- Spielberger's (1972) Trait-State-Anxiety theory distinguishes between anxiety as a trait (A-trait) - involving a stable characteristic of a person to react with anxiety in response to varying situations and anxiety as a state (A-state), a situation-dependent reaction to a stimulus perceived as threatening. Using a general instead of a sport-specific measure, a previous study provided only mixed support for core predictions of the theory as related to sports (Schwenkmezger, 1985). With the aid of enhanced instruments and statistical methods, we tested these predictions again. The multidimensional and competition-specific assessment of anxiety results in support for the assumption of a stable A-trait and a fluctuating A-state, whereby the A-trait not only predicts the intensity of A-states but also the A-state variability. The repeated assessment of A-states prior to two competitions reveals a rather low relative consistency (i.e., interindividual differences across measurements were only moderately stable). Especially this latterSpielberger's (1972) Trait-State-Anxiety theory distinguishes between anxiety as a trait (A-trait) - involving a stable characteristic of a person to react with anxiety in response to varying situations and anxiety as a state (A-state), a situation-dependent reaction to a stimulus perceived as threatening. Using a general instead of a sport-specific measure, a previous study provided only mixed support for core predictions of the theory as related to sports (Schwenkmezger, 1985). With the aid of enhanced instruments and statistical methods, we tested these predictions again. The multidimensional and competition-specific assessment of anxiety results in support for the assumption of a stable A-trait and a fluctuating A-state, whereby the A-trait not only predicts the intensity of A-states but also the A-state variability. The repeated assessment of A-states prior to two competitions reveals a rather low relative consistency (i.e., interindividual differences across measurements were only moderately stable). Especially this latter finding suggests that, in order to gain a full understanding of the experience of competitive anxiety in athletes, sport psychologists should not only assess competitive A-traits, but also repeatedly measure competitive A-states.…
