• English
    • Welsh
  • English 
    • English
    • Welsh
  • Login
Search DSpace:
  • Home
  • Research at Cardiff Met
  • Library Services
  • Contact Us
View item 
  • DSpace home
  • Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
  • Taught Degrees (Sport and Health Sciences)
  • Undergraduate Degrees (Sport)
  • View item
  • DSpace home
  • Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences
  • Taught Degrees (Sport and Health Sciences)
  • Undergraduate Degrees (Sport)
  • View item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

The perceived impact of competitive state anxiety over performance; a study determining the differences between individual and team sports athletes.

Thumbnail
View/open
Connor Outram.pdf (1006.Kb)
Author
Outram, Connor
Date
2015
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between interpretations of competitive state anxiety within sub-elite, individual and team sport athletes, and how these potentially affected performance. Qualitative methods were adopted incorporating a series of semi-structured interviews (n=10), conducted with male, individual (n=5) and team (n=5) sport athletes. The athletes’ responses were recorded, with transcriptions inductively and deductively analysed. Eight causal networks were developed to display the results. The main findings revealed no major distinguishable differences between individual and team athletes, in terms of overall control, intensity and somatic anxiety. One finding, however, suggested that being a team athlete resulted in more cognitive anxiety. Lowered self-confidence was associated with debilitative interpretations of anxiety symptoms by both sets of athletes; interestingly, only the individual sport athletes associated increased selfconfidence with facilitative perceptions. The utilisation of a coping strategy was seen to lead performers to a facilitative interpretation, with further findings providing evidence to support the Processing Efficiency Theory (Eysenck and Calvo, 1992). The implications of this study suggest a reduction approach to cognitive anxiety symptoms should be adopted when working with team sport athletes; however, individual athletes would benefit from a cognitive restructuring approach to symptoms. Further, it can be suggested that all sub-elite athletes would benefit from the acquisition of psychological strategies to promote facilitative interpretations, and an increase of self-confidence and self-efficacy to act as a buffer against debilitating perceptions of anxiety. The results suggest that investigating team versus individual sport athletes, holds promise for a further research avenue in examining the relationship of competitive state anxiety and performance.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10369/6903
Collections
  • Undergraduate Degrees (Sport) [1420]

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, subject and abstract.

  • Thumbnail

    Antecedents of Competitive Anxiety in Female University Hockey Players: An Investigation into the Reasons Why Antecedents Cause Anxiety 

    Evans, Kirsty (University of Wales, 2011-10-24)
    This study examined the specific antecedents of competitive anxiety, the reasons why these antecedents cause individuals to become anxious and why the experience of anxiety have positive and negative affects toward performance ...
  • Thumbnail

    The relationship between sources of confidence and re-injury anxiety among injured athletes. 

    Newman, Luke (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2014)
    The focus on the present study was to investigate the relationship between sources of confidence and re-injury anxiety among injured athletes. Injured athletes (N=45) completed the Modified Sources of Sport-Confidence ...
  • Thumbnail

    The relationship between sources of confidence and re-injury anxiety in athletes returning to sport from injury. 

    Beal, James (Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015)
    Previous research has focussed mainly on the psychological responses of injury onset and rehabilitation opposed to what sources of confidence are more salient for an athlete when returning to sport and how this influences ...

Browse

DSpace at Cardiff MetCommunities & CollectionsBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis collectionBy issue dateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

DSpace software copyright © 2002-2015  DuraSpace
Contact us | Send feedback | Administrator