Pre-competitive feeling states and directional anxiety interpretations

Area of Science:

• Sport Psychology
• Psychological Well-being in Athletes

Background:

• Competitive anxiety is a common experience for athletes, influencing performance.
• Understanding the subjective feeling states associated with competitive anxiety is crucial for athlete support.
• Previous research has explored the dual nature of anxiety, suggesting both facilitative and debilitative effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differences in feeling states between athletes who perceive competitive anxiety as facilitative versus debilitative.
• To identify specific positive and negative feeling states associated with these two groups of athletes.
• To extend the understanding of individual differences in emotional responses to pre-competition anxiety.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 190 high-standard swimmers participated in the study.
• Participants completed a modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) measuring intensity and direction.
• An exploratory checklist of positive and negative feeling state labels was also administered.

Main Results:

• Athletes perceiving anxiety as facilitative reported significantly more positive feelings than those perceiving it as debilitative.
• Athletes perceiving anxiety as debilitative reported significantly more negative feelings.
• The most frequently reported positive feeling by facilitators was 'confident', while 'anxious' was the most frequently reported negative feeling by both groups.

Conclusions:

• The study confirms that competitive anxiety can be experienced differently, with distinct feeling states for facilitators and debilitators.
• Confidence emerged as a key positive feeling state for athletes who benefit from anxiety.
• Individual differences in feeling states highlight the complexity of anxiety's impact on athletic performance.