Self-Efficacy and Performance in Artistic Gymnastics: A Systematic Review

Self-efficacy is relevant to sport performance, but its role in artistic gymnastics is unclear because studies vary in construct definition, timing, and outcomes. This PRISMA 2020- and PERSIST 2021-informed systematic review was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251266838). PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus and APA PsycInfo) were searched from inception to 18 December 2025, supplemented by backward reference-list checking and forward citation searching. Eligible quantitative studies assessed self-efficacy or task- or apparatus-specific efficacy expectations, or used performance predictions or an adapted gymnastics-task confidence measure as efficacy-related proxies and reported a performance outcome; qualitative evidence was contextual only. Nine studies were included (eight quantitative; one qualitative). Competitive studies using direct task- or event-specific efficacy measures or efficacy-related proxies and judged outcomes generally reported positive associations, but correlations and predictive patterns varied across apparatus, samples, and measures. Educational findings and broader confidence constructs were treated as indirect evidence. Meta-analysis was inappropriate because constructs, samples, apparatus, timing, outcomes, and reporting were heterogeneous. The evidence therefore indicates a possible positive but inconsistent, low-certainty association between task- or apparatus-specific efficacy-related beliefs and performance. Contemporary longitudinal studies and standardized gymnastics-specific measures are needed.