PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS OF ELITE CHINESE ATHLETES

Two investigations were conducted to test the hypotheses that (a) elit e Chinese athletes participating in the spouts of track and field, fen cing, and gymnastics exhibit differential psychological profiles; and (b) elite Chinese athletes participating in track and field exhibit su perior psychological skill profiles when compared with collegiate leve l Chinese track and field athletes. Subjects were 83 elite Chinese ath letes competing for the People's Republic of China in three individual spouts, and 94 collegiate Chinese athletes competing in track and fie ld, Psychological skills were assessed with the Psychological Skills I nventory for Sports (PSIS R-5). MANOVA and follow-up univariate analys es revealed significant relationships between psychological skills and the factors of sport played gender, and level of play. Elite Chinese male track and field athletes and female gymnasts exhibited motivation al scores that were significantly lower than other sport/gender catego ries of athletes. Similarly, elite male Chinese track and field athlet es displayed team emphasis scores that are lower than those displayed by elite female track and field performers, female fencers, and male g ymnasts. Elite Chinese track and field athletes (regardless of gender) exhibited higher anxiety control and confidence scores than collegiat e level athletes.