Angst, Nervosität und Unsicherheit vor dem Wettkampf – Eine Interviewstudie mit betroffenen Athlet_innen der Leichtathletik

Competitive anxiety in competition settings has long been subject of psychological rese arch. In contrast to personal or behavioral approaches that have been central in recent studies, the present objective was to focus on external factors that lead to anxiety, ner vousness or insecurity ahead of the competition. The main sport investigated in this study was athletics, with subjects ranging through all disciplines (i.e. sprints, jumps, throws and distance running). In a phone interview, a total of five participants were in terviewed, two of which where above the age of 18 and three below. The interviews were meant to answer two relevant questions: At first, does the callroom as a specific checkpoint on the competition agenda cause negative emotional responses, or rather does it amplify felt emotions. Secondly, this study wanted to pick out whether existing psychological strategies such as the usage of self-talk and/or pre-performance routines would help athletes cope with this high pressure situation. After an analysis on the basis of the grounded theory by Glaser and Strauß (2010) it is worth pointing out that the callroom situation does indeed impose additional emotional stress. Alongside feelings of cognitive and somatic anxiety, a lack of routines during warm-up and in competition preparation in general were observed. These findings highlight important information for coaches, athletes and scientists alike and have the potential to aid not just perfor mers in international level athletics but importantly youth athletes as well. The benefits of commented psychological strategies ought to be practiced and prepared over a sustained period of time for maximal effects.