The relationship between multidimensional competitive anxiety, cognitive threat appraisal, and coping strategies : a multi-sport study

Prova tipográfica
The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between, multidimensional
competitive trait anxiety (cognitive and somatic anxiety), trait cognitive threat appraisal, and
coping styles. Five-hundred and fifty male and female athletes of several individual and
team sports, between the ages of 15 and 35 (M ¼ 19.8 + 4.5), completed the translated and
adapted versions of the Sport Anxiety Scale and of the Brief COPE, as well as the
Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition – Threat Perception. Pearson and Q2
Canonical correlations showed that higher levels of trait cognitive anxiety and threat
appraisal were positively related to emotion-focused and avoidance coping and inversely
related to problem-focused coping. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of
individual differences in trait anxiety and threat appraisals, regarding athletes’ coping styles.
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia