Relationship between coaches' behaviors and varsity athletes' sport performance anxiety

• Main Author: Kua, Jodi Wan Qi
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Science::General
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153069
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Athletes’ anxiety level is crucial as it affects their performance and satisfaction level. With coaches being the most prominent figure among athletes, examining coaches’ impact on athletes is pertinent. As such, this study aims to investigate the relationship between coaches’ leadership styles and sports anxiety among Singapore university athletes, and the difference in athlete’s anxiety levels between individual and team sports. 102 Singapore university athletes (51 females, 51 males), ages 21 to 28 years from team (N = 51) and individual sports (N = 51) were recruited to complete an online survey consisting of 3 sections (Participant information, Leadership Scale for Sports Questionnaire, and the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 Questionnaire). Inclusion criteria include age 21 to 30 years old, currently playing in either a team or individual sport for a university team in Singapore with a coach for at least 2 years and have represented the school in major competitions at least twice. 8 participants (top 2 and bottom 2 anxiety scores) from each sport type were selected for a follow-up interview. Findings showed that only autocratic behavior has a significant positive correlation with athlete's sport performance anxiety. Qualitative interviews revealed that factors affecting athletes high or low anxiety are athlete’s personality resulting in certain expectations, perception of own ability developed from past experience, coach’s attitude and coach’s presence. This study can encourage coaches to evaluate their coaching behaviors and determine if modifications are necessary, and also the importance of identifying other sources of anxiety that an athlete may possess. Keywords: Anxiety, Athletes, Coaching Behavior, Type of sport, University Students