Abstract

Competition related anxiety is a major psychological issue among athletes and this study estimates the prevalence of competition related anxiety, its associated factors and coping strategies used, among school athletes in Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 330 athletes. Two-stage simple random sampling was used. Competition related anxiety level was determined by Sport Competition Anxiety Test for adults (SCAT-A). Prevalence of ‘high’ level of sport competition related anxiety was 19.4% and it was significantly associated with individual sports, fear of failure, experience of past defeat, and poor support received from parents/friends. Listening to music, goal setting, positive self-talk and meditation were positive coping strategies used by athletes. The main negative coping strategy was being angry. High competition related anxiety prevalent in about 1/5th of school athletes was influenced by several factors related to the sport event. Psychological support incorporated into routine physical training sessions is recommended.

Keywords

Urban school athletes, Competition related anxiety, Coping strategies,

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References

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