Effect of a group multimodal anxiety management programme on competitive state anxiety and self-confidence of amateur golfers

Abstract

Competitive state anxiety can be detrimental to golf performance. The effect of a group multimodal anxiety management programme on the intensity and direction of anxiety and self-confidence among amateur golfers was investigated. The directionally modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 was completed 10 minutes before two competitive rounds of golf six weeks apart. Sixteen male participants (age: 20.37±1.08 years) were randomly divided into equal-sized experimental and control groups. The experimental group attended five 60-minute group sessions; three psycho-educational sessions on breathing control, muscle relaxation, imagery, positive self-talk and affirmations, stopping and reappraising negative thoughts were integrated into pre-competition and pre-shot routines during two sessions on the driving range and practice green. Repeated measures two-way ANOVA revealed a time X group interaction effect for cognitive anxiety direction (F_1,12=5.740, p=0.034), with significant improvements among the experimental group (p=0.046, d=0.63). The control group perceived their self-confidence to be less facilitative towards their performance than before (p=0.050, d=0.85), whereas the perceptions of the experimental group did not change. The programme enhanced cognitive anxiety direction and prevented debilitative changes in self-confidence direction, thereby demonstrating its efficacy. These findings add to the existing literature on the positive effect of multimodal interventions on restructuring competitive anxiety.

Keywords: Cognitive anxiety; Somatic anxiety; Self-confidence; Performance; Psycho-education