Achievement Goal Orientation as a Psychological Predictor for Sports Anxiety and Self Esteem in Competitive Athletes

Abstract

An athlete's success and well-being are heavily influenced by achievement goal orientation, sports anxiety, and self-esteem. This study aims to investigate the interrelationships between these 3 psychological variables. Correlational research is employed with a sample of 160 competitive male team-sport athletes (Kabaddi, Hockey, Football, Volleyball, and Basketball) aged 18 to 24 years, from Guru Nanak Dev University. Standardized tools which are administered are the Sport Competition Anxiety, the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results reveal a highly significant negative correlation between global self-esteem and sports anxiety. Athletes who tend to be ego-oriented, they have high level of anxiety whereas athletes who tend to be task-oriented, they have low level of anxiety. The study reveals that high self-esteem and a task-oriented mindset significantly protect against competitive sports anxiety, whereas an ego-driven approach leaves athletes highly vulnerable to competitive anxiety.