Antecedents of Multidimensional Competitive State Anxiety and Self-Confidence in Elite Intercollegiate Middle-Distance Runners

Abstract

This study examined situational antecedents of multidimensional competitive state anxiety and self-confidence in a sample of 125 elite intercollegiate middle-distance runners. Cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence were measured 1 hour prior to performance via the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2. Subjects also completed the 19-item Pre-Race Questionnaire (PRQ) which was designed to examine situational antecedents of the competitive state anxiety components. Factor analysis of the PRQ revealed five factors: perceived readiness, attitude toward previous performance, position goal, coach influence, and external environment. Stepwise multiple regression analyses demonstrated that cognitive anxiety was predicted by the first three of these factors. However, none of the factors were found to significantly predict somatic anxiety. Self-confidence was also predicted by two factors, perceived readiness and external environment. These findings suggest that cognitive anxiety and self-confidence share some common antecedents but that there are also factors unique to each.