PRE-COMPETITIVE ANXIETY AND SPORTS COPING STRATEGIES, IN INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE WATER SPORTS IN HIGH LEVEL YOUTH ATHLETES

Abstract

There is extensive evidence of the effects of precompetitive anxiety (e.g. Bueno, Capdevila & Fernández-Castro, 2002; Caracuel & Jaenes, 2015) in sports practices and events, as well as the protective role of coping strategies employed by athletes (e.g., Soto, 2003). However, because competitive sports practices differ, among other things, in their collective or individual character, both competitive anxiety and the coping strategies involved could be differentiated according to that condition (e.g., Simon and Martens, 1979). This study corresponds to an exploration of possible differential effects of the type of practice on precompetitive anxiety, coping strategies and the relationship between both. The design was transversal and correlational kind, in which the Inventory of Competitive Anxiety in Sport (CSAI-2) and the Questionnaire of Approach to Facing in Sport (ACSQ-1) were applied to 22 individual swimmers and 28 water polo players, minutes before an official competition. Results indicate that there are differences only in levels of self-confidence, but that the relationship between coping strategies and precompetitive anxiety is different between groups. Finally, differentiated models of intervention, the scope of the results, the limitations of the study, and new research are suggested.