| Description |
Sport specialization is becoming more frequent in high school athletes. This focus on one sport has been shown to increase the risk of overuse injuries, constrict the athlete's self-identity and social group, and lead to more burnout. This study examined sport performance anxiety in relation to sport specialization. The Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) and anxiety directional scale were used to assess cognitive and somatic anxiety in high school athletes (n=113). A 2X2 (specialized/multisport X male/female) MANOVA was conducted on the three subscales of the SAS-2 (worry, concentration disruption, and somatic anxiety) and the three anxiety directional scales (DVs). Individual ANOVAs were also computed for each of the DVs. A multivariate main effect was found for gender (Wilks' l = .87, F6,104 = 2.52, p = .03) with univariate main effects for worry (F = 8.30, p = .01) and worry direction (F = 10.11, p = .00). A multivariate main effect was also found for specialization (Wilks' l = .89, F6,104 = 2.15, p = .05) with a univariate main effect for worry (F = 7.51, p = .01). Findings suggest that females tend to perceive higher levels of worry than males and identify worry as being more debilitative to their performance. In relation to specialization, multisport athletes experienced higher levels of worry than specialized athletes. |
