Evidence of the effect of winning or losing in levels of anger and anxiety in judo fighters

Abstract

Aggression is a behavior that involves a simultaneous activation of physiological, biochemical, neurological and behavioral components and emotions, such as anxiety and anger. In humans, sports can be considered as a form of display because they allow aggression to be expressed with a low probability of permanent damage to subjects. The competitions have been used as models to evaluate the activation produced by its different stages, such as the outcome of the combat. Judo has been used as a model of competitive aggression to evaluate the different body responses in agonistic behaviors in humans, since it offers a context to those studied in animal fights. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of win / lose in the levels of anger and anxiety in regional judo fighters, male, linked to the Pará Federation of Judo, Brazil. The STAXI and STAI psychometric scales were used, and their results were compared with those of the general population of Brazil and used in a correlation analysis to know the interaction between the components of the scales with the total number of strikes, using a pre/post fight evaluation and the filming of the fights. Differences were found between winners and losers, statistically significant (p <0.05). Losers had higher levels of anger, while anxiety was higher for the winners. Being that, judo is a means of competition, in which such behaviors can be expressed in a socially accepted way.