Anxiety, threat appraisal and coping in sports: Individual trait anxiety differences

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of anxiety, threat perception, and coping strategies used by high and low-trait anxious Portuguese athletes, examining if they could be differentiated by their levels of threat perception and coping skills. Five-hundred and fifty male and female athletes, aged between 15 and 35 years (19.8 ± 4.5), completed the Portuguese versions of the Sport Anxiety Scale (Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990) and of the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997), as well as the Escala de Avaliação Cognitiva da Competição—Percepçãao de Ameaça (Cognitive Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition—Threat Perception; Cruz, 1994). Results suggested that high and low trait anxious athletes could be differentiated by their threat perception levels and coping strategies used. Results were discussed with regard to theoretical, research and applied issues.