A Quantitative Study of State and Trait Anxiety Experienced by College Students and Student-Athletes
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Authors
Kerekes, Alexander
Issue Date
2008
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
To better aid college students and student-athletes during stressful situations in college the phenomena of anxiety was researched and studied. This was a quantitative study of anxiety experienced by college students (n=49) and student-athletes (n=46). Students from multiple NCAA Division I schools were given the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to accurately measure both dimensions of anxiety. The STAI was the preferred measure of anxiety in that it measures both dimensions of anxiety, and was originally designed for use with college students. Results found that the student-athlete population experienced significantly greater levels of trait anxiety compared to the student population. State anxiety scores were insignificantly different, with student-athletes having slightly higher scores. Comparisons to past and current literature are made. The importance of programs which deal with reducing anxiety in the college population are discussed. The author also discusses further research into this area, as well as improvements that could be made for future studies. Such improvements that could be made are looking at differences in gender, as well as individual versus team sports. Further research could also use more qualitative measures which would better highlight why the disparity in trait anxiety levels between the two groups in this study was as great as it was. The author's experience as a student-athlete and desire to work professionally in the college population were the major factors in performing this research.