Sport Anxiety Research Articles

Competitive Anxiety in Sport

Competitive Anxiety in Sport

Competitive anxiety in sport

Anxiety in is a comprehensive review of competitive anxiety research that has used the Sport Competition Anxiety Test, or SCAT (a trait scale), and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). This book describes the theoretical basis and development procedures for each scale, including detailed information on reliability and validity.Competitive Anxiety in outlines directions for future research using SCAT. In addition, the book features the full original report on the development of the CSAI-2 and instructions for using it.Competitive Anxiety in concludes with a theory of competitive anxiety based on an interaction between uncertainty about the outcome and the importance assigned to that outcome. The reader is invited to test the theory and challenged to replace it with a better one.The actual scales for both SCAT and the CSAI-2 are contained in the text, and readers are encouraged to photocopy these scales for research purposes without further written permission. With these ready-to-use tools, sport psychology researchers, teachers, and students have everything they need to test the authors' theory and arrive at their own conclusions about the causes of competitive anxiety and how to address them.This extension of and replacement for Martens's original competitive anxiety monograph published in 1977 also features the following: -The test construction procedures with complete results of the reliability and validity of each scale-Extensive reviews of 88 studies using SCAT and 16 using the CSAI-2-New, more comprehensive norms for SCAT and the CSAI-2-A new theory of competitive anxiety that synthesizes the findings and offers direction for future investigationCompetitive Anxiety in is an essential reference for any research sport psychologist who is investigating competitive anxiety. Clinical sport psychologists will also find this book helpful in understanding the causes of competitive anxiety.

Cognitive Anxiety and Mental Errors in Sport

This investigation tested the relationship between level of cognitive anxiety and degree of mental errors in a sport setting. Subjects were female high school varsity softball players. The dimensions of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence were assessed by the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). Coaches evaluated mental errors during game play by ratings on a 10-point bipolar scale. Final subject selection was determined by dichotomizing individuals who scored lower on the scale (1-4) and higher on the scale (7-10). Analysis of variance yielded a single significant main effect which indicated that the two mental-error groups differed in cognitive anxiety. This supports the major prediction tested. Discussion centers on the apparent benefits of investigating variables more intimately associated with the attentional/cognitive disruption process versus focusing solely on objective sport outcome.

Anxiety in sports and exercise

Anxiety in sports and exercise

Measurement and correlates of sport-specific cognitive and somatic trait anxiety: The sport anxiety scale

Abstract Previous research indicates the viability of a distinction between cognitive and somatic components of the anxiety response, and multidimensional anxiety scales have proven useful in relating cognitive and somatic anxiety to behavioral outcomes. This article describes the development and validation of a sport-specific measure of cognitive and somatic trait anxiety. The Sport Anxiety Scale measures individual differences in Somatic Anxiety and in two classes of cognitive anxiety, Worry and Concentration Disruption. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported these dimensions in several different athlete samples. Psychometric properties of the Sport Anxiety Scale are described, as are its relations with other psychological measures and with precompetition affective state measures. In the last of the four studies reported, scores on the Concentration Disruption scale were negatively related to the performance of college football players over the course of a season. The studies suggest that the Sport Anxiety Scale may be useful in defining sport-related anxiety more sharply and assessing how the cognitive and somatic anxiety components relate to performance and other outcome measures in sport.

Anxiety in sports: An international perspective. Edited by Dieter, Hackfort and Charles D. Spielberger. Hemisphere, New York, 1988. No. of pages: 275

Anxiety in sports: An international perspective. Edited by Dieter, Hackfort and Charles D. Spielberger. Hemisphere, New York, 1988. No. of pages: 275

Impact of intrinsic motivation on competitive anxiety among wheelchair handball athletes

Motivation and anxiety have been a recurring theme of debates in sport and understand its relevance to competitive practice and the effects on athletes become essential. This study aimed to investigate the impact of intrinsic motivation on the anxiety of wheelchair handball (WH) athletes. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS) were applied to 37 male athletes (34.18 ± 9.32 years), physically disabled, participating in the Brazilian WH championship. Data analysis was conducted through Shapiro Wilk test, Pearson correlation and Multiple Regression (p<0.05). As a result, the subscales of intrinsic motivation showed high scores both in the subscales that contribute positively (Pleasure/Interest, Competence and Perception of effort), and in the subscale that contributes negatively (Pressure/Tension). Regarding the impact of motivation on competitive anxiety, the athlete feeling competent explained inversely 15% of the somatic anxiety variance. Competence had a negative impact and Pressure/Tension had a positive impact on the Concern subscale. In addition, the pleasure/Interest, Pressure/Tension and Perception of Effort subscales explained 31% of the variance of Concentration Disorder, indicating that the greater the perception of pleasure from practice and effort in the face of tasks, the less disturbances in concentration, and the higher the pressure/tension score (less pressure perception), the greater the disturbance of the athlete's concentration. It was concluded that intrinsic motivation is a determinant factor for the control of competitive anxiety in WH athletes.

Interrelations of Trait and State Anxiety with Game Performance of Rugby Players

The Martens' Sport Competition Anxiety and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 tests were administered to 22 male university rugby players to assess the relationship between the tests and their effectiveness in predicting game performance. The Sport Competition Anxiety Test was completed early in the season and the State Anxiety Inventory an hour before two games during a tournament. A multiple regression between the Competitive Anxiety Test and the three subscales of the Sport Anxiety Inventory-2 showed a significant relationship between the Competitive Anxiety Test and the single subscale of somatic anxiety. A separate multiple regression with performance as the criterion variable produced no significant findings. A significant correlation was noted between somatic anxiety and performance for those players who performed below their normal ability. The significant increase in self-confidence between games may have been detrimental to the performance of the team.

Stress inoculation training to control anxiety in sport: two case studies in squash.

This study arose as a result of two squash players, one male one female, seeking advice on how to improve their mental approach to playing. They both felt that their game suffered badly through too much anxiety. After preliminary interviews it was decided to use a programme of stress inoculation training to help them learn to control their anxiety. In order to obtain baseline measures of anxiety, both subjects completed a state anxiety questionnaire on five occasions, immediately prior to playing important league or team matches. They were then given eight training sessions. On completion of the training, subjects were asked to complete a further five state anxiety tests immediately prior to analogous matches. There was a considerable decrease in self-reported anxiety levels and both players reported that their performance had improved. It is argued that stress inoculation training is potentially very useful as a technique for controlling anxiety in certain competitive sports.

Psychological Analysis of Athletes' Anxiety Responses

Athletes' self-reported perceptions of and responses to anxiety-eliciting situations were probed for the purposes of describing athletes' anxiety profiles. Intrapersonal variables were used to explain the individual differences evident in the data. College male basketball athletes (N = 40) were administered the following four paper-and-pencil inventories: S-R inventory of anxiousness in basketball, similarity of basketball situations, Sport Competition Anxiety Test (competitive trait anxiety), and personal assessment questionnaire (perceived success and ability). Anxiety factors (outcome uncertainty, outcome certainty, ego threat) were deciphered through principal components analysis. Athletes' anxiety responses varied partially with their perceptions of the situations, congruent with the tenets of the interactional model of behavior. Through individual differences analysis, athletes' anxiety responses across all basketball situations were labeled ego threat, outcome certainty/uncertainty, and anticipation. In a multivariate sense, intrapersonal variables (perceived success and ability, and competitive trait anxiety) accounted for 47% of the anxiety response variance. Outcome and efficacy expectations bear direct relevance to the comprehension of competitive sport anxiety.

Children's Anxiety in Sport and Nonsport Evaluative Activities

Comparisons of pre-event state anxiety (A-state) were made among 9- to 14-year-old boys participating in required school activities (classroom tests and physical education class), nonrequired nonsport activities (band solos and band group competition), and nonschool sports (baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, hockey, swimming, and wrestling). Participants in all three groups were significantly different from each other with those in the nonrequired nonsport activities manifesting the highest A-state levels followed by boys in the nonschool sports and then those in the required school activities. Comparisons across sports revealed higher A-states among individual sport participants than team sport participants. No differences were found between contact and noncontact sport participants, but a significant interaction showed that the highest A-states were reported among those in individual-contact sports and the lowest in team-contact sports. The differences in A-state levels among the activities studied were discussed in terms of the evaluation potential existing in each activity.

Multidimensional Scaling of Sport Personality Data: An Individual Differences Approach

An individual differences approach to multidimensional scaling is outlined from the perspective of the modern interactional paradigm. The applicability of the individual differences model to anxiety research in sport settings is demonstrated. The model offers the advantage that both individual athlete data and group athlete data are revealed in the analysis simultaneously, without either analysis restricting the other. Representations of the structure in sport anxiety data matrices are unlocked by the individual differences model. Additional applications of the model to sport psychology research topics are offered.

RETHINKING THE ROLE OF ANXIETY AND SELF-EFFICACY IN COLLECTIVE SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS

The influence of anxiety and self-confidence of an athlete with an emphasis on self-efficacy has been the subject of numerous research in the sport, but their relationship is not fully understood. In our research, we try to explain that competitive anxiety influences sports achievement only through the level of General Self-Efficacy. A lower level of General Self-Efficacy leads to lower sports achievement. In order to explore the relationship between General Self-Efficacy and anxiety on sports achievement, we examined 76 active athletes in collective sports, as well as their trainers. The following instruments were applied: Competitive Sports Anxiety Inventory, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, and Questionnaire of sports achievement (ad hoc made instrument). The results show that cognitive anxiety negatively correlates with sports achievement (r = -.38, p≤ .01), as opposed to somatic anxiety that does not show a significant association with achievement. However, the highest relationship is a positive correlation between General Self-Efficacy and sports achievement (r = .51, p≤ .01). In Regression analysis, however, a significant predictor of sports achievement is only General Self-Efficacy (β = .389; p≤ .01) while the significance of cognitive anxiety is lost (β = -178; p = .339). Additional Bootstrapping analyses were conducted to examine the potential mediating effect of General Self-Efficacy in the relationship between competitive anxiety and sports achievement. We found a significant indirect effect of cognitive anxiety on achievement only through General Self-Efficacy (b= -.30, CI /-.73, -.07/), while the direct effect is not significant once the mediator is introduced. In the reversed analyses, with competitive anxiety as a mediator, the mediation was not significant, which means that high anxiety reduces sports achievement only through undermining self-efficacy, and not directly. The obtained result suggests that self-efficacy has the primary role in sports achievement. Consequently, for improving sports achievement, psychological intervention should primarily focus on increasing self-efficacy.