Differences in Anxiety Presentation Amongst Collegiate Athletes

Anxiety affects millions of individuals, spanning from mild symptoms to life-halting disorders. The symptoms and experiences individuals face in terms of anxiety vary depending on their demographics, as well as living conditions. Athletes are affected by anxiety in different ways than typical non-athlete individuals. Athletes have an entirely different realm of life to consider when thinking about anxiety, and that is, their sporting, competitive life. This study analyzes the symptoms and characteristics of anxiety in college athletes differing by gender and sport type. The data collected through a survey of collegiate athletes at Bryant University will be used to determine the leading factors and symptoms of anxiety that athletes experience daily. The data collected will be categorized by gender, individual and team sports, as well as sport type. The analysis has shown a trend between female athletes and a high presence of anxiety, as well as a larger realm of symptoms and factors that females experience in comparison to males. Independent of any categorization other than gender, female athletes experience higher levels of anxiety in comparison to men. There are also trends that individual sport athletes experience different anxiety triggers in comparison to team sport athletes. This causes a difference in anxiety symptoms and factors each individual experiences depending on their gender, sport type, and individual characteristics. The study has shown that different sports experience different clusters of symptoms and factors. Conclusions can be drawn that female individuals on team collegiate sports experience higher frequencies of anxiety, and similar symptoms and factors in comparison to others.