Abstract

This present study investigated pre-competition anxiety by using both psychological and physiological measures of anxiety among individual and team sport athletes. Malaysian males backup athletes participated in this study. Competitive State Anxiety Inventory and salivary cortisol samples were obtained from participants across three different times which at one week, one day and one hour prior to the competition. Unfortunately, the results indicated that there was no significant correlation of CSAI-2 subscale scores with cortisol response in individual sports athletes across the three different times, whereas in team sports athletes, a significant moderate negative correlation was noted in self-confidence and cortisol response at one week prior to the competition and significant strong, positive relationship between somatic anxiety and cortisol response. Future studies should use physiological measure and psychological measure at the same time prior a highly competitive situation in measuring anxiety on sport performance.