Effects of experience on the dimensions of intensity, direction and frequency of the competitive anxiety and self-confidence: A study in athletes of individual and team sports

Abstract

The present study had the following objectives: i) to examine the inter-scale correlations between the three dimensions of responses (intensity, direction and frequency) of the CSAI-2R and its relationship with competitive experience, and ii) evaluate the effect of competitive experience anxiety (cognitive and somatic) and self-confidence in the total sample and for different types of modalities (individual vs. team). The sample consisted of 267 athletes (196 male and 71 female), of different sports, aged between 18 and 40 years (M = 24.30, SD = 5.62). Athletes completed the Brazilian version of the CSAI-2, which included the addition of the dimensions of direction and frequency response. Spearman test and Manova were used for the data analysis. Overall, it was found that the competitive experience has a high multivariate and significant effect on the dimensions of competitive anxiety. Both individual and team athletes with low competitive experience showed a trend to report lower levels of self-confidence intensity, compared to counterparts with high competitive experience. These results were discussed in view of the theoretic framework and practical implications planning Sport Psychology intervention programs in local athletes with different backgrounds.