Validation of the Sport Competition Anxiety Test

Abstract

The Sport Competition Anxiety Test has been reported to be a valid and reliable measure of the predisposition toward competitive anxiety. The statistical data provided with the test do not support that conclusion. Concurrent and predictive validities do not show magnitudes of correlation generally accepted. Female varsity softball coaches (N = 15) were given the test prior to competition. Their heart rates, an acceptable physiological variable of anxiety, were continuously monitored by telemetry before, during, and after a game. Situational heart rates were recorded during neutral, offensive, and defensive game conditions. Spearman's p indicated that test scores correlated at a level similar to those obtained in the initial study but were not high enough to support the concept of validity. The anxiety data were not significantly related to heart rate under the conditions studied. The test does not appear to be a valid measure of trait anxiety for women softball coaches.