Pre- and Post-Activity Anxiety for Sustainable Rafting

Abstract

This study aimed to (i) analyze the levels of state-anxiety of rafting customers, before and after the activity; and (ii) characterize the levels of trait-anxiety and the amount of physical activity performed weekly by clients of a rafting activity. The sample had 100 subjects of a nature sports company, in the rafting activity, with a mean age of 33.27 ± 10.10 years, with 44% female and 56% male participants. They were evaluated in two moments M1 (pre-activity) and M2 (post-activity). In M1, the STAI—State-Anxiety questionnaire and the IPAQ—International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short version) were applied. In M2, the STAI Form 1 State-Anxiety questionnaire was applied again, followed by the STAI trait-anxiety. The results showed no correlation between the amount of weekly physical activity and levels of trait-anxiety (rho(100) = −0.144; p-value = 0.152), thus not corroborating with the existing literature. Regarding state-anxiety, we found that in 55% of cases, it decreased with the practice of rafting, which suggests that the practice may have an anxiolytic effect and promote the well-being and relaxation of participants promoting, in this way, the sustainability of the rafting activity.