The role of achievement goal orientations and perceived ability upon somatic and cognitive indices of sport competition trait anxiety - A study of young athletes

Goal orientation theory and competence motivation theory were used to exami ne the relationships between young athletes' achievement goals and indices of somatic and cognitive trait sport competition anxiety. Included in these analyses were also the potential mediating and moderating role of the athl etes' perceived competence in sport. We examined 136 young athletes aged 13 to 18 years involved in organized sport within a community in northern Nor way. Whereas no association was found between an ego oriented achievement g oal and indices of anxiety, multiple regression analyses revealed that both a high task goal orientation and high perceived sport competence predicted a reduced tendency to report cognitive anxiety when competing in sport. In addition, athletes who perceived their competence in sport as high were fo und to be less predisposed to experiencing somatic anxiety in the form of e levated physiological arousal when competing than those who doubt their com petence. The results further showed that perceived competence did not media te or moderate the relationships between achievement goal orientations and somatic and cognitive indices of trait sport competition anxiety. The findi ngs suggest that being task oriented in sport as well as having a sense of being competent are important in order to prevent sport competitions giving rise to elevated cognitive anxiety in young athletes.