Competitive Anxiety in Sport

Competitive Anxiety in Sport is a comprehensive review of competitive anxiety research that has used the Sport Competition Anxiety Test, or SCAT (a trait scale), and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). This book describes the theoretical basis and development procedures for each scale, including detailed information on reliability and validity.

Competitive Anxiety in Sport outlines directions for future research using SCAT. In addition, the book features the full original report on the development of the CSAI-2 and instructions for using it.

Competitive Anxiety in Sport concludes with a theory of competitive anxiety based on an interaction between uncertainty about the outcome and the importance assigned to that outcome. The reader is invited to test the theory and challenged to replace it with a better one.

The actual scales for both SCAT and the CSAI-2 are contained in the text, and readers are encouraged to photocopy these scales for research purposes without further written permission. With these ready-to-use tools, sport psychology researchers, teachers, and students have everything they need to test the authors' theory and arrive at their own conclusions about the causes of competitive anxiety and how to address them.

This extension of and replacement for Martens's original competitive anxiety monograph published in 1977 also features the following:
-The test construction procedures with complete results of the reliability and validity of each scale

-Extensive reviews of 88 studies using SCAT and 16 using the CSAI-2

-New, more comprehensive norms for SCAT and the CSAI-2

-A new theory of competitive anxiety that synthesizes the findings and offers direction for future investigation
Competitive Anxiety in Sport is an essential reference for any research sport psychologist who is investigating competitive anxiety. Clinical sport psychologists will also find this book helpful in understanding the causes of competitive anxiety.

Rainer Martens, PhD, is the developer of the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT), the first instrument to assess sport-specific anxiety. A sport psychologist for more than 20 years and a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Illinois, Dr. Martens is widely recognized for his research on competitive anxiety. He lectured on the subject in the Soviet Union as the first American sport psychologist to visit that country. Dr. Martens is the past president of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Emporia State University. He is the author of numerous books on coaching and sport psychology and is president of Human Kinetics Publishers. Away from his professional responsibilities, Dr. Martens enjoys jogging, biking, and handball.

Robin S. Vealey, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Education, Health, and Sport Studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She earned her PhD in sport psychology at the University of Illinois, where she concentrated her research on competitive anxiety and self-confidence under the direction of Dr. Martens. Dr. Vealey serves on the executive board of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology and the editorial boards of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, and the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. She enjoys a variety of sports and fitness activities, including racquetball, basketball, golf, biking, and swimming. As an accomplished athlete, Dr. Vealey admits to firsthand knowledge of competitive anxiety!

Like his coauthor Robin Vealey, Damon Burton, PhD, studied for his PhD under the tutelage of Dr. Martens at the University of Illinois. His research activities focused heavily on the development and validation of the CSAI-2, as well as a goal-setting program designed to reduce anxiety among collegiate swimmers. Dr. Burton is an associate professor of sport psychology at the University of Idaho.