A Comparative Study of State Anxiety in Athletes of District Rohtak

 

Sukhbir Singh

 

Assistant Professor, A.I.J.H.M. College, Rohtak

 

ABSTRACT:

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Anxiety is a prolonged state of fear. It is an emotion that is difficult to define and even more difficult to reliably detect in performance. “Nervousness” is often used to synonymously with anxiety. Anxiety plays an important role in the acquiring of motor skill as well as in athletic performance. Anxiety can either enhance or inhibit performance. Whether its effect is positive or negative depends on how an individual athlete perceives the situation. People with low and high levels of anxiety have been known to perform poor and there is also a positive relationship between high and low level of anxiety. But moderate level of anxiety seems best for the acquisition and performance of motor skills.

 

Anxiety is defined by as the uncertainty in how to cope with stress. That is, when one feels that she or he does not have the capacity to deal with stress or that the stress is overwhelming. Components of anxiety include fear, anger, increased heart and perspiration rate, trembling, and being mentally off­ balance, each of which is directly involved with the autonomic nervous system creating arousal  (Worchel and Goethals, 1989). Therefore, anxiety is experienced when approaching or perceiving stress which is rooted in an increased state of arousal. This anxiety (arousal) may produce a positive or a negative effect, including drive, fear, motivation, pressure, excitement, exhilaration, etc.

 

Anxiety was defined by Weinberg and Gould (1996) as a negative emotional state that is characterised by nervousness, worry, and apprehension and is associated with activation or arousal of the body.  Martens et al. (1995) warned that by using self­report, the subject may answer according to what is socially desirable. That is for example, a football defensive lineman may not want tell a female experimenter that he is extremely nervous or that he is extremely excited.  Rather, he is more likely to say that he is “average” feeling on every question.

 

 

The link between anxiety and performance in sport has been known for a long  time. Stories abound of athletes or teams that performed poorly because they  underestimated their opponent (below optimum anxiety levels) or worried themselves out  of the game (above optimum anxiety levels). Dealing with anxiety successfully is an  important characteristic of the elite athlete.

 

Review of literature:

Research has shown that the ability to cope with pressure and anxiety is an integral part of sports, particularly among elite athletes (Hardy et al. 1996). This is also evidenced by the report that more than 50% of consultations among athletes at an Olympic festival were related to stress or anxiety related problems. As a result of this high link between performance and anxiety, anxiety in athletes has become one of the most common topics of sports psychology research.

 

Cloninger et al. (1993) proposed that each temperament dimension is controlled by neurotransmitter in a complex network of brain connections: Novelty Seeking is regulated by dopaminergic activity and Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence are controlled by serotonergic and noradrenergic activity.

 

Mohsenpour (2003) studied state anxiety among men athletes of individual and team sports in championship contests of institutions in Khuseztan province and concluded that there was no significant difference between somatic factor of group and individual examinable items but athletes of group majors obtained lower cognitive grades than individual athletes.

 

Mamassis (2004) also identifies competitive anxiety as a factor in decreasing self-confidence and concentration in tennis players. Regarding two factors of suitable reaction and speed in tennis, competitive anxiety with negative effect on concentration could decrease precision and eventually lead to performance downfall in athletes.

 

Martens (2008) stated that  athletes that are active at high levels have an insignificant difference in terms of proficiency and probably the most important factor in specifying the winner from the  looser is the ability to encounter with psychic pressure Anxiety and  self-confidence are important factors that create psychic energy and psychic pressure. Anxiety is the negative excited state accompanied by feelings of nervousness, discomfort and uneasiness that are along with somatic activity or motivation as well.

The present study is a deliberate attempt to study state anxiety, level in athletes  of M.D. University, Rohtak.

 

statement of the problem:

A Comparative Study of State Anxiety in Athletes of District Rohtak

 

Objectives of the study:

1.     To compare the state level anxiety of male and female athletes.

2.     To compare the state level anxiety of rural and urban athletes

 

Hypothesis

1.     There is no significant difference in the state level anxiety of male and female athletes.

2.     There is no significant difference in the state level anxiety of rural and urban athletes

 

Sample

A sample of 100 athletes  [50  male and 50 female) belong to rural and urban area were randomly selected from district Rohtak. The subjects’ ages ranged from 18 to 25 years. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants.

 

Tools Used

In the present investigation Test Anxiety questionnaire was used as tools for gathering data. Test Anxiety Inventory developed by Sud and Sud (1997) for collection of data regarding test anxiety.

 

Statistical Techniques

Mean, Standard deviation and ‘t’ Test were used to analyse the data,

 

Results 

The hypothesis framed to achieve the objective stated above is that there is no significant difference in the mean score of test anxiety between male and female and rural and urban athletes of district  Rohtak  in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.

 

Table.1: Mean, Standard Deviation and ‘t’ score between  male and female athletes of district Rohtak 

Group	Number	Mean Score	S.D.	‘t’ Value	Level of Significance
Male Athletes	50	31.33	2.30	1.327	Not significant
Female Athletes	50	30.45	2.27

 

The mean values of test anxiety of male and female athletes of  district Rohtak  are 31.33  and 30.45 respectively. The computed ‘t’ value is (1.327) m which is less than 1.97 (0.05) and 2.58 (0.01) the tabulated values required to reach 5% and 1% levels of significance. Thus it can be concluded that there is no significant difference at any level of significance. Hence, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in test anxiety of  male and female athletes of district  Rohtak  is retained.  It shows that male and female athletes do not differ significantly on self-confidence.

 

 

Table.2: Mean, Standard Deviation and ‘t’ score between  rural and Urban athletes of District Rohtak

Group	Number	Mean Score	S.D.	‘t’ Value	Level of Significance
Rural Athletes	50	31.83	2.39	1.563	Not significant
Urban Athletes	50	30.95	2.18

 

 

 

The mean values of test anxiety of male and female athletes of district Rohtak were 31.83 and 30.95 respectively. The computed  ‘t’ value is (1.563) m which is less than 1.97 (0.05) and 2.58 (0.01) the tabulated values required to reach 5% and 1% levels of significance. Thus it can be concluded that there is no significant difference at any level of significance. Hence, the null hypothesis of no significant difference in test anxiety of  rural and urban athletes of district  Rohtak is retained.  It shows that rural and urban athletes do not differ significantly on self-confidence.

 

Findings:

1.     It was found that there is a no significant difference in state anxiety level of male and female athletes belong to district rohtak

2.     It was found that there is a no significant difference in state anxiety level of rural and urban athletes belong to district rohtak

 

Conclusions:

It concluded that no significant differences were found in male and female athletes, and rural and urban athletes of District Rohtak regarding state level anxiety.  The mean scores of   male and rural athletes are slightly higher than female and urban athletes, but do not differ significantly.

 

REFERENCES:

Worchel, S., and Goethals, G. R. (1989). Adjustment: Pathways to personal growth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice­Hall.

Martens, R., Vealey, R. S., and Burton, D. (1995). Competitive anxiety in sport. Champaign, IL, England: Human Kinetics Publishers. 

Cloninger, C.R., Svrakic, D.M. and Przybeck, T.R. (1993) A psychobiological model of temperament and character. Archives of General Psychiatry 50, 975-990.

Weinberg, R. and Gould, D. (1996). Fundamentos de Psicología del deporte y el ejercicio Físico [Foundations of sport and exercise psychology]. Barcelona: Ariel.

Hardy, L., Jones, G., and Gould, D. (1996). Understanding Psychological  Preparation for Sport: Theory and Practice of Elite Performers. Wiley, Chichester.

Martenez, R. (2008), Sports psychology of "Trainers' Guide", translated by Mohammad Kheibari, Olympics national committee, pp 283-383.