The purpose of this investigation was to utilize a multidimensional measure of anxiety and a more sensitive intraindividual performance measure to evaluate the relationship between anxiety and performance. Three hypotheses were tested. First, cognitive anxiety is more consistently and strongly related to performance than is somatic anxiety. Second, somatic anxiety demonstrates an inverted-U relationship with performance, whereas self-confidence and performance exhibit a positive linear relationship and cognitive anxiety and performance exhibit a negative one. Finally, short duration and high and low complexity events demonstrate stronger relationships between somatic anxiety and performance than do long duration or moderate complexity events. Two samples of swimmers completed the CSAI-2 prior to competition, and performance data were obtained from meet results. Correlational and multiple regression analyses generally supported Hypotheses 1 and 3, while polynomial trend analyses on standardized CSAI-2 scores confirmed trends predicted in Hypothesis 2. Overall, these results not only revealed that improved instrumentation allows demonstration of consistent anxiety-performance relationships, but they also provided additional construct validity for the CSAI-2.

Sport psychologists believe that contemporary sport’s pervasive preoccupation with winning may actually be responsible for athletes’ anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence problems. Winning is a goal that lacks the flexibility and control necessary for athletes to (a) achieve consistent success and (b) take credit for success. Martens and Burton (1982) concluded that performance goals (PGs) based on attaining personal performance standards offer the flexibility and control needed to develop high perceived ability and performance. Thus the purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to evaluate whether a goal setting training (GST) program could teach athletes to set appropriate PGs, and (b) to assess the impact of the GST program on the perceived ability, competitive cognitions, and performance of collegiate swimmers. A collegiate swim team (N=30) participated in a season-long GST program, and program effects were systematically evaluated with a multimethod approach using interteam, intrateam, and case study data. Interteam and case study data generally supported both predictions. Intrateam analyses revealed that high-accuracy GST swimmers demonstrated more optimal cognitions and performance than low-accuracy teammates, suggesting that goal setting skill mediated GST effectiveness.

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Context: The Disablement in the Physically Active (DPA) scale is a patient-reported outcome instrument recommended for use in clinical practice and research. Analysis of the scale has indicated a need for further psychometric testing.Objective: To assess the model fit of the original DPA scale using a larger and more diverse sample and explore the potential for a short-form (SF) version.Design: Observational study.Setting: Twenty-four clinical settings. Patients or Other Participants: Responses were randomly split into 2 samples: sample 1 (n ¼ 690: 353 males, 330 females, and 7 not reported; mean age ¼ 23.1 6 9.3 years, age range ¼ 11-75 years) and sample 2 (n ¼ 690: 351 males, 337 females, and 2 not reported; mean age ¼ 22.9 6 9.3 years, age range ¼ 8-74 years). Participants were physically active individuals who were healthy or experiencing acute, subacute, or persistent musculoskeletal injury.Main Outcome Measure(s): Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the factor structure of the original DPA scale. Exploratory factor, internal consistency, covariance modeling, correlational, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess potential DPA scale SFs.Results: The subdimensions of the disablement construct were highly correlated (!0.89). The fit indices for the DPA scale approached recommended levels, but the first-order correlational values and second-order path coefficients provided evidence for multicollinearity, suggesting that clear distinctions between the disablement subdimensions cannot be made. An 8-item, 2dimensional solution and a 10-item, 3-dimensional solution were extracted to produce SF versions. The DPA SF-8 was highly correlated (r ¼ 0.94, P .001, R 2 ¼ 0.88) with the DPA scale, and the fit indices exceeded all of the strictest recommendations. The DPA SF-10 was highly correlated (r ¼ 0.97, P .001, R 2 ¼ 0.94) with the DPA scale, and its fit indices values also exceeded the strictest recommendations.Conclusions: The DPA SF-8 and SF-10 are psychometrically sound alternatives to the DPA scale.

Previous research concludes that athletes drop out of sport because of conflicts of interest, but these findings cannot clarify whether dropouts find other activities more appealing or turn to new activities because sport fails to meet their achievement needs. This investigation assessed dropout motives by testing explanations derived from Nicholls' (1984) motivational model and comparing them with traditional dropout questionnaire responses. Wrestling coaches, participants, participants' parents, dropouts, and dropouts' parents completed a 23-item dropout inventory; and participants and dropouts responded to questionnaire items testing Nicholls' task choice predictions. Dropout inventory responses confirmed previous conflict-of-interest findings. In data testing Nicholls' model, participants demonstrated significantly higher perceived ability, better won-loss records, more functional attributions, and more positive expectancies, and valued wrestling success more than dropouts did. These findings supported predictions that wrestlers change activities when continued participation threatens their perceived ability. Disagreement between the conclusions concerning why young athletes drop out of wrestling drawn from the conflict-of-interest explanation and from Nicholls' perceived ability model are discussed, and suggestions for reducing dropout rates are offered.