mood dimensions predicted 27.5% of the variance in Performance Satisfaction scores (Adj. R2=.275, p<.01) with Anger (Beta=.63, p<.001), and Confusion (Beta=.44, p<.05) being significant predictors. Present findings support the notion that depressed mood is related to the intensity of other mood dimensions assessed by the Profile of Mood States and moderates relationships between those scores and performance satisfaction.