Association Between Competitive Trait Anxiety and Coping Skills Adjusted by Gender and Sport Type: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study With Young Athletes During a National Competition

The objective of the present study was to examine the association between competitive trait anxiety and coping skills, adjusting for gender and type of sport. The observational cross-sectional design encompassed 445 male and female athletes aged 12-17 years from both individual and team sports. The assessment of competitive trait anxiety was conducted utilizing the Sport Anxiety Scale-2, while the evaluation of coping skills was verified by the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory. Linear regressions were employed to assess the associations between anxiety (dependent variable) and coping skills (independent variable), with gender and sport type designated as adjustment variables. The results indicated that somatic anxiety exhibited an inverse relationship with concentration and freedom from worry and was higher in females and team-sport athletes; Worry was negatively associated with coping with adversity, confidence and achievement motivation, and freedom from worry and was higher in team-sport athletes; concentration disruption was inversely related to confidence and achievement motivation, concentration, freedom from worry, and coachability; finally, total competitive anxiety was negatively associated with confidence and achievement motivation, concentration, and freedom from worry, and was higher in females. In conclusion, the findings indicated an inverse relationship between various coping skills and dimensions of competitive trait anxiety, suggesting that athletes who demonstrated stronger coping abilities tended to report lower levels of anxiety. These findings suggest the significance of psychological skills training in enhancing coping resources and reducing competitive trait anxiety.