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Intensity and direction dimensions of competitive anxiety and relationships with competitiveness
Abstract
This study examined differences in intensity and direction of symptoms of competitive state anxiety in high and low competitive subjects from the sports of rugby union, basketball, soccer, and field hockey. The 69 men were dichotomized via a median-split into high and low competitive groups based on their scores on the Sport Orientation Questionnaire. All subjects completed a modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 30 minutes prior to competition. This inventory included the original intensity scale plus a direction scale on which subjects rated the extent the experienced intensity of each symptom was either facilitative or debilitative to subsequent performance. There were no significant group differences on intensity of cognitive anxiety or of somatic anxiety or on direction of somatic anxiety; however, the highly competitive group of 34 subjects reported their anxiety as more facilitative and less debilitative than the low competitive group (n = 35). This supports the proposal that sports performers' directional perceptions of their anxiety symptoms may provide further understanding of the competitive state-anxiety response.
... Sobre esta teoría, Jones y Swain (1992;1995) introducen el término dirección/valencia, suponiendo una nueva línea de investigación. La intensidad de la ansiedad podía entenderse como la magnitud o grado de los síntomas que produce; mientras la dirección/valencia hace referencia a la interpretación que hace el deportista de los síntomas en cuanto a su rendimiento futuro como obstaculizadores o facilitadores. ...
... Por ello, el Competitive Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 (CTAI-2D) es un cuestionario combinado que consiste en la versión de ansiedad rasgo del Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2, Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, y Smith, 1990), y una escala de dirección de la ansiedad (Jones y Swain, 1992). No obstante, hasta la fecha no ha existido traducción al castellano del CTAI-2D, siendo relevante como ha quedado demostrado en la literatura científica el uso de técnicas de medición adecuadas para la práctica profesional, así como para la investigación teórica de este constructo psicológico. ...
... Inventario de Ansiedad Rasgo Competitiva (Competitive Trait Anxiety Inventory, [CTAI-2D] en inglés): cuestionario combinado de la versión del Inventario de Ansiedad Estado Competitivo (CSAI-2, Martens, et al., 1990) y la escala de dirección de la ansiedad (Jones y Swain, 1992). Se compone de 27 ítems, que evalúan 3 factores: Ansiedad Cognitiva ("Suelo preocuparme por la competición"), Ansiedad Somática ("Mi cuerpo se encuentra tenso antes de competir") y Autoconfianza ("Me suelo encontrar a gusto antes de competir"). ...
La Ansiedad-Rasgo es una medida disposicional y estable, siendo en el contexto deportivo relevante su evaluación, por la interpretación que realiza el deportista de sus sensaciones ansiosas para el rendimiento competitivo. El propósito ha sido la adaptación al español del Competitive Trait Anxiety Inventory (CTAI-2D), en 421 deportistas (66.3% hombres y 33.7% mujeres) con edades entre los 18 y 46 años (Medad = 21.16). En primer lugar, se efectuó la traducción del CTAI-2D, junto con el análisis factorial exploratorio (AFE) y validez convergente; y, en segundo lugar, se realizó el análisis factorial confirmatorio (AFC). El AFE ha mostrado una varianza explicada del 52.95% para la dimensión intensidad y 55.55% para valencia/dirección; mientras el AFC muestra índices de ajuste satisfactorios. El CTAI-2D es un instrumento para evaluar el rasgo, válido y fiable, aportando la percepción del deportista acerca de la intensidad de la ansiedad y la interpretación como obstaculizadora o facilitadora.
... Certaines recherches ont montré que des niveaux élevés de performance pouvaient être associés à des intensités élevées d'états d'anxiété cognitive (Parfitt & Hardy, 1987) et somatique (Jones & Cale, 1989). Jones et ses collaborateurs (Jones, 1991(Jones, , 1995Jones & Swain, 1992 ;Jones, Swain, & Hardy, 1993) ont ainsi suggéré que l'étude de l'anxiété compétitive basée uniquement sur une approche relative à son intensité constituait une limite. Ils ont alors introduit la notion de direction (ou interprétation) de l'anxiété pour pallier notamment aux résultats inconsistants observés sur la relation intensité d'anxiétéperformance (Craft, Magyar, Becker, & Fletz, 2003 ;. ...
... Jones et ses collaborateurs (Jones, 1991(Jones, , 1995Jones & Swain, 1992 ;Jones et al., 1993) ont alors introduit dans la littérature sportive le concept de direction de l'anxiété qu'ils définissent comme la manière dont les athlètes perçoivent leurs états d'anxiété comme étant plutôt facilitateurs ou au contraire perturbateurs vis-à-vis de leurs performances à réaliser. ...
... Il apparaît alors que pour mieux identifier la relation entre l'anxiété compétitive et la performance, il convient de prendre en compte à la fois l'intensité et la direction des états d'anxiété cognitive et somatique. Ces observations ont contribué au développement d'une version modifiée du Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2 ; Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) qui, en plus de mesurer l'intensité des états d'anxiété cognitive et somatique et la confiance en soi, inclut également une échelle de direction mesurant dans quelle mesure l'intensité éprouvée de chaque symptôme apparaît comme plutôt facilitateur ou perturbateur pour la performance à réaliser (Jones & Swain, 1992). ...
... However, the validity and reliability of CSAI-2 have been shown to be low (Coelho et al., 2007, Cox et al., 2003, Lane et al., 1999Tsourbatzoudis et al., 2002). was either debilitating or facilitating (Jones & Swain, 1992). A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score of a weakening (Jones & Swain, 1992). ...
... was either debilitating or facilitating (Jones & Swain, 1992). A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score of a weakening (Jones & Swain, 1992). Finally, the frequency scale , which allows modulating the symptoms experienced in competition over time; ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (all the time) going through 4 (regularly). ...
... For the direction scale, the participant rated on a scale from -3 to +3 the degree to which the experienced intensity of each symptom was either debilitating or facilitating for subsequent performance with 0 indicating a "neutral" interpretation. A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score represents a state of debility (Jones & Swain, 1992). Finally, the frequency scale varies from 1 (not at all) to 7 (all the time) , to evaluate symptoms over time. ...
The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R), is one of the most frequently used instruments in the evaluation of situational anxiety in sports competition. Objectives:
The objective of this study was to validate the Tunisian version based on the French version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R), including the direction and the frequency scales. Method: 418 athletes ranging in age from 14 to 34 years in different individual and team competitions, volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected and analyzed for reliability and validity using the test-retest method, reliability, correlation analysis and confirmatory factor analyses. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS and the IBM AMOS version 21.0.0. Results:
The Confirmatory factor analyzes showed acceptable adjustments for the 3-factor model of CSAI-2R. For the intensity model [X2=343.19; X2/df=3.40; CFI=0.92; TLI=0. 90; GFI =0.91; RMSEA=0.076; p-value<0.001]. for the direction model [X2=360.83; X2/df=3.57; CFI=0.93; TLI=0.92; GFI=0.90; RMSEA=0.079; p value<0.001]. And for, the frequency model [X2 =140.31; X2/df=2.58; CFI=0.93; TLI=0.92; GFI =0.92; RMSEA=0.062; p-value<0.001]. And a good internal coherence of three,scales was between 0.76 and 0.90. Conclusion: This study provides support for the reliability and validity of the Tunisian version based on the French version of CSAI-2R, including the direction and the frequency scales. Among others the Tunisian version has demonstrated robust psychometric properties and can be used in other investigation.
... However, the validity and reliability of CSAI-2 have been shown to be low (Coelho et al., 2007, Cox et al., 2003, Lane et al., 1999Tsourbatzoudis et al., 2002). was either debilitating or facilitating (Jones & Swain, 1992). A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score of a weakening (Jones & Swain, 1992). ...
... was either debilitating or facilitating (Jones & Swain, 1992). A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score of a weakening (Jones & Swain, 1992). Finally, the frequency scale , which allows modulating the symptoms experienced in competition over time; ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (all the time) going through 4 (regularly). ...
... For the direction scale, the participant rated on a scale from -3 to +3 the degree to which the experienced intensity of each symptom was either debilitating or facilitating for subsequent performance with 0 indicating a "neutral" interpretation. A positive score represents a state of facilitation, and a negative score represents a state of debility (Jones & Swain, 1992). Finally, the frequency scale varies from 1 (not at all) to 7 (all the time) , to evaluate symptoms over time. ...
The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R), is one of the most frequently used instruments in the evaluation of situational anxiety in sports competition. Objectives: The objective of this study was to validate the Tunisian version based on the French version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R), including the direction and the frequency scales. Method: 418 athletes ranging in age from 14 to 34 years in different individual and team competitions, volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected and analyzed for reliability and validity using the test-retest method, reliability, correlation analysis and confirmatory factor analyses. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS and the IBM AMOS version 21.0.0. Results: The Confirmatory factor analyzes showed acceptable adjustments for the 3-factor model of CSAI-2R. For the intensity model [X²=343.19; X²/df=3.40; CFI=0.92; TLI=0. 90; GFI =0.91; RMSEA=0.076; p-value<0.001]. for the direction model [X²=360.83; X²/df=3.57; CFI=0.93; TLI=0.92; GFI=0.90; RMSEA=0.079; p value<0.001]. And for the frequency model [X² =140.31; X²/df=2.58; CFI=0.93; TLI=0.92; GFI =0.92; RMSEA=0.062; p-value<0.001]. And a good internal coherence of three scales was between 0.76 and 0.90. Conclusion: This study provides support for the reliability and validity of the Tunisian version based on the French version of CSAI-2R, including the direction and the frequency scales. Among others the Tunisian version has demonstrated robust psychometric properties and can be used in other investigation.
... It is not novel to raise the argument that competitive anxiety is not always negative and detrimental to performance (Fletcher and Hanton, 2001). Several models and theories about the mechanisms underlying the relationship between anxiety and performance have been proposed, including multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens et al., 1990a), reversal theory (Kerr, 1990), anxiety direction theory (Jones and Swain, 1992), zones of optimal functioning models (Hanin, 1980(Hanin, , 1986. Jones and Swain (1992), for instance, introduced the notion of "direction, " expanding the original "intense" structure of anxiety based on multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens et al., 1990a;Jones, 1995). ...
... Several models and theories about the mechanisms underlying the relationship between anxiety and performance have been proposed, including multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens et al., 1990a), reversal theory (Kerr, 1990), anxiety direction theory (Jones and Swain, 1992), zones of optimal functioning models (Hanin, 1980(Hanin, , 1986. Jones and Swain (1992), for instance, introduced the notion of "direction, " expanding the original "intense" structure of anxiety based on multidimensional anxiety theory (Martens et al., 1990a;Jones, 1995). He proposed that individuals' interpretations of anxiety symptoms as either facilitating or debilitating to individuals affect their performance. ...
The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effects of goal orientations and self-efficacy between competitive cognitive anxiety and motor performance under conditions featuring different levels of ego-threat. Eighty-one (40 females) collegiate-level basketball players ( M age = 20.26 years and SD = 2.68) completed Sport Competitive Anxiety Test, Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, and General Self-Efficacy Scale prior to the experiment. Athletes participated in two sessions of free-throw tasks. After the first session, which was under a control condition, participants performed in a free-throw competitive session while being provided opponents’ scores that induced different levels of competitive cognitive anxiety. Performance is defined as the accuracy (%) in two free-throw sessions. A hierarchical multiple regression showed that high level of task-orientation and low level of ego-orientation can buffer the impairment of competitive cognitive anxiety on motor performance. The relationship between competitive cognitive anxiety and motor performance did not vary with self-efficacy. An a repeated-measured analysis of covariance after cluster analysis revealed that a high-task/low-ego profile benefited athletes the most regarding the impairment of competitive cognitive anxiety. Together, ego- and task-orientations and “goal profile” moderate the relationship between competitive cognitive anxiety and motor performance; however, self-efficacy may not serve as a moderator variable in between.
... The anxiety-interpretation relationship has been demonstrated through several studies using the Modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory 2 (Jones & Swain, 1992), which measures both the intensity of state anxiety, and the directional interpretations of anxiety as facilitative or debilitative. For example, quantitative research has shown associations between facilitative interpretations of anxiety and: performance (Eubank, Smith, & Smethhurst, 1995;Jones, Swain, & Hanton, 1993), higher competition levels (Jones, Hanton, & Swain, 1994;Jones & Swain, 1995;Perry, & Williams, 1998), higher competitiveness (Jones & Swain, 1992), hardiness (Hanton, Evans, & Neil, 2003), experience (Hanton, Neil, Mellalieu, & Fletcher, 2008), and hormonal responses to competition (Eubank, Collins, Lovell, Dorling, & Talbot, 1997). ...
... The anxiety-interpretation relationship has been demonstrated through several studies using the Modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory 2 (Jones & Swain, 1992), which measures both the intensity of state anxiety, and the directional interpretations of anxiety as facilitative or debilitative. For example, quantitative research has shown associations between facilitative interpretations of anxiety and: performance (Eubank, Smith, & Smethhurst, 1995;Jones, Swain, & Hanton, 1993), higher competition levels (Jones, Hanton, & Swain, 1994;Jones & Swain, 1995;Perry, & Williams, 1998), higher competitiveness (Jones & Swain, 1992), hardiness (Hanton, Evans, & Neil, 2003), experience (Hanton, Neil, Mellalieu, & Fletcher, 2008), and hormonal responses to competition (Eubank, Collins, Lovell, Dorling, & Talbot, 1997). ...
Metacognition, or experiencing cognition about cognition, has been evidenced to have strong associations with to the way attention, information, and emotions are regulated. However, to date, little research has investigated how metacognitive concepts may apply to a sporting context, which is heavily dependent on the regulation of such phenomena. Therefore, the primary aims of this thesis were to: (a) investigate whether metacognitions were significantly associated with sports related mental states; (b) develop appropriate sports specific measurements of metacognitions; and (c) investigate the associations between sports specific metacognitions with sports related mental states. A literature review, five empirical studies, and a discussion piece were designed for this purpose. The first study evaluated how competitive triathletes’ metacognitive beliefs associated with competitive state anxiety, concentration, and performance. It also examined differences in metacognitive beliefs across cross-sectional time-to-event intervals. The second study examined how triathletes’ metacognitions relate to mindfulness and the different dimensions of flow during competition. It also assessed at how these factors differed across motivational types (i.e., recreational; social; competitive). The purpose of the third and fourth studies was to develop and validate two self-report questionnaires measuring sport specific metacognitive beliefs and processes, based on previous literature and findings of the previous studies. Additionally, the studies investigated the contributions that these measures had towards psychological outcomes, such as: state anxiety, cognitive flexibility, and concentration. The fifth study aimed to extend the results from the second study, by investigating the associations between the sports specific metacognitive questionnaires, with flow state. The proceeding discussion chapter, evaluated the results of these studies in whole, presented a proposed metacognitive model of performance, discussed potential implications of the findings towards enhancing athletic performance, and suggested areas of focus for future research.
... The multidimensional anxiety theory describes the relationship between cognitive state anxiety (negative thoughts, uncontrolled cognitions, disruptions of attention, worry, helpless orientated thoughts and poor self-efficacy statements), somatic state anxiety (neuromuscular tightness, motor coordination increments, random activity and constricted movements) and performance (Martens et al., 1990). Further distinctions can be made between intensity, namely the degree to which anxiety is experienced and direction that is self-perceptions about the potential effects of anxiety on performance on a debilitative-facilitative continuum (Jones & Swain, 1992;Wadey & Hanton, 2008). Another factor within this context is self-confidence; beliefs about one's own ability which may act as a protective barrier against the possible debilitating effects of competitive state anxiety (Hardy, 1996). ...
... Nine items contributed to each subscale with scores ranging from 9 to 36. The directional scale of Jones and Swain (1992) was added to measure subjectively the interpretation of intensity as facilitative or debilitative. The directional scales uses the same 27 items and is scored on a 7-point scale, where: -3="Very debilitative; 0="Neutral"; and +3="Very facilitative". ...
Competitive state anxiety can be detrimental to golf performance. The effect of a group multimodal anxiety management programme on the intensity and direction of anxiety and self-confidence among amateur golfers was investigated. The directionally modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 was completed 10 minutes before two competitive rounds of golf six weeks apart. Sixteen male participants (age: 20.37±1.08 years) were randomly divided into equal-sized experimental and control groups. The experimental group attended five 60-minute group sessions; three psycho-educational sessions on breathing control, muscle relaxation, imagery, positive self-talk and affirmations, stopping and reappraising negative thoughts were integrated into pre-competition and pre-shot routines during two sessions on the driving range and practice green. Repeated measures two-way ANOVA revealed a time X group interaction effect for cognitive anxiety direction (F1,12=5.740, p=0.034), with significant improvements among the experimental group (p=0.046, d=0.63). The control group perceived their self-confidence to be less facilitative towards their performance than before (p=0.050, d=0.85), whereas the perceptions of the experimental group did not change. The programme enhanced cognitive anxiety direction and prevented debilitative changes in self-confidence direction, thereby demonstrating its efficacy. These findings add to the existing literature on the positive effect of multimodal interventions on restructuring competitive anxiety.
... Satisfactory internal consistency for the intensity subscale has been reported previously with Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.90 [6]. Jones and Swain's [40] direction scale was added to each item, of which each participant rated the degree to which the experienced intensity of each symptom was either facilitative or debilitative towards their performance using a bipolar scale ranging from -3 ("very debilitative") to +3 ("very facilitative"). Overall subscale direction scores range from -27 to +27, where a negative score denotes a debilitative state and a positive score as facilitative experience. ...
... For the directional dimension, gender and age emerged as significant predictors of cognitive anxiety which explained on a whole, 38% of variance on reported scores. Only few studies have shown the association of anxiety interpretation of athletes who demonstrate high levels of competitiveness [40] and perform at elite level [7,53] across gender and age. Due to limited scholarly information available, we draw on the initial work of Carver and Scheier [54,55]. ...
This present study investigated the influence of competitive state anxiety antecedents on the intensity, direction, and frequency dimensions of elite athletes during high stakes in table tennis competition. Thirty-three (N= 33) purposively sampled elite table tennis players from Ghana completed the modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, incorporating the direction and frequency of intrusion subscales during breaks within competitive matches. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses on intensity dimension revealed that cognitive anxiety was significantly predicted by only the age factor while no predictors emerged for somatic anxiety. Self-confidence was significantly predicted by only competitive experience. For directional dimension, gender and age emerged as significant predictors of cognitive anxiety. However, none of the factors were found to significantly predict somatic anxiety and self-confidence. Regarding frequency dimension, cognitive anxiety was significantly related to competitive experience and age whereas no predictors emerged for somatic anxiety. Competitive experience factor was also significantly associated with self-confidence. Findings underscore the need to measure these anxiety dimensions concurrently because they are triggered by different antecedents. Psychological skills interventions should be idiosyncratic based, targeting more self-confidence management strategies in alleviating the effect of cognitive anxiety during competitive matches when demands are very high.
... Functionality or perceived impact, oftentimes termed "direction," has been examined on separate scales in particular as applied to anxiety (e.g., Jones & Swain, 1992). In the PBS-S scale, athletes identify qualitatively different items that are functional or dysfunctional. ...
... Second, they rate the intensity on a scale ranging from 0 (= nothing at all) to 4 (= very much). Third, in line with previous research assessing functional impact of anxiety (Jones & Swain, 1992; see Hanton et al., 2008 for review) athletes assess the anticipated impact on performance on a scale ranging from +3 (= very helpful) to À3 (= very harmful), with "0" indicating no effect. Participants are first asked to consider whether the impact of their states is helpful (+) or harmful (À) and then to rate the magnitude of the impact. ...
This study examined the factor structure and reliability of the Psychobiosocial States (PBS-S) scale in the assessment of situational performance-related experiences. We administered the scale to 483 Finnish athletes before a practice session to assess the intensity and perceived impact of their performance-related feeling states. The hypothesized two-factor structure indicating functional effects (10 items) and dysfunctional effects (10 items) toward performance was examined via exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Regarding the intensity and perceived impact dimensions of reported states, ESEM and CFA showed a good fit for a two-factor solution of a 14-item PBS-S scale (seven functional and seven dysfunctional items). For both intensity and impact ratings, core state functional modalities were bodily, cognitive, and volitional, while core state dysfunctional modalities were volitional, operational, and anxiety. Findings support the use of a 14-item PBS-S scale to measure a range of preperformance states.
... Directional dimension is described as athletes' interpretation of their cognitive and somatic symptom intensity as either positive or negative toward subsequent performance (Jones and Swain, 1992) while the frequency component is defined as the amount of time an athlete spent attending to the symptoms experienced concerning competition . Recent literature has supported the directional dimension with the notion that individuals can interpret the intensity of anxietyrelated symptoms as either facilitative or debilitative toward upcoming performance (Mellalieu et al., 2006a). ...
... Satisfactory internal consistency for the intensity of the subscales has been reported previously with Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.79 to 0.90 (Martens et al., 1990). Jones and Swain's (1992) direction scale was included for each item in which each respondent rated the degree to which the experienced intensity of each symptom was either facilitative or debilitative to subsequent performance using a bipolar scale ranging from −3 ("very debilitative") to +3 ("very facilitative"). Overall subscale direction scores ranged from −27 to +27, where a negative score denoted a debilitative state and a positive score as facilitative experience. ...
Background and purpose: The functional understanding and examination of competitive anxiety responses as temporal events that unfold as time-to-competition moves closer has emerged as a topical research area within the domains of sport psychology. However, little is known from an inclusive and interaction oriented perspective. Using the multidimensional anxiety theory as a framework, the present study examined the temporal patterning of competitive anxiety, focusing on the dimensions of intensity, direction, and frequency of intrusions in athletes across gender and skill level.
Methods: Elite and semi-elite table tennis athletes from the Ghanaian league (N = 90) completed a modified version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) with the inclusion of the directional and frequency of intrusion scales at three temporal phases (7 days, 2 days, and 1 h) prior to a competitive fixture.
Results: Multivariate Analyses of Variance repeated measures with follow-up analyses revealed significant interactions for between-subjects factors on all anxiety dimensions (intensity, direction, and frequency). Notably, elite (international) female athletes were less cognitively anxious, showed more facilitative interpretation toward somatic anxiety symptoms and experienced less frequency of somatic anxiety symptoms than their male counterparts. However, both elite groups displayed appreciable level of self-confidence. For time-to-event effects, both cognitive and somatic anxiety intensity fluctuated whereas self-confidence showed a steady rise as competition neared. Somatic anxiety debilitative interpretation slightly improved 1 h before competition whereas cognitive anxiety frequencies also increased progressively during the entire preparatory phase.
Conclusion: Findings suggest a more dynamic image of elite athletes’ pre-competitive anxiety responses than suggested by former studies, potentially influenced by cultural differences. The use of psychological skills interventions that require effective structure, content, and timing in a composite manner is suggested.
... 50 The degree of self-confidence can predict the development of cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety. 51 Studies have found that individual differences, such as trait anxiety, 52 level of competition, 53 Target orientation, 54 and other factors 55 influence competitive state anxiety. 56 Tsopani et al showed that higherperforming athletes had lower average cognitive and somatic anxiety and higher average self-confidence than lowerperforming athletes. ...
Purpose:
Despite the Advances in sports training methods and medicine, they have not reduced the recurrence rate of athletes' injuries significantly, and obligatory exercise may be an important reason for their re-injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mindfulness on obligatory exercise behavior, self-criticism, and competitive state anxiety in athletes recovering from injury, and explain their interactions.
Patients and methods:
The study adopted the snowball and convenience sampling methods. From November to December 2022, a total of 265 high-level sports players in South China were selected, and ultimately, 208 valid data samples were obtained. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses proposed using 5000 bootstrap samples to test the mediating effects of the structural equation model.
Results:
The results demonstrated that there were positive correlations between self-criticism and obligatory exercise (standardized coefficients = 0.38, p < 0.001), as well as competitive state anxiety and self-criticism (standardized coefficients = 0.45, p < 0.001). Mindfulness and obligatory exercise were correlated negatively (standardized coefficients = -0.31, p < 0.001), but there was no significant relation between competitive state anxiety and obligatory exercise (standardized coefficients = 0.05, p > 0.01). Self-criticism and competitive state anxiety mediated mindfulness's positive effects on obligatory exercise in part (standardized indirect effect = -0.16, p < 0.01), and this explanatory power was higher than in any previous study (R2 = 0.37).
Conclusion:
The irrational beliefs in Activating events-Beliefs-Consequence (ABC) theory play an important role in explaining athletes' obligatory exercise, and mindfulness has a positive effect on reducing obligatory exercise behavior.
... In addition to team sports like indoor soccer, futsal and basketball (Jones & Swain, 1992). Mental wellness depends on maintaining a sense of equilibrium (Bellenir, 2010). ...
... However, anxiety does not always have to cause a negative impact on performance in sport. Referring to this aspect, the concept of "directionality of anxiety" was introduced [17][18][19] . It was assumed that the person's ability to control the stressor impacts further competence to interpret anxiety symptoms. ...
This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the Polish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2, as well as to determine the relationship between anxiety and goal orientation among high-performance and recreational athletes. A total of 519 athletes aged M = 22.83 (SD = 4.92) participated in the study, including 266 males and 253 females. 242 athletes trained professionally and 277 recreationally. The Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) was used to assess anxiety levels, while the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ) enabled to assess athletes’ goal orientation. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the model to the data for the Polish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (CFI = 0.945, RMSEA = 0.072). The models obtained during analysis of high-performance and recreational athletes, women and men, also presented a satisfactory fit to the data (CFI 0.932–0.946). The configural, metric, scalar and strict measurement invariances were demonstrated for high-performance and recreational athletes as well as among women and men. High internal consistency coefficients (alpha 0.81–0.91) and a high test–retest reliability indexes were reported (ICC 0.74–0.87). Women presented higher level of competitive anxiety than men. A positive relationship between competitive anxiety and athletes’ ego orientation was also presented. This relationship concerned particularly women practicing sport recreationally.
... In the table of the dichotomic separation we can see that the majority of the bad sleepers are women, because they have more basal anxiety, so we can think that these results are expected according to the bibliography where Krane V and Williams JM, (1987) determined that when there is a sport competition, the man has lower levels of anxiety. In spite of this, according to other authors (Jones and Swain, 1992), we have to evaluate the psychosomatic cognitive interpretation that each athlete has because some of them are comfortable with high levels of anxiety, and improving their competition results. ...
... Diferentes estudios investigativos han ponderado la ansiedad desde los valores propios de cada sujeto como herramienta de validación ante las emociones, (Jones y Hanton 1996). Finalmente lo decisivo es valorar cognitivamente cada deportista teniendo en cuenta que algunos se ven cómodos en niveles de ansiedad altos, medios y otros bajos, incluso algunos deportistas con un carácter anímico interpretado como negativo compiten de manera mas positiva (Jones y Swain, 1992). La realidad determina que los niveles de alta ansiedad o la disminución de la misma, no determina el final a la hora de tener resultados negativos ya que dependerá de cómo lo vivencia en la competición (Jones, Swain y Hardy 1993). ...
RESUMEN El objetivo de este artículo es determinar la relación entre autoconfianza y autoeficacia en deportistas juveniles, género masculino y femenino, con un mínimo de tres años de entrenamiento. La metodología en el estudio descriptivo es correlacionar, dentro de un marco cuantitativo, la muestra intencionada con una cantidad de cincuenta sujetos de 14 a 17 años de edad. Consecuentemente las variables expuestas son evaluadas a través de criterios psicológicos y de carácter autoeficacia táctica. Acorde a la conclusión con los objetivos se verificó la correlación bajo un análisis estadístico en el software SPSS versión 22.0 consecuentemente los resultados son de correlación positiva, es decir, a mayor puntuación positiva de las variables del test psicológico, mejor se comporta la autoeficacia de la acción táctica. Se destaca que este es un atenuante en todas las variables expuestas, sin embargo la variable autoconfianza se movió en contra gradiente, es decir a menor ansiedad mayor autoconfianza, estando en la misma corriente de las demás variables. Los límites de esta investigación son de orden general, pudiendo servir como referencia específica y su metodología extrapolarse, aplicar y utilizar con otros grupos de estudio en el trabajo cuantitativo. La confiabilidad del instrumento es 0.87% por consistencia interna consecuentemente. ABSTRACT The objective of this article is to determine the relationship between self-confidence and self-efficacy in youth categories, male and female gender, with a minimum of three years of training of soccer. The methodology in the descriptive study is to correlate, within a quantitative framework, the intentional sample with an amount of fifty subjects from 14 to 17 years of age. consequently the exposed variables are evaluated through psychological criteria and tactical self-efficacy character. According to the conclusion with the objectives the correlation was verified under statistical analysis with software SPSS version 22.0 consequently the results are positive correlation, that is, the higher, positive score of the psychological test variables, The self-efficacy of the tactical action is better, it is emphasized that this is an attenuator in each and every one of the exposed variables, however the variable self-confidence moved against gradient, that is to say, less anxiety, greater self-confidence, being in the same current of the other variables. The limits of this research are of a general nature, and can serve as a specific reference and its methodology can be extrapolated with other study groups in quantitative work. The reliability of the instrument used is manifested 0.87% by internal consistency accordingly.
... An example could be the experience of a flow state, linked to optimal performance and optimal experiences, where performers depict being fully absorbed in the activity and being in the present, rather than being aware of particular emotions [27]. However, the anxiety could benefit performance through narrowing the attention or increasing the effort, and we have many avenues of research to support this statement [24,28,29]. In past research, such as the above, it has been reported that handling stress is trainable and that athletes might ...
The aim of the current study is to determine how the level of state and trait anxiety differs
between youth athletes of different performance levels and furthermore whether there are correlations between
performance levels and psychomotor variables in the selected tasks. A sample of 97 boys, aged 11–12 years,
practising soccer represented two groups: A – high performance level and B – lower performance level. Participants
completed a state and trait anxiety inventory and performed selected psychomotor tests. The analyses
demonstrated that the higher the levels of anxiety were, the shorter was the response time and more accurate
were the responses in selected psychomotor tests. For the whole group, r = -0.224, p < 0.05, and for group
B, r = -0.333, p < 0.05. Moreover, the findings showed a moderator effect of level (group A vs B) on reaction
time, which was almost significant in state anxiety and significant in trait anxiety. For group B, trait anxiety
was negatively related to reaction time (b = -0.002, SE = 0.001, t = -2.93, p = .004, 95% CI [-0.004, -0.001]).
This means that the higher the trait anxiety was, the shorter was the reaction time in group B, but there was
no significant effect in group A. The results of the study confirmed the negative correlation between the trait
and state anxiety and reaction time. The higher the anxiety was, the shorter was the response time of child
soccer players. Future research should determine whether athletes’ performance levels do affect performance
under stress and replicate the study with different samples such as girls and different sport disciplines.
... Some studies have explored the interaction between sport orientation and an individual's future competence, confidence, and connectedness (Perkins and Borden, 2004;Telama et al., 2006;Kjønniksen et al., 2009;Miller and Siegel, 2017). Some studies have also suggested that sport orientation may predict competitive anxiety (Jones and Swain, 1992;Daniel et al., 1999). One more recent study showed that fear of competition affects on youth health promotion (Tari-Keresztes et al., 2015). ...
A noted decrease in adolescent physical activity in the past decade has resulted in an increase in health risks. Sport orientation correlates closely with physical activity. A sufficient assessment scale that measures an individual’s sport orientation is important to measure an adolescent’s physical inactivity. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a short version of the Sport Orientation Questionnaire for Chinese Adolescents (SOQ-CA). Based on Gill’s SOQ and previous literature, an initial 30-item questionnaire was developed to create the original SOQ-CA. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure by self-report. In this study, three surveys were conducted. Volunteer participants completed 1,235 valid questionnaires. The data of the first collection sample (n = 486) were split randomly into two groups, sample 1 (n = 150) used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and sample 2 (n = 336) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The data of the second (n = 377) and third (n = 372) collection samples were used to perform test–retest reliability, internal consistency, and CFA of the SOQ-CA. The SOQ-CA obtained good reliability and validity through both EFA and CFA. The development of the SOQ-CA provides an opportunity to develop further theories and practices regarding the assessment of both sport motivation and individual achievement orientation. The application of the SOQ-CA in China would be significant for monitoring the development of adolescent physical activity and aiding in the implementation of policies.
... anxiety and anxiety-related symptoms could be interpreted as being helpful and therefore be beneficial to performance (G. Jones & Cale, 1989;Martens et al., 1990;Parfitt & Hardy, 1987). Jones and colleagues stressed the importance of an athlete's interpretation of emotion by focusing on how anxiety influences perceptions of control (G. Jones, 1995;G. Jones & Swain, 1992). According to their Control Model of Facilitative and Debilitative Anxiety, when an individual perceives a lack of control over the ability to attain goals and difficulty overcoming anxiety symptoms (e.g., racing heart), they interpret their anxiety symptoms negatively and / or debilitative to performance (G. Jones, 1995). Diversions of ...
This chapter provides working definitions of emotion and related concepts utilized in the study of emotions and sport performance. It overviews multiple important roles that emotions serve in the resultant behaviors that ultimately influence sport performance. The chapter reviews influential conceptual frameworks that have advanced understanding of emotions as related to sport performance. It highlights empirical work that has contributed deductively to theory testing and inductively to the advancement of knowledge. The integrative model of stress, attention, and human performance incorporates, among others, hypotheses from the attention control theory. The chapter also highlights how emotions alter the fundamental mechanisms underpinning behavioral changes that impact sport performance. It offers pragmatic consideration of how sport psychology research can continue to inform the scientific practice of sport psychology, particularly as related to the development of innovative approaches for emotion regulation.
... The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens et al., 1990;Jones and Swain, 1992) was used to assess the intensity and directional interpretation of cognitive and somatic anxiety symptoms. Cognitive anxiety (CA) assesses the mental component of anxiety caused by negative expectations about success or negative self-evaluation (e.g., "I am concerned about losing") and somatic anxiety (SA) is associated with the physiological or affective component of anxiety (e.g., "My hands are clammy"). ...
On approach to competitive situations, affective states (emotions and anxiety) occur through the complex interaction of cognitive antecedents. Researchers have intimated that irrational beliefs might play an important role in the relationship between cognitive appraisals and affective states, but has ignored challenge and threat. In the current research, we examine the interaction between cognitive appraisals, irrational beliefs, and challenge and threat to predict golfers’ pre-competitive affective states. We adopted a cross-sectional atemporal design to examine how golfers approached two different competitive situations: imagined imminent golf competition (phase 1), and actual future golf competition (phase 2). Path analysis revealed how cognitive appraisals, irrational beliefs, and challenge and threat interact to predict affective states among golfers. Serial atemporal multiple mediation analysis indicated that the relationships between cognitive appraisals and affective states were mediated by irrational beliefs and challenge and threat. Further, some differences were revealed between phase 1 and phase 2 in the serial multiple atemporal mediation results with regard to challenge. That is, at phase 1 no significant serial mediation was found for any affective outcomes, but at phase 2 significant serial mediation was found for all affective states, showing that irrational beliefs and challenge serial mediated the associations between cognitive appraisals and affective states. The finding that mediation and bivariate associations differed across phase 1 and phase 2 is echoed in the phase 1-phase 2 tests of differences. The current research makes a theoretical advancement by elucidating in more detail the complex interaction between cognitive antecedents and mediators of affective states. Specifically, the inclusion of challenge and threat alongside irrational beliefs and cognitive appraisals is an important theoretical advancement that builds on work inside of sport literature (e.g., Dixon et al., 2016) and outside of sport literature (e.g., David et al., 2002; 2005), as this constellation of theoretically related antecedents of affective states has not been examined together in the extant research.
... Ovaj holistički pristup je značajan za unapređenje teorije sporta, ali dalja istraživanja bi morala preciznije da opišu "flou" iskustva u sportu i da otkriju posebno svaki aspekt povezan sa sportskim izvođenjem (Weinberg & Gould, 2007). Poslednjih godina sve je aktuelnije ispitivanje odnosa direkcije anksioznosti i izvođenja u različitim sportovima te su dobijene značajne informacije za sportski trening (Burton, 1988;Jones & Swain, 1992, Jones, Hunton& Swain, 1994Bačanac & Mihajlović, 1994;Cerin, 2003 (Martin & Gill, 1991;Woodman & Hardy, 2003), već da su njeni efekti vezani za specifičnosti zahteva sporta. Hanin (2007Hanin ( , 2013 je istakao da anksioznost ne samo da ne blokira uvek sportsko izvođenje, već u nekim situacijama može da ga poboljša. ...
... Adapting strict inclusion criteria, 14 out of 65 receivers were excluded due to clinically relevant scores in the screening questionnaires for alexithymia (TAS-20, score ≥ 61, n = 3) and anxiety (STICSA-T, score ≥ 43, n = 8) and n = 3 receivers were excluded because they scored above the respective cut-offs for both questionnaires. The rationale behind these decisions was to avoid biases by receivers with the facilitated detection of offensive or potentially threatening cues [28,56] as well as receivers with impaired ability in recognizing facial expressions due to their inability to experience emotions [14,53]. Also, receivers were excluded due to hyposmia (n = 2), as measured via the identification subtest of the Sniffin' Sticks [29], and due to technical problems (n = 3). ...
In body odor research, the interaction of female donors and receivers is scarcely investigated. With the aim to investigate effects of female body odor in a competitive context, we tested 51 women divided into two groups (i.e., a competitive and a non-competitive group, based on verbal instructions). Between groups, we explored whether female body odor exposure (vs. masker odor) modulates emotion categorization (via RT variance and distribution) and physiological reactions (via instantaneous heart rate) in a task with dynamic male and female faces as either angry or happy. Women in the competitive group reported to feel more competitive and performed more accurately. They gathered more emotional information to categorize dynamic faces and when additionally exposed to female body odor, they showed a resistance to cardiac deceleration. Lapses of attention (via RT distribution) occurred irrespective of body odor exposure. Our results support the idea that female body odors, presented in a competitive context, contrast cardiac deceleration and, by tendency, modulate emotion categorization. Data are discussed in the context of chemosignaling and social interactions among women.
... However, the predictions of MAT have received considerable criticism, with only limited support (see Woodman & Hardy, 2001 MAT's sole focus on the negative effects of competitive anxiety on performance led Jones (1995) to propose that performers' interpretation of anxiety-related symptoms (i.e., viewing anxiety as facilitative or debilitative) will determine how anxiety exerts its influence on performance. A large body of research supports the facilitative-debilitative distinction of anxiety interpretation by examining its correlates such as level of expertise (Jones, Hanton, & Swain, 1994;Jones & Swain, 1992), locus of control (Ntoumanis & Jones, 1998), perception of goal attainment (Jones & Hanton, 1996;O'Brien, Hanton, & Mellalieu, 2005), hardiness (Hanton, Evans, & Neil, 2003;Hanton, Neil, & Evans, 2013), coping strategies (Eubank & Collins, 2000;Jerome & Williams, 2000;Ntoumanis & Biddle, 1998), and psychological skills (Fletcher & Hanton, 2001;Neil, Mellalieu, & Hanton, 2006). However, the influence of anxiety interpretation on performance, and any associated mechanism(s), are less understood (Wagstaff et al., 2012). ...
Anxiety and fear are unpleasant emotions commonly experienced in sport and performance settings. While fear usually has an apparent cause, the source of anxiety is comparatively vague and complex. Anxiety has cognitive and somatic components and can be either a trait or a state. To assess the different aspects of anxiety, a variety of psychometric scales have been developed in sport and performance domains. Besides efforts to quantify anxiety, a major focus in the anxiety-performance literature has been to explore the impact of anxiety on performance and why such effects occur. Anxiety- performance theories and models have increased the understanding of how anxiety affects performance and have helped to explain why anxiety is widely considered a negative emotion that individuals typically seek to avoid in performance settings. Nonetheless, individuals approach anxiety-inducing or fear-provoking situations in different ways. For example, high-risk sport research shows that individuals can actively approach fear-inducing environments in order to glean intra- and interpersonal regulatory benefits. Such individual differences are particularly relevant to sport and performance researchers and practitioners, as those who actively approach competition to enjoy the fear-inducing environment (i.e., the “risk”) are likely to have a performance advantage over those who compete while having to cope with their troublesome anxiety and fear. Future research would do well to: (1) examine the effects of anxiety on the processes that underpin performance rather than a sole focus on the performance outcomes, (2) test directly the different cognitive functions that are thought to be impaired when performing under anxiety, (3) unite the existing theories to understand a “whole picture” of how anxiety influences performance, and (4) explore the largely overlooked field of individual differences in the context of performance psychology.
... Thus, in order to interpret the affective experiences that emerge from any motor game, the PE teacher in addition to recognizing the internal characteristics of that game (IL) will have to consider other external aspects (EL) to the rules, associated to the participant's subjective features, as well as the sports background or the type of socio-affective relationship within the group (Duran et al. 2015;Jones et al. 1992;Lazarus 2000). ...
The aim of this study was to interpret university students’ affective experiences while taking part in two practical sessions based on cooperative and psychomotor games with and without competition. Six students of physical education and sport took part in the study. The validated Games and Emotions Scale (GES) questionnaire was used, which was completed at the beginning and at the end of each session. Two individual interviews were then conducted with each participant (one per session). The data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti v.62 software. We would highlight the following findings: a) both types of games trigger individual and group affective wellbeing in the participants; b) individual wellbeing is conditioned by aspects of the games’ internal logic (motor relationships, and the presence or absence of competition) whereas group wellbeing is triggered mainly by aspects external to the group (social relationships between the participants, and sports background or personal perceptions). © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
... These emotions were sometimes associated with the study of the direct perception of symptom intensity, which could either be interpreted as debilitative or facilitative. More specifically, players considered the somatic anxiety and anger experienced in precompetitive (Eys et al., 2003;Hanton, Jones, & Mullen, 2000;Jones & Swain, 1992) because of the high levels activation required for the contact nature of rugby union, and the feelings associated with these affective states (Neil et al., 2006;Robazza & Bortoli, 2007). We also found that players often felt angry during matches (Bushman & Wells, 1998;Valance et al., 2006). ...
... In support of our hypothesis, and in accordance with prior research (Moore et al., 2013; our results emphasise the importance of making a distinction between cognitive anxiety intensity and directional perceptions when exploring challenge and threat states and behavioural outcomes (Chamberlain and Hale, 2007;Jones and Swain, 1992). Although no relationships were apparent with anxiety intensity, a clear pattern of results shows that perceiving cognitive anxiety as more facilitative is associated with more efficient cardiovascular alterations during the stress, as well as perceiving the task as more challenging. ...
Background:
The theory of challenge and threat states in athletes (TCTSA) proposes psychological antecedents will predict psychological and cardiovascular responses to stress. The present study investigated this theory in two contextually different stress tasks.
Method:
78 males completed a computerised competition and a public speaking task. Cardiovascular activity was measured with impedance cardiography and a blood pressure monitor. Challenge and threat antecedents, indicators of challenge and threat and emotions were assessed pre- and post-tasks.
Results:
Both tasks induced significant perturbations in cardiovascular activity and were perceived as highly challenging. Reported perceived threat was higher in the public speaking task compared to the competition task. Associations between the proposed antecedents, self-report and cardiovascular indices of challenge and threat and emotions support the TCTSA for the competition task, but less so for the public speaking task.
Conclusion:
The TCTSA is supported during competitive stress, however during social stress there is dissociation between self-report appraisals and cardiovascular reactivity.
... While early explanations of these weak relationships included possible confounds and explanations such as measurement errors, and the dynamic unpredictability of sporting environments (Craft et al., 2003), alternative research has proposed that the interpretation of 4 anxiety is more important for performance than the intensity of anxiety itself (Wagstaff et al., 2012). For example, quantitative research has shown associations between facilitative interpretations of anxiety and: performance (Eubank, Smith, & Smethhurst, 1995;Jones, Hardy, & Swain, 1993), higher competition levels (Jones, Hanton, & Swain, 1994;Jones & Swain, 1995;Perry, & Williams, 1998), higher competitiveness (Jones & Swain, 1992), hardiness (Hanton, Evans, & Neil, 2003), experience (Hanton, Neil, Melalieu, & Fletcher, 2008), and hormonal responses to competition (Eubank, Collins, Lovell, Dorling, & Talbot, 1997). ...
This study investigated how metacognitive beliefs in triathletes covary with state anxiety dimensions, prior to competition. It also examined how metacognitions relate to concentration, after controlling for state anxiety. Regression analyses revealed that specific metacognitive beliefs were differentially predictive of state anxiety dimensions and concentration. When accounting for the state anxiety variables in a hierarchical model predicting concentration, positive beliefs about worry, negative beliefs about worry and cognitive anxiety remained as significant predictors. Metacognitive beliefs were also found to 2 differ across time-to-event intervals. Overall, the results demonstrated that a metacognitive framework is a viable pathway for future sporting research.
... The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) (Martens et al., 1990) assesses competitive anxiety and self-confidence. The inventory was modified to include scales for direction (Jones and Swain, 1992) and frequency (Swain and Jones, 1993) dimensions. This measuring instrument assesses symptoms via 27 items, 9 per construct. ...
Background and Purpose: Even though the assessment of competitive anxiety responses (intensity, interpretation, and frequency) using the time-to-event paradigm has gained much attention, literature on the account of these same experiences in-event and their corresponding psychological skills adopted under differing conditions is limited. This is a follow up investigation to establish the extent to which associated anxiety responses are stable or dynamic and whether this pattern could be related to reported psychological skills under low or high stressful conditions across gender.
Methods: Twenty-three high level (N = 13 males and 10 females) Ghanaian Table Tennis players provided data through completion of modified versions of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, incorporated with directional and frequency of intrusion scales and the Test of Performance Strategies inventory during breaks within competitive fixtures.
Results: MANCOVAs (gender × stress condition) with follow-up analyses revealed no significant interactions and no main effect for gender but significant main effects were realized for all anxiety dimensions and psychological skills for only the second factor. Specifically, the intensity and frequency of cognitive and somatic state anxiety symptoms increased and were interpreted as debilitative under the high stress condition, although self-confidence and other array of psychological skills were highly displayed under the same stressful condition.
Conclusion: Findings highlight the dynamic characteristics of in-event associated anxiety responses and ineffectiveness of deployed psychological skills regardless of gender. These perhaps show the exceptionality of affective experiences in an African setting, suggesting a culturally diversified approach to psychological skills application, if desirable effects are to be attained.
... incluindo uma escala da direção da percepção da ansiedade. Nesta escala, cada indivíduo atribui um valor para expressar se a determinada intensidade de cada sintoma é facilitativa ou debilitativa para a futura "performance" Alguns estudos já foram conduzidos usando esta nova dimensão (por exemplo, Jones & Swain, 1992;Jones et alii. 1993: Swain & Jones. ...
O propósito deste estudo foi o de examinar: a. diferenças entre o sexo feminino e masculino nas dimensões de intensidade e direção da ansiedade-estado multidimensional competitiva: b. diferenças entre os sexos nos antecedentes situacionais da ansiedade-estado e da auto-confiança. Fizeram parte da amostra 25 homens e 25 mulheres praticantes do atletismo. Os sujeitos responderam a versão modificada do questionário CSAI-2, que incluiu a nova dimensão da direção, e mais 6 fatores antecedentes. Todos foram respondidos uma hora antes da competição. Os resultados foram analisados através da ANOVA e análises "Stepwise Multiple Regression" Os resultados não revelaram diferenças significativas entre os sexos tanto na intensidade quanto na direção dos componentes da ansiedade. Porém, os homens reportaram maiores índices de auto-confiança e perceberam seus sintomas como mais facilitativos para a “performance” do que as mulheres. Contrariamente às expectativas, nenhuma das variáveis situacionais anteciparam a ansiedade cognitiva. Por outro lado. o item "anos de experiência" foi um antecedente significante da ansiedade somática. Entretanto, muitos fatores emergiram como antecedentes da auto-confiança em ambos os grupos. São discutidas as possíveis razões para os resultados encontrados em diferenças entre os sexos, a importância da auto-confiança, a utilidade da versão modificada do CSAI-2 e as implicações práticas para ajudar os atletas nas suas preparações psicológicas
... Individuals who reported their anxiety to be facilitative towards performance had higher levels of self-confidence than those who viewed it as debilitating (e.g., Hanton et al., 2004;Jones & Swain, 1995;Mellalieu, Neil, & Hanton, 2006;Wadey & Hanton, 2008). The use of a modified version of the CSAI-2, which measures both the intensity of these symptoms on the original scale and the direction on a bipolar scale ranging from debilitative to facilitative (Jones & Swain, 1992), may be fruitful in future studies. ...
One purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-confidence or anxiety would be differentially affected by feedback from more accurate rather than less accurate trials. The second purpose was to determine whether arousal variations (activation) would predict performance. On Day 1, participants performed a golf putting task under one of two conditions: one group received feedback on the most accurate trials, whereas another group received feedback on the least accurate trials. On Day 2, participants completed an anxiety questionnaire and performed a retention test. Skin conductance level, as a measure of arousal, was determined. The results indicated that feedback about more accurate trials resulted in more effective learning as well as increased self-confidence. Also, activation was a predictor of performance.
Key words: Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, golf putting, knowledge of results, motor learning
Bu araştırmanın amacı, spor yapan bireylerin sporda mücadele ve tehdit algıları ile ruh hali durumları arasında bulunan ilişkiyi belirlemektir. Yapılan araştırmanın veri toplama aracı olarak “Sporda Mücadele ve Tehdit Algısı Ölçeği” ile “Brunel Ruh Hali Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Araştırmaya, 200’ü kadın ve 271’i erkek olmak üzere farklı branşlarda spor yapan toplamda 471 kişi gönüllü olarak katılım sağlamıştır. Normallik değerleri basıklık ve çarpıklık ile incelenmiştir. Gruplar arası karşılaştırmalar bağımsız örneklem t testi, sürekli değişkenler arasındaki ilişki için Pearson korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Kadınların erkeklere oranla daha yüksek şaşkınlık ve tehdit algılama eğiliminde oldukları, erkeklerin ise kadınlara göre daha yüksek yorgunluk eğiliminde oldukları belirlenmiştir. Milli olan sporcuların milli olmayan katılımcılara oranla daha yüksek yorgunluk eğiliminde oldukları ancak milli olmayan katılımcıların milli olan katılımcılara oranla daha yüksek canlılık eğiliminde oldukları tespit edilmiştir. BRUMS ölçeği kızgınlık, yorgunluk, şaşkınlık ve depresyon alt boyutları ile SMTAÖ ölçeği tehdit alt boyutunda pozitif yönlü düşük düzey anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu belirlenmiştir. Canlılık alt boyutu ile mücadele alt boyutu arasında pozitif yönlü, gerginlik alt boyutu ile mücadele alt boyutu arasında ise negatif yönlü düşük düzey anlamlı ilişki olduğu belirlenmiştir. Spor yılı ile SMTÖ tehdit alt boyutunda ve BRUMS şaşkınlık alt boyutunda negatif yönlü ve düşük düzeyde anlamlı ilişkinin olduğu belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, sporcuların belirli an ve ortamlarda ki ruh halleri, sporcuların performanslarını önemli ölçüde hem olumlu hem de olumsuz yönde etkileyebilir.
This study analyzed the effects of psychological responses (impulsivity, self-esteem, self-confidence, and anxiety) in baseline and pre-competitive contexts of national soccer referees (SRs), their control of the game (yellow and red cards), and physical performance (PP) according to the role (assistant or main referee), and experience in the category. Twenty- seven national SRs from Spain participated in this study. Baseline and pre-competitive psychological data were collected through the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2 test), Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P test), and Rosenberg tests. Furthermore, WIMU PROTM inertial devices were used to monitor PP. The results indicated that a lack of perseverance and self-esteem were higher in the main SRs and somatic anxiety in assistant SRs. Experience of SRs was related to anxiety, self- confidence, self-esteem, impulsivity dimensions, and PP metrics (p < 0.05). Finally, red cards were related to positive and negative urgency (r = 0.38 and r = 0.35, p < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, the main SRs and SRs with more experience had better psychological characteristics and PP in a competitive context. However, yellow and red cards were not associated with these factors, although red cards were related with urgency. Based on these data, specific training programs could be incorporated to enhance emotional control in SRs with less experience to achieve greater performance and professional development.
The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the preliminary effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral therapy program to address competitive anxiety among junior athletes. This cognitive behavioral therapy program for competitive anxiety in junior athletes was developed based on a cognitive behavioral therapy program for anxiety disorder in children and adolescents (Ishikawa, 2013). The goal of the program was not to eliminate competition anxiety itself, but to make athletesʼ interpretation of competition anxiety and cognition more flexible. A group of seven junior players (four males and three females) from a private tennis club were treated by a clinical psychologist once a week for a total of four sessions. This program was shown to increase their psychological performance selfefficacy post-intervention and at follow-up compared to pre-intervention. Interpretation of competitive anxiety and competitive positive self-statements showed a post-intervention increase compared to preintervention. Finally, the future effective practice of the program is discussed.
O presente manuscrito teve o objetivo de avaliar a variabilidade dos níveis de ansiedade pré-competitiva de atletas de Basquetebol ao longo de uma competição, utilizando-se de um estudo de caso. Para isso, acompanhou-se uma pequena amostra de um clube, que foi escolhida por conveniência. O estudo foi composto por 27 atletas de Basquetebol das categorias de base do clube, com idade entre 13 e 15 anos e todos do sexo masculino, pertencentes a duas categorias da base: sub-15 e sub-14, que eram treinados pela mesma comissão técnica e que seguiam a mesma filosofia de treinamento (modelo de treinamento). Os atletas participaram do estudo de forma voluntária. Os participantes preencheram o termo de assentimento, pois todos eram menores de idade, e seus responsáveis preencheram o termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido. Após essa etapa, todos os atletas responderam ao CSAI-2r, o qual foi respondido em seis jogos ao longo do campeonato, sendo o primeiro jogo a estreia das equipes e o sexto jogo a final da competição. No presente estudo, em função do número de participantes, utilizou-se de testes não paramétricos para análises dos resultados. Os resultados demonstraram que os atletas investigados apresentaram, durante toda a competição, elevados níveis de autoconfiança e baixos níveis de ansiedade (somática e cognitiva), independentemente da categoria (sub-14 e sub-15). Além disso, no decorrer da competição os atletas conseguiram, também, diminuir os níveis de ansiedade somática, independentemente da categoria. Por fim, pode-se concluir que para este estudo de caso, o fator tempo de clube e o fator idade não influenciaram os níveis de ansiedade dos atletas, pois não houve diferenças significantes entre as equipes.
While athletes have benefitted from systematic Mental Skills Training (MST) (e.g. Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001), there is little evidence of such programmes existing for sports coaches, despite coaches being considered performers too (Frey, 2007). This study involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of a ‘Coaching under Pressure’ MST programme, aimed at enhancing coaches’ ability to cope with stressors and coach effectively in ‘stressful’ situations. Five coaches from one of Great Britain’s most successful sporting universities (British Universities and Colleges Sport rankings) participated in a six-week MST intervention programme. Coaches’ use of mental skills (MSQ), perceptions of precompetition state anxiety (CSAI-2md), and coping abilities (MCOPE) were assessed before and after the series of workshops. While statistical significance was only found for a small number of the observed variables, the practical significance of the intervention for coaches was highlighted via a social validation questionnaire. Specifically, coaches described positive changes in their coaching performance as a result of the intervention. The findings have implications for the development of coach education programmes, and for sport organisations that must be aware of the stressors involved in coaching and ensure that coaches have access to relevant, research informed, MST at all stages of their careers.
Self-confidence is a common research topic, and most applied textbooks include interventions designed to enhance athlete confidence. Our purpose was to quantify the self-confidence and sport performance literature using meta-analytic techniques. We also examined potential risk of bias indicators, and the moderation effects of study quality, sport characteristics, timing of confidence measurement, and individual differences among participants. Following a review of two past meta-analyses, a systematic search of APA PsycArticles, ERIC, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsychINFO, and SPORTDiscus within the EBSCOhost platform, and some hand searching, 41 articles published between 1986 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. Collectively, the included studies investigated 3711 athletes from 15 countries across 24 sports. The overall random effects estimate of the relationship (expressed as r) between self-confidence and performance was 0.25 (95% CI 0.19, 0.30), with little evidence of publication bias. The summed total risk of the individual study bias score did not moderate the confidence–performance relationship, whereas significant moderator effects emerged for individual sports (0.29) compared with team sports (0.14), objective (0.29) compared to subjective (0.14) performance measures, and 100% male (0.35) compared to 100% female (0.07) samples. In conclusion, the confidence–performance relationship is small in magnitude, nearly free of bias, and moderated by sport type, performance objectivity, and athlete sex.
Studying the anxiety has increased in the past ten years. A lot of studies aimed to identify the causes of anxiety and how to get minimize it Sleep quality is widely regarded as one of the most important modes of recovery for athletes A sample of 40 Egyptian swimmers 20 elite male swimmers short distance 100-m freestyle and 20 elite male swimmers long distance 800-m freestyle swimmers. Participants completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) and Sleep Quality (PSQI) Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression and correlation coefficient were used for data analysis. The aim of the present study were, therefore, to identify affect the State Anxiety and sleep quality on result computation for swimmer (100 m-800 m), and identify the relationship between sleep quality and Competitive anxiety at the swimmers (100-800 m) and results indicates to the existence of significant differences between the values of (Somatic anxiety, self-confidence and sleep quality) and the results of competitions for swimmers 100 m and 800 m and a positive relationship (r = 0.96 * 100 m & r = 0.94 * 800 m) between sleep quality and Somatic anxiety.
W pracy przedstawiono podstawy teoretyczne i opisano procedurę konstruowania orygi- nalnych wersji dwóch narzędzi do badania pewności siebie w sporcie: Inwentarza Pewności Siebie w Sporcie (TSCI – Trait Sport-Confidence Inventory) i Kwestionariusza Źródeł Pewności Siebie w Sporcie autorstwa Vealey. Omówiono także szczegółowo ich adaptację do warunków polskich. Oba narzędzia w ich ostatecznych wersjach cechują się dobrą rzetelnością, a moc dyskryminacyjna pozycji jest zadowalająca. Trafność wewnętrzna, teoretyczna i kryterialna jest satysfakcjonująca. SSCQ-PL składa się z 38 pozycji, przypisanych do ośmiu skal: Mistrzostwo, Prezentowanie Umiejętności, Przygotowanie Psychiczne i Fizyczne, Postrzeganie Własnego Ciała, Wsparcie, Doświadczenie Zastępcze, Komfort Środowiskowy, Przywództwo. TSCI-PL składa się z 13 sformułowań. Osoba badana porównuje swoją pewność siebie w przykładowych kontekstach sportowych, do najbardziej pewnego siebie zawodnika, jakiego zna.
Abstract:
Equestrianism is both a popular sport and leisure time activity with leisure horses being the largest component of the UK horse population, and having a high prevalence of owner reported ridden behaviour problems. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) is the most well-know sports psychology tool for measuring levels of anxiety within athletes and it has previously been used in equestrian sport to determine the difference in anxiety levels between novice and elite athletes. Horse riding is the only sport which involves human and horse in equal parts with horse rider confidence presenting an important moderating variable in the experience of anxiety symptoms. This is supported by many studies and it has been noted that a horse riders's emotional state has an affect on the horse they are riding. A total number of 360 leisure riders were asked to complete an online questionnaire which included the CSAI-2 and each rider was asked to classify themselves as either Confident or Unconfident, as well as to answer each question focusing on the next time they would be riding. It was hypothesised that there would be a difference in the anxiety levels between a confident and unconfident leisure rider and results confirmed the hypothesis with confident riders showing a lower mean and a larger standard deviation.
Mann Whitney U: Cognitive Anxiety U=10558.5, nC=166, nU=194, P<0.000; Somatic Anxiety U=4008.5, nC=166, nU=194, P<0.00; Self-Confidence U=3557.0, nC=166, nU=194, P<0.000.
Results also showed that riders who classified themselves as confident but scored high in somatic anxiety could use their experience as facilitative rather than debilitative. It can be concluded that the CSAI-2 can be used as a coaching tool for training leisure riders in the following ways; 1) to enable the rider to understand their own base level of anxiety in riding situations. This may increase their perception of how they are affecting their horse. 2) As an aid for coaches to understand how to train an unconfident rider through evidence of cognitive and somatic anxiety levels. 3) Create a suitable horse-rider partnership which will impact on rider safety and horse welfare.
Competitive anxiety and self-confidence were examined temporally in "facilitators," "debilitators," and "mixed interpreters" using the modified CSAI-2 (intensity, direction, frequency). MANOVA's (group time-to-competition) and follow-up tests revealed no significant interactions but revealed significant main effects for both factors. Facilitators displayed increased intensities of self-confidence, more positive interpretations of cognitive and somatic symptoms, increased frequency of self-confidence, and decreased frequency of cognitive symptoms than debilitators through performance preparation. Time-to-competition effects indicated intensities of cognitive and somatic responses increased, and self-confidence decreased near competition. Directional perceptions of cognitive and somatic responses became less positive, and the frequency of these symptoms increased toward the event. Findings have implications for intervention design and timing and emphasize the importance of viewing symptoms over temporal phases.
Aim: The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised (CSAI-2R) is one of the most frequently used instruments when quantitatively investigating competitive state anxiety in the field of sport psychology research. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Arabic-Tunisian version of the French CSAI-2R questionnaire and to evaluate its validity and reliability. Materials and methods: Out of an initial list of 490 subjects, participants of the present validation study were 304 Tunisian football players (81 males [26.6%]; mean age 21.58 years (SD = 2.40 years, range 16-31) of different levels (international level: 34 [11.2%]; national level: 238 [78.3%]; regional level: 32 [10.5%]) that volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected and analyzed in terms of reliability and validity using correlations, reliability, parallel analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Results: The 2-factor solution accounted for 48%, 47% and 56% of variance for the Direction, Frequency, and Intensity scales, respectively. The 3-factor solution accounted for 60%, 57% and 64% of variance for the Direction, Frequency, and Intensity scales, respectively. Although the 3-factor solution explained an additional, substantial proportion of variance with respect to the 2-factor solution, the factor structure did not replicate well across scales. Conversely, in 2-factor solution, if items 1, 2, 15, and 16 were excluded, the pattern of loadings was exactly the same for all scales. Hence, we concluded that the 2-factor solution should be retained, as it provided a measurement model for the Arabic-Tunisian CSAI-2R items that was constant across scales. Conclusion: The Arabic-Tunisian version of the French CSAI-2R in its original version has failed to demonstrate robust and sound psychometric properties. Its reduced version represents a first attempt that can be henceforth used in the Arab world, even if further investigations should enable to improve its psychometric properties.
Objectives: Sports coaching can be an inherently stressful occupation because coaches must fulfill multiple roles and cope with various expectations. Further, stress and well-being have implications for coach performance. The objective of this study was, therefore, to conduct a systematic review of literature on stressors, coping, and well-being among sports coaches.
Design: A systematic review using PRIMSA guidelines.
Method: Thorough and systematic literature searches of PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science were conducted. To be eligible for inclusion, papers had to be published in the English language between January 1994 and March 2016 and as full papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Results: The final sample consisted of 38 studies that were conducted with 4,188 sports coaches. This sample consisted of 19 qualitative, 17 quantitative, and two mixed methods studies. The findings demonstrate that coaches experience a variety of stressors relating to their performance and that of the athletes they work with in addition to organizational, contextual, interpersonal, and intrapersonal stressors. The findings also highlight that coaches use a variety of coping strategies (e.g., problem solving, social support, escaping the stressful environment) to reduce the negative outcomes of stress. Five studies that were included in this review focused on coaches’ well-being and found that basic psychological needs satisfaction, lack of basic psychological needs thwarting, and self-determined motivation are needed for coaches to be psychologically well.
Conclusion: Future research should address gaps in extant literature by using longitudinal study designs to explore coaches’ appraisals of stressors, coping effectiveness, social support, and well-being among the unique sports coaching population.
Keywords: cognitive-affective, cognitive-motivational-relational, high performance, transactional
Im Leistungssport wird sportliche Leistung unter sogenannten „Druckbedingungen“ verlangt – im Wettkampf „geht es um etwas“, für einen selber oder für andere, oftmals sind Zuschauer anwesend und eine schlechte Leistung, ein Fehler kann nicht so einfach korrigiert werden. Die in diesen Situationen erlebbare Emotion der Angst, genauer Wettkampfangst, steht im Mittelpunkt dieses Kapitels, und es wird der Frage nach dem Zusammenhang dieser Emotion mit der Leistung in sportlichen Aufgaben nachgegangen. Dazu werden zunächst knapp Facetten der Angst unterschieden, die neben einer physiologischen Reaktion (Aktivierung) und der Verhaltenskomponente vor allem das subjektive Erleben umfasst. Die Forschung zum Angst-Leistungs-Zusammenhang bezieht sich überwiegend auf diese subjektive Facette und betrachtet den Zusammenhang aus drei Perspektiven: eine State-Perspektive, in der intra- und interindividuelle Unterschiede im Angsterleben mit Leistung in Verbindung gebracht werden, eine allgemeinpsychologische Perspektive, in der nach allgemeingültigen Mechanismen, vor allem der Aufmerksamkeit, gesucht wird, und eine Trait-Perspektive, in der nach stabilen Ursachen und Moderatoren des Angst-Leistungs-Zusammenhangs gesucht wird. Die vielfältigen Modelle innerhalb der State-Perspektive zeigen keinen einfachen Zusammenhang und deuten zum einen auf eine sinnvolle Trennung von kognitiven und eher emotionalen Facetten hin, zum anderen rücken neuere Modelle neben unterschiedlichen Facetten auch die Frage der Funktionalität für die Leistungserbringung in den Vordergrund. Für die beiden in der allgemeinpsychologischen Perspektive aktuell überwiegend diskutierten Ansätze gibt es jeweils empirische Befunde – „Versagen unter Druck“ als Zeichen von Ablenkung oder als Zeichen von erhöht aufmerksamer Bewegungsausführung – und auch hier zeigt sich, dass unter funktionaler Perspektive eine Integration der Ansätze diskutiert werden sollte. Aus einer Trait-Perspektive wird schließlich deutlich, dass stabile Merkmale von Person und Situation, ggf. in Interaktion, einen Einfluss auf die Entstehung von Angst und auf den Angst-Leistungs-Zusammenhang haben, dass dieser aber gerade in der allgemeinpsychologischen Perspektive oft übersehen wird. Entsprechend wird gefordert, diese Perspektiven in der Zukunft stärker und konsequenter zu integrieren.
The psycho-physiological approach of competitive anxiety may be able to explain the role of competitive anxiety, concerning the fact that people have different reactions in environmental incentives and experiencing competitive anxiety. The aim of this study is to examine differences in intensity of factors of the competitive anxiety state in swimmers and water polo players as well as to make a comparison based on gender-male and female-and age. In this research, 692 male (n=327) and female (n=365) athletes participated, aged 13-19 of which 316 were swimmers and 376 were water polo players. The athletes, after 30–45 minutes of warm up and before each event, filled in the adjusted Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-CSAI. The statistical program SPSS 16 was used for the statistical analysis. Statistically significant differences were found between the two genders in all of the three factors of pre-competitive anxiety. The females had higher levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety and the males had higher levels of self-confidence. Concerning age, a higher level of cognitive anxiety was observed in the group of 13-15 year-olds and a higher level of self-confidence in the age group of 16-19 year-olds, but as far as the type of sport is concerned, water polo players had higher cognitive anxiety against swimmers and no differences were found in somatic anxiety and self-confidence. Future research should consider other factors such as intension, which could contribute to the configuration of pre-competitive anxiety.
Scales of general anxiety (Taylor, Welsh, and Freeman) and of anxiety specific to academic situations (Mandler-Sarason, Achievement Anxiety Test) were administered to college freshmen. Academic achievement included verbal aptitude, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, overall grade-point average, and performance in psychology courses. The 2 tests of specific anxiety were seen to be measuring something different than the more general tests and were differentially related to academic performance. "Facilitating" vs. "debilitating" anxiety was distinguished. Results are related to the general body of knowledge in area. (18 ref.)
Thirteen male gymnasts were given a standard questionnaire and interviewed during the final trials for the U.S. Olympic team. Particular attention was given to psychological factors and cognitive strategies in their training and competition. Using their final competitive grouping as the primary dependent variable, correlations were performed to assess the relationship between these factors and superior athletic performance. Data from this exploratory study suggested that varying patterns of cognition may be strongly correlated with successful and superior gymnastic performance. Specifically, dream frequency, self-verbalizations, and certain forms of mental imagery seemed to differentiate the best gymnasts from those who failed to make the Olympic team. These two groups also appeared to show different anxiety patterns and different methods of coping with competitive stress. The implications of these results for sport psychology are briefly discussed.
The traditional physiologically defined activation or arousal continuum, which ranges from intense emotion and vigorous activity on one extreme to calmness and sleep on the other, is rejected in favor of a psychological model with two activation dimensions and a single continuum of energy expenditure. One activation dimension ranges from subjectively defined feelings of energy and vigor to the opposite feelings of sleepiness and tiredness. Activation states associated with this dimension regularly vary in a circadian rhythm, and this dimension underlies gross physical activity and many aspects of cognition. The second dimension ranges from subjective tension to placidity and quietness, and it probably underlies a variety of emotions (e.g., anxiety) and stress reactions (e.g., effects of loud noise). While the two dimensions are positively correlated at moderate levels of energy expenditure, they are negatively correlated at high levels of expenditure; therefore, tension is lowest when energy-vigor is greatest and vice versa. Vulnerability to tension increases at late night, early morning, and at other times when effort and stress have increased tiredness and reduced vigorousness. Extremely low activation on either dimension de-energizes the whole system. Although only two dimensions are assumed, the possibility of four or more activation dimensions is discussed.
Although it may be oversimplistic to regard the cognitive and behavioral effects of anxiety as simply being due to associated
increases in arousal, this is essentially what many theories of anxiety do. Indeed, some theorists go so far as to equate
anxiety with arousal. This experiment questions the appropriateness of this assumption by showing that increases in arousal
do not necessarily accompany increases in anxiety. First, a 14-item arousal questionnaire was validated using factor analytic
and multivariate analysis of variance techniques. Two factors were identified: cognitive activation and somatic activation.
The validated questionnaire was then administered to eight very experienced rock-climbers in six different environments, together
with a cognitive-somatic anxiety questionnaire. Heartrate and oral temperature were also measured. The six environments were:
morning and evening; during a prolonged “bouldering” session; and immediately prior to leading pitches at two grade, one grade
and zero grades below their leading capacity. The experimental hypothesis that activation would be increasingly impaired in
the latter two conditions while anxiety would continue to increase, was confirmed by a multivariate analysis of variance (p<0.001). The results are interpreted as supporting the sort of two-factor theory of arousal that has been proposed by Gray.
Administered the Alpert-Haber Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT) to 54 students who expressed interest in participating in a test anxiety desensitization workshop. In addition, 182 students from the general college population were tested. Results indicated that both the debilitating and facilitating (AAT) scales were higher for the self-referred volunteer group. These data indicate that these scales are useful in distinguishing self-referred volunteers for behavior modification workshops from a general college population. In addition, the scales of the AAT were correlated with the number of sessions attended by those students who enrolled in the desensitization groups. Results indicated no relationship between attrition and debilitating anxiety. There was a correlation of r = .318 p less than .15 between facilitating anxiety scores and number of sessions attended. It is suggested that facilitating anxiety can function as a measure of S's ego strength in predicting workshop attendance.