The effects of coping strategies on prediction of cognitive-somatic anxiety and self-confidence of individual and group student

Abstract

Background: The effect of coping strategies on modification of competitive anxiety and self-confidence is controversial. The purpose of this study was investigation of the role of coping strategies on competitive anxiety and self-confidence in individual and group athletes. Methods: 700 group and individual athletes were selected from five counties of Kermanshah province, Western Iran, applying multi-stages clustered sampling method. Data was collected using coping strategies with competitive sport questionnaire and competitive anxiety scale. Results: Findings showed that task and emotion orientation strategies was correlated to cognitive-somatic anxiety and task orientation strategies was correlated to self-confidence (p<0/005). Multiple regression analysis showed that task and emotion orientation strategies predict 0.779 variations of cognitive-somatic anxiety and 0.541 variations of self-confidence (p<0.001). Multiple analyses of variance indicated that mean scores of cognitive-somatic anxiety in group athletes and self-confidence in individual athletes was higher than the others. There was no difference between group and individual athletes in coping strategies (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our findings supported the correlation between coping strategies with cognitive-somatic anxiety and sportive self-confidence hypothesis. Task orientation strategies but not emotion orientation strategies may reduce cognitive-somatic anxiety and increases the sportive self-confidence and recommendable in athletes.