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Anxiety and Coping Strategies in Sport Contexts: A Look at the Psychometric Properties of Portuguese Instruments for their Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Cláudia Dias ,
José Fernando Cruz  and
António Manuel Fonseca
Cláudia Dias*
Affiliation:
Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
José Fernando Cruz
Affiliation:
Universidade do Minho (Portugal)
António Manuel Fonseca
Affiliation:
Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Claudia Dias. Rua Dr. Plácido Costa, 91. 4200-450 Porto, Portugal. Telephone number: +351 225 074 700. Fax number: +351 225 500 689. E-mail: cdias@fade.up.pt
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese versions of the Sport Anxiety Scale and of the Brief COPE, as well as of the Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition– Threat Perception, namely regarding their factor structure validity and internal consistency. Participants were 550 male and female athletes of several sports, aged 15 to 35 years old (M=19.8; SD=4.5). Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the instruments demonstrated good psychometric properties. In general, the measurement models provided a good fit to the empirical data and with the exception of some scales of the Brief COPE, the calculated Cronbach's a coefficient of reliability indicated adequate internal consistency for the three instruments. Overall, the results of the present study provided evidence for these instruments' validity and reliability, ultimately supporting their importance for research and psychological intervention in sport contexts.

El objetivo de este studio fue examinar las propiedades psicométricas de las versiones portuguesas del Sport Anxiety Scale, el Brief COPE, y el Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition– Threat Perception, atendiendo a su validez de estructura factorial y consistencia interna. Los participantes fueron 550 atletas de ambos sexos y diversos deportes con edades entre 15 y 35 años (M=19.8; DT=4.5). Los análisis factoriales exploratorio y confirmatorio indicaron que los instrumentos mostraban buenas propiedades psicométricas. En general, los modelos de medida proporcionaron un buen ajuste a los datos empíricos y, con la excepción de algunas escalas del Brief COPE, el coeficiente de fiabilidad de Cronbach indicó una consistencia interna adecuada de los tres instrumentos. Globalmente los resultados de este estudio proporcionaron evidencia de la fiabilidad y validez de los citados instrumentos, reforzando su importancia para la investigación y la intervención psicológicas en contextos deportivos.

Keywords

stressanxietycopingassessmentpsychometric propertiesstressansiedadafrontamientoevaluaciónpropiedades psicométricas
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , May 2009 , pp. 338 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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