The level of anxiety as a facilitating or inhibiting factor in sports performance

Abstract

The research part of the paper is based on four hypotheses that aim to verify the following correlations: correlations between sports anxiety and anxiety as a feature, then between cognitive anxiety and self-esteem, correlations between anxiety in team sports and individual sports. Sport anxiety and sport performance were also investigated, as well as exploring sport anxiety to reduce it and increase athletes' sport performance. Regarding this, three online questionnaires were administered to a group of 90 athletes (48 from individual sports and 42 from team sports) of both female and male gender, for a period of 6 months. The team sports were basketball and football and the individual sports were gymnastics, martial arts and wrestling. The respective questionnaires represented the research instruments and were as follows: ASQ, Rosemberg and CSAI 2. The research aimed to find out through the results obtained whether anxiety in its forms, as a characteristic, or cognitive influences positively or negatively the performance outcomes of athletes. At the same time, it was found that self-esteem represents an important factor in helping to reduce cognitive anxiety, and even more importantly, it helps athletes to use anxiety effectively. It has been found that sports performance is affected by anxiety, especially in elite athletes, who feel a major pressure on their way to competitive success. Correlations between the ASQ and subscales of the CSAI-2 test found that anxious individuals already have a background for developing greater sport anxiety, interpreting certain situations negatively, compared to individuals who are more positive.