Associations of perfectionism dimensions with perceived stress and anxiety symptoms among Chinese undergraduates in sport-related majors: a multi-site cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Undergraduates in sport-related majors may face overlapping academic, practical, physical-performance, and, for some students, training and competition demands. Perfectionism dimensions may shape how these demands are appraised. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of High Standards, Order, and Discrepancy with perceived stress and anxiety symptoms among Chinese undergraduates in sport-related majors, including cross-sectional indirect associations through empirically supported perceived-stress components. METHODS: A multi-site cross-sectional survey included 705 full-time undergraduates from 19 institutions across mainland China. Participants completed the Chinese Almost Perfect Scale-Revised, a perceived-stress measure contextually adapted from the Chinese PSS-14, and the GAD-7. Confirmatory factor analyses guided score representation. Because the APS-R latent models fitted poorly and High Standards and Order overlapped substantially, the three subscale scores were modeled as observed predictors. The adapted PSS-14 was represented by low perceived coping and negative stress appraisal rather than a total score. Direct and indirect associations were examined using robust and bootstrap procedures, with covariate-adjusted and hybrid SEM sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Discrepancy showed the clearest adverse pattern across perceived stress and anxiety symptoms. Order was associated with lower scores on both perceived-stress components, whereas High Standards showed only a limited association with low perceived coping. Neither High Standards nor Order showed a direct association with anxiety symptoms. Negative stress appraisal was more closely related to anxiety than low perceived coping. The indirect-association pattern was evident for Discrepancy and Order but not for High Standards, and the overall interpretation was unchanged in the sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Persistent perceptions of falling short of personally important standards may be more relevant to anxiety symptoms than demanding standards alone. The findings also suggest that negative appraisal of demands may be more closely aligned with anxiety than perceived coping difficulties. Interpretation should remain cautious because the APS-R dimensions were not fully distinct, the adapted PSS-14 components were aligned with item wording, and the cross-sectional design does not establish temporal or causal relationships.