Trait anxiety, state anxiety, and coping behavior as predictors of athletic performance

Abstract

Abstract Employing the data of 36 top table-tennis players the present study analyzes the relations between general and sport-specific trait anxiety, coping dispositions, use of “naive” self-regulatory techniques, emotional and cognitive anxiety reactions in situations of varying stress, and success in athletic competition. The study is based on the cognitive theory of evaluative anxiety, Spielberger's trait-state anxiety model, Lazarus' theory of coping, and the concept of person-specific coping modes. The interaction between trait anxiety and degree of stress, postulated by the trait-state model, could be verified empirically for both, emotional and cognitive anxiety. This result, however, only holds true for a test of general, not for a test of sport-specific anxiety. In addition, several significant associations between the preferred use of vigilant coping strategies and the amount of cognitive (interfering) anxiety reactions were observed. Successful table-tennis players were characterized by few int...