Fatores influenciadores da ansiedade competitiva em atletas Brasileiros

Abstract

The study of factors influencing competitive anxiety, according to a multidimensional perspective and supported by valid instruments, is scarce among Brazilian athletes of different sports. The present study aims to: i) investigate the theoretical relationship between the different dimensions of the multidimensional theory of anxiety (i.e., cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence); and ii) investigate the effects of gender, type of sport (individual or collective) and competitive experience levels on cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence. A total of 303 athletes (233 males and 70 females), from different sports, aged between 18 and 40 years (M =24.22, SD = 5.07) completed a shortened version of CSAI-2 (i.e., CSAI-2R), about one hour before the start of competitions. Results revealed significant correlations between cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence dimensions, in accordance with the assumptions of the multidimensional theory. Additionally, comparative analyses indicated that female athletes and athletes from collective sports showed higher levels of cognitive anxiety, while male athletes and athletes with high competitive experience reported higher levels of self-confidence. These results were discussed taking into account the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for planning interventions of sport psychology in Brazil with athletes of different contexts.

Analysis of Progressive Muscle Relaxation on Psychophysiological Variables in Basketball Athletes

“…The athletes in the intervention group (IG) showed higher cognitive anxiety levels than the athletes in the control group (CG). Considering that the IG athletes had more time as federated athletes and participated in more competitions than the CG, these results were contrary to research [ 37 , 38 ] that indicated that athletes with more competitive experience presented lower cognitive and somatic anxiety scores, compared to younger athletes with little competitive experience. On the other hand, other studies [ 34 , 39 ] found no statistically significant differences regarding competitive anxiety between younger, less experienced, athletes in a sport and more experienced athletes.…”

Analysis of pre-competitive anxiety of Brazilian young swimmers

“…The comparison of competitive anxiety of athletes according to sex showed differences for CA and SC, indicating that male athletes are more self-confident profile and felt less worried and showed less negative thoughts in moments before the competition. Our findings corroborate previous studies, such as Fernandes et al (2013) and Souza et al (2012), who pointed out higher CA scores for females. Coutinho, Giovanini, Pavini, Ventura, Elias and Silva (2015) affirm that women's emotional responses are more intense due to the biological and hormonal factors of the different phases of women's lives, such as hormonal regulation and the menstrual cycle, besides various social roles women have in the current society.…”

“…To measure these components, Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump & Smith (1990b) developed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory 2 (CSAI-2). Studies have shown that these dimensions of competitive anxiety tend to be influenced by variables such as gender, modality and level of skill and competitive experience (Woodman & Hardy, 2003;Fernandes, Nunes, Vasconcelos-Raposo & Fernandes, 2013;Teixeira, Nunes & Cruz, 2016).…”

Ansiedade e esporte

“…Corroborando o estudo anterior, Fernandes [16] revela que atletas do sexo feminino apresentaram maiores níveis de ansiedade e menores níveis de autoconfiança, enquanto atletas do sexo masculino apresentaram baixos níveis de ansiedade e níveis elevados de autoconfiança. O autor também relata que atletas de esportes individuais apresentaram menores níveis de ansiedade do que atletas de esportes coletivos, além disso, atletas com alta experiência possuem menores escores de ansiedade em comparação a atletas de baixa experiência, ou seja, quanto maior a experiência competitiva de um atleta, maior a sua autoconfiança.…”

“…No entanto, Sari [11] e De Pero [17] não partilham das mesmas conclusões de Judge et al [3] e Fernandes [16], pois os resultados apresentados pelos autores revelam que não há diferença significativa entre os gêneros. Para Sari [11], as variáveis analisadas foram a orientação da tarefa, orientação do ego, autoeficácia geral e a ansiedade traço entre os participantes (homens e mulheres) e, dentre todas não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os sexos.…”