An Outline of Performance Anxiety in Female Athletes

The beneficial aspects of participating in sports are often noted but there is another side that cannot be ignored. Mental health issues among elite athletes is a topic of increasing interest and public awareness. Sport-related factors such as injury, overtraining and failure in competition are showing to influence the prevalence of mental health issues in elite athletes. Whatever the cause or reason mental health issues and concerns cannot be ignored. High performance athletes need to be provided with mental health support, despite the negative stigma of mental health issues and the concept of mental toughness in athletes. In the past, there has been a “widespread assumption has existed within the sporting world that only emotionally and mentally strong athletes are able to complete at the highest levels. Psychological disorders, such as depression, were thought to infrequently occur among elite athletes” (Hammond et al, 2013, pg.276) There may actually be an increased risk for mental health issues in athletes as they are less likely to; seek treatment, reveal symptoms, are more accustomed to work through pain, fear of showing signs of weakness and may not have developed healthy coping mechanisms to deal with failure. In addition, many athletes have not developed their identity outside of being an athlete and therefore if this role is threatened by injury or illness, they may experience a significant sense of loss. Treating a psychological ailment in athletes should be given as much importance as treating a physical

Fear has been the barrier for goals and dreams leading to great possible success. Especially in athletics, many athletes experience failure and obstacles throughout their athletic career. Therefore, there are very few athletes that do not attempt or avoid the athletic fears. Whereas a student attempts to achieve the top of their academic rank, athletes will strive to be the best in the sport as well. Whether one is an athlete or student, one cannot succeed with just a strong “fixed” mindset of success. They must have more of a “growth” mindset to achieve. One must constantly seek challenge and difficulty in every step of their life. Avoidance is not the way to achieve success; in fact, you cannot achieve anything with avoidance. World-known NBA legend, Michael Jordan shares a very motivational statement through an interview, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve almost

Gymnastics competitions create increased levels of anxiety for athletes. Cottyn, Clercq, Pannier, Crombez, and Lenoir (2006) investigated competitive anxiety during balance beam performance in eight elite female gymnasts. Anxiety was measured by heart rate monitoring and a self-report of nervousness during practice and competition routines. A negative correlation was found between the self-reports of nervousness and overall routine performance. The heart rates were significantly higher during the competition routines in comparison to the practice routines.

I agree every athlete deals with some sort of anxiety. I can understand how anxiety can be over came by being though methods. An athletes mental toughness can be decided how they conquer there state of mind. I mention about how watching game tape before a game help me with anxiety about not preforming at the top level.

All athletes need to be able to regulate arousal to stay in control and focused so they can achieve and compete. Athlete who can’t successfully manage his/her stress may experience decreases in performance, as well as mental and physical distress that will lead him/her to lose competition. Only good athletes who can increase their awareness of their psychological conditions before they can control their thoughts and spirits.

From the 1990s, there have already been studies that address questions involving the relationship of perfectionism and sports. Frost and Henderson (1991) conducted a study among women in varsity teams that assessed self-confidence, reactions, and competition anxiety of the participants. This study led to the conclusion that perfectionism causes athletes to be overly concerned about their mistakes, which in turn cause negative and adverse outcomes on sports performance and attitudes. These include “anxiety, low confidence, a failure orientation, and negative reactions to mistakes during competition” (Flett &

The third instrument measuring anxiety is the Catastrophe model. The purpose of this model is to find the correlation between physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety and the relationship it has with performance (Fazey & Hardy, 1988; Hardy 1990). The earliest model dates back to the early 1900s when researchers Yerkes & Dodson (1908) conducted a study on mice testing punishment stimulus frequency. Results from the study predicted that very little to no arousal prompts poor performance, moderate arousal prompts average or decent performance and after that performance declines after reaching the optimal level (Hardy and Parfitt 1991). As they compared cognitive, a mental component when athletes become anxious they begin to think negatively

The likelihood of experiencing the fear of failure can significantly increase after a long period of success within a career. This relates to performance-avoidance within the 2X2 model (Moller & Elliot, 2006) whereby an athlete strives to avoid negative evaluations of their sporting abilities, especially in comparison to previous achievements. Armstrong’s coach (Carmichael) also placed a strong emphasis on the importance of extrinsic rewards through his coaching style and encouragements such as: “you’re gonna win the Tour de France one day” (Armstrong & Jenkins, 2000), which also reinforces the avoidance mind-sets in the 2X2 model.

When I look back on my sport participation I remember using strategies similar to those used by sport psychologists to calm myself before big performances. For example, at a national competition for BMX racing the wait between each race could easily be over an hour, this long wait caused anxiety and tension to build within, and the longer I waited the more tension I would feel as the race grew nearer. Overtime I learned to deal with these feelings of unease through relaxation training and mental imaging. When my race grew close I would begin to try and calm myself by using deep breathing techniques to lower stress and tension while also at the same time imagining myself winning the race. At the time I had no idea I was using tools similar

When an athlete is appraising a stressor, there may be inequalities between perceived stress and the personal resources available to manage the situation. The athlete may also feel that the effort needed to alleviate athletic adversity

The following articles will examine the relationship, if any of anxiety on athletic performance. The first study published by (Robazza, Pellizzari, Bertollo, and Hanin, (2008) discusses the impact of emotions on athletic performance utilizing the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model. Since this area of study is generally focused around this model, a majority of this paper will be based off of this article. The following articles are similar, but incorporate biofeedback, neurofeedback, and heart rate variability into their research. The major research question that will be addressed is the relationship between anxiety and athletic performance. The purpose of this literary review was to analyze the mentally demanding aspect of athletic performance to assist in helping them achieve their optimal performance. The following articles will assess this relationship in both a cognitive-behavioral perspective as well as a psychoanalytic perspective.

The pressure to succeed in a sport can cause a tremendous amount of anxiety and nervousness in an athlete. Performing in front of classmates, parents, coaches and other visitors is often the most difficult part of being an athlete. The New York Times Upfront notes “74 percent of the kids surveyed said they had witnessed out-of-control adults at their games.” and “15 percent [of the kids] said their parents get angry when they play poorly”. The fear and “what if” of letting down the team down, falling in front of

Sport performance anxiety is the name given to athletes on how they react to specific situations in their performance. These reactions include arousal, worry, and self-oriented thoughts that can disrupt attentional processes. Performance anxiety can

Mood and anxiety disorders are the leading cause of disability, in 2012 alone one in five Australians ages 16 – 85 years of age experience a mental illness in any year (Black Dog Institute, 2016). Anxiety and depression have been seen to be the most common mental illnesses, which consequently often occur in combination to one another (Black Dog Institute, 2016). With evidence mounting on the benefits of exercise in respects to mental health disorders, there is little information on the prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in athletes when they are in stressful situations, in particular during and post injury. Whereby, an athlete is defined as a person who is proficient in a particular sport and has reached a sub-elite or elite level (Merriam-Webster,

This also links to the next theory which is anxiety. Anxiety disorder is the excessive or aroused state characterised by such feelings of apprehension, uncertainty or fear. There are two types of anxiety that are linked to sports performance. These are state and trait anxiety, a man called Spielberger came up with these different theories. State anxiety is where a unpleasant emotional arousal in the face of where something is threatening demands or danger. Where as trait anxiety is a individuals disposition to experience anxiety, even though some individuals are more anxious than others. Pat has a bit of both trait anxieties stated here as the threatening situation that he is facing is the coaches and the fact of not winning or letting the