The present study evaluated the factor structure of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2: Martens, Vealey, Burton, Bump, and Smith, 1990) using confirmatory factor analysis. Volunteer participants (N = 1,213) completed the CSAI-2 approximately 1 hour before competition and data were analysed in two samples. The hypothesised model showed poor fit indices in both samples independently and simultaneously, suggesting that the factor structure proposed by Martens et al. is flawed. The present results question the use of the CSAI-2 as a valid measure of competitive state anxiety.

The objective of this study was to assess, using the Group Environment Questionnaire, whether team cohesion in university-level field hockey was a cause for, or an effect of, successful performance. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design with cross-lagged correlational analysis was adopted and measures of cohesion and performance were taken midway and later in the season. The results of the synchronous correlations showed a positive relationship (with good stationarity) between team cohesion and performance outcome. Although non-significant cross-lagged differentials indicated a circular relationship, the magnitudes of both the cross-lagged correlations and the partial correlations, together with multiple-regression analyses, revealed that the stronger flow was from cohesion to performance. The socially oriented aspects of cohesion, in particular, had significant associations with performance. The results imply that cohesion-performance relationships should be examined within a circular model, in which cohesion and performance are interdependent.

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This study investigated the effects of three different types of attention-focusing instructions on the training times of 10 competitive youth swimmers. Mean times indicated that conditions emphasising positive imaging and stroke counting led to faster times than a control condition. Instructions to concentrate on technique did not appear to result in faster times. Subjective assessments of effort indicated the swimmers seemed to feel they had not increased their effort significantly in any condition. These results confirm the potentially positive effects of psychological interventions with swimmers and are discussed in relation to previous work in the field and their implications for coaching.