واکنش اضطراب رقابتی در هفته منتهی به رقابت: نقش ابعاد شدت، جهت و فرکانس

Objectives: To investigate the symptom responses associated with competitive anxiety through a fine-grained measurement approach. Incorporating dimensions of intensity, perceptions of direction, and frequency of intrusions, possible time-to-event changes were assessed with respect to the between-subjects variable of skill level. Method: Male athletes (N=82), separated into two skill classifications (club N=45 vs. national N=37), completed the competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (CSAI-2) modified to account for the dimensions of intensity, direction and frequency at five precompetition times (1 week, two days, one day, 2 h, 30 min). Results: Multivariate analysis of variance (skill level×time-to-competition) with follow-up analyses indicated main effects for skill level and time-to-competition with no interactions. For skill level differences, national athletes were more facilitative in their interpretation of the symptoms associated with cognitive and somatic anxiety. For change-over-time effects, intensities of cognitive and somatic anxiety increased and self-confidence decreased between 2 h and 30 min precompetition. Frequencies of cognitive anxiety increased from seven to two days, one day to 2 h and 2 h to 30 min precompetition; frequencies of somatic anxiety increased from seven days to two days and 2 h to 30 min pre-event; frequencies of self-confidence increased from seven to two days. Conclusions: Findings support the notion of measuring the separate dimensions of symptoms associated with competitive anxiety and emphasise the importance of assessing these constructs as processes that unfold over-time.

The stressful nature of elite sport, and the competitive environment surrounding it, places many demands on participating athletes (Jones, 1995). The examination of athlete’s behavioural, and emotional responses to such stressors has developed into a focal area of sport psychology with many researchers interested in assessing anxiety responses of athletes to competitive events (Woodman & Hardy, 2001). Accordingly, the multidimensional conceptualisation of competitive anxiety and the development of the competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (CSAI-2; Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) have been identified as major developments within the field. These developments have led to a plethora of research assessing athletes levels (i.e. intensity) of competitive anxiety in relation to factors such as situational antecedents, the temporal patterning of the subcomponents and the anxiety performance relationship (see Woodman & Hardy, 2001 for a review).