The psychological effects of pre-competitive stress on elite divers - a review

Stress occurs when appraisal of the demands of a situation exceed the avail able resources under conditions where failure to meet the demand is perceiv ed as having negative consequences. Stress is neither considered to be mere ly an event or response but rather a complex interaction of interrelated co nstructs and processes reflecting the relationship between intrapersonal an d stituational variables. Although, the identification of general categorie s of stress is possible; it is important to acknowledge the significance of individual differences, especially with respect to cognitive evaluation pr ocedures. The concurrent responses considered in this paper are self-confid ence and state anxiety; both of which are related to potential pre-competit ive performance stress. Antecedents and consequences are examined with resp ect to elite competitive springboard divers. Recommendations for future res earch propose continuous assessment strategies.