Precompetitive anxiety in young swimmers: analysis of perceived competition difficulty

Barbosa-Granados S.; Arenas-Granada J.; Urrea H.; García-Mas A.; Reyes-Bossio M.; Herrera-Velásquez D.; Nanez J.; Aguirre-Loaiza H. · Retos (2022) · DOI: 10.47197/retos.v45i0.90934

Resumen

Anxietyinsportshasbeenwidelystudiedbyprofessionalsinsportssciences.However,theeffectofperceiveddifficultyandTraitanxietyonprecompetitiveState-anxietyisunknown.Throughanon-experimentalandlongitudinaldesign,thisarticlestudied:(i)theeffectof perceivedcompetitiondifficulty(easy,moderate,andhard)onState-anxietyand,(ii)theeffectofTrait-anxiety,sex,andageonthebehaviorof State-anxiety. Seventy-nineyoungswimmers(Mage=13.3, SD=1.9)male(n=58,73.4%)andfemale(n=21,26.6%)wereassessedviathe State-TraitAnxietyInventory(STAI). TheAnovaandManovaindicatedthattheperceiveddifficultyofthecompetitionaffectsState-anxiety. Therefore,a higher perception of task difficulty is associated with higher State-anxiety.Additionally,the interaction of sex,age andTraitanxietydidnotshowaneffectonState-anxiety(p>.05).TheinteractionofageandTrait-anxietyshowedaneffect(p>.05).Amaineffectof Trait-Anxiety on State-anxiety was observed in the perception of easy and hard difficulty. In conclusion, the perceived difficulty of the competitionaffectstheathlete’sState-anxiety. © Copyright: Federación Española de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educación Física (FEADEF) ISSN: Edición impresa: 1579-1726. Edición Web: 1988-2041 (https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/retos/index)