DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM AND SELF-HANDICAPPING 1 Running head: DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM AND SELF-HANDICAPPING Testing a Model of Antecedents and Consequences of Defensive Pessimism and Self- Handicapping in School Physical Education

There has been very limited research on the use of self-worth protection strategies in the achievement context of school physical education (PE). Thus, this study aimed to examine some antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and selfhandicapping. The sample comprised 534 (females n = 275; males n = 259) British pupils recruited from two schools who responded to established questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling analysis indicated that self-handicapping and defensive pessimism were positively predicted by fear of failure and negatively predicted by competence valuation. In addition, defensive pessimism was negatively predicted by physical self-concept. In turn, defensive pessimism negatively predicted enjoyment in PE and intentions to participate in future optional PE programs. Self-handicapping did not predict enjoyment or intentions. Results from multi-sample structural equation modelling showed the specified model to be largely invariant across males and females. The findings indicate that although both strategies aim to protect one’s self-worth, some of their antecedents and consequences in PE may differ. DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM AND SELF-HANDICAPPING 4 School Physical Education (PE) is a context in which real or perceived evaluative threats to self-worth (i.e., one’s sense of value and belonging in a given context; Covington, 2000) can be particularly salient for some pupils because they are often required to publicly demonstrate their physical and sporting abilities. Pupils faced with such evaluative threats may use various strategies to protect their self-worth. Selfhandicapping and defensive pessimism are two such strategies that have received recent research attention (e.g., Elliot & Church, 2003; Martin, Marsh, Williamson, & Debus, 2003). In the present work, we sought to examine a theoretical model that embraces a number of potential antecedents of self-handicapping and defensive pessimism (i.e., fear of failure, physical self-concept, and competence valuation), as well as two important outcomes of these strategies (viz., future intentions to partake in optional PE and enjoyment in PE). The relationships among the potential antecedents and the two cognitive strategies have generally been examined in isolation, if at all, rather than in a combined theoretical model. Further, such research has often been conducted in contexts such as school classrooms (e.g., Urdan, Midgley, & Anderman, 1998) or experimental settings (e.g., Berglas & Jones, 1978). Surprisingly, there have been very few studies pertaining to self-handicapping in PE (e.g., Standage, Treasure, Hooper, & Kuczka, 2007), and virtually no research on defensive pessimism. Further, no PE-based research has examined the two self-protection strategies collectively, in terms of their antecedents