A-085 Sports Anxiety Scale − 2: More Sensitive to College Athlete Anxiety

Abstract

Abstract Objective Concussed student-athletes’ responses on two self-report questionnaires were recorded at two points within the semester in order to evaluate distinguishing changes in psychological symptoms. Methods A sample of (n = 21) collegiate athletes participated in a pre-post study. Student-athletes were recruited from various sports at a private University through the General Psychology course. The participants (age range 18–22, M = 19.38, SD) included 10 females, 11 males.. A pre-post study, mixed-methods experimental design was employed as part of a larger physiological study. The pre-measures included an informed consent, demographic questionnaire, self-report measures (Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 (GAD-7) and the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2)), and 5-time rating scale of performance. All responses were gathered in the neurocognitive lab of the graduate department.. The post-session occurred 5–6 weeks after the initial session, again gathering data on GAD-7 and SAS. Results A within-subject analysis of the data revealed a main effect for time with a moderate effect size (p = .026) in the decrease of SAS-2 total scores. This significant decrease in SAS-2 total scores occurred across groups and across genders in the post-intervention measures. For the GAD-7 measure, there were no significant changes. Conclusion The significant findings for the SAS-2 total scores suggest it is a more sensitive measure of anxiety for healthy college athletes who have a concussion history than the GAD-7. Because of the limited number of participants, further research is necessary to confirm the applicability of the SAS-2.