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Factors influencing enjoyment and competitive trait anxiety in age group swimmers
Abstract
The effects of competition on the psychological development of young athletes is a topic of great interest to parents, coaches, and educators. Interest has grown as youth sport programs have increased in number. Proponents stress the value of competition to the overall development of the youngster; critics argue that competition creates anxiety and diminishes enjoyment in sports. The present study examined the factors influencing enjoyment and competitive trait anxiety in 110 age group swimmers in four summer swim programs. Subjects were divided into subgroups according to age: 9 to 10 years (n = 38); 11 to 12 years (n = 26); and 13 to 14 years (n = 46). A forward multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the following nine independent variables: (1) motivational orientation; (2) perceived parental pressure; (3) athletic ability; (4) team win-loss records; (5) performance worry; (6) perceived competence; (7) evaluation worry; (8) self-esteem; and (9) age. Of the variables tested, motivational orientation accounted for 23 percent of the variance as a predictor of enjoyment in swimming (p $<$.001). It had been predicted that swimmers who described themselves as highly self-motivated would enjoy swimming more than youngsters who were poorly self-motivated. However, even subjects who were poorly motivated expressed high levels of enjoyment in the sport. Nearly three-fourths of the subjects (71.6 percent) described themselves as highly motivated, but 84.5 percent of the total population described their experiences as highly enjoyable. Other predictors of enjoyment were: age, team win-loss records, perceived parental pressure and athletic ability. According to the findings of the present study, performance worry accounted for 61 percent of the variance as a predictor of anxiety (p $<$.001) with subjects who were highly worried about their performance experiencing considerably more stress than subjects who were less worried about their performance. Other predictors of competitive trait anxiety were: age, actual ability, motivational orientation, perceived parental pressure, and team win-loss records.
Subject Area
Educational psychology|Physical education
Recommended Citation
Vokolek, Dennis Leonard, "Factors influencing enjoyment and competitive trait anxiety in age group swimmers" (1991). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9133319.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9133319