Body Composition and Body Image in Collegiate Athletes: The Mediating Role of Trait Sport Confidence

Athletes bodies are both performance agents and targets of evaluative scrutiny, yet little is known about the psychological processes linking body composition to body image among athletes. In this pre-registered study, we examined whether competence-related self-evaluations mediate or moderate associations between adiposity and body image in 327 Chinese collegiate athletes (78.6% male). Drawing on Self-Objectification Theory and the Sport Confidence Model, we tested two competing hypotheses, including a filter (parallel mediation) and a buffer (moderation) account. Factor analysis results of four body image scales supported a two-factor structure, comprising a proactive, functionality-oriented positive dimension and a reactive, appearance-distress-driven negative dimension. Hierarchical regressions showed that fat mass index (FMI) was associated with lower positive and higher negative body image (ps < 0.05). Importantly, parallel mediation analysis results indicated that trait sport confidence mediated between FMI and both body image dimensions, with a stronger effect for positive body image ({beta} = -0.04, 95% CI [-0.09, -0.01]) than for negative body image ({beta} = 0.03, 95% CI [0.01, 0.07]). Subjective sport performance was not evidenced as a mediator. No moderation effects were supported. These findings suggest that the body composition-body image link in athletes is interpretive: enduring competence beliefs may matter more than proximal performance appraisals in affecting how athletes make sense of their bodies. Positive body image appears especially dependent on competence-grounded meaning-making, whereas negative body image remains more directly tied to appearance-based evaluative cues. Collegiate sport environments may benefit from prioritizing functionality-centered feedback over physique-focused evaluation.