Generalisation of the Clark and Wells cognitive model of social anxiety to children's athletic and sporting situations

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that social anxiety generalises to sporting and athletic situations. The present study explored the applicability of the Clark and Wells model of social anxiety – and its metacognitive extension – to sport anxiety. Participants were 290 students aged 11–13 years, who completed measures of sport anxiety, social anxiety, depression and cognitive variables implicated by the model. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that performance attitudes, performance cognitions, anticipatory and post-event processing were predictive of sport anxiety, after controlling for social anxiety and depression. In addition, the association between performance attitudes and sport anxiety was stronger at higher levels of anticipatory and post-event processing. These results suggest that the Clark and Wells cognitive model – and its metacognitive extension – is applicable to children with sport anxiety.

KEYWORDS:

• Social anxiety
• physical activity
• cognitive bias
• Clark and Wells model
• children

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Patras.

Andreas Brouzos, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Ioannina.

Nicholas J. Moberly, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter.

Haralambos Tsorbatzoudis is professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Olga Tziouma, M.Sc., is a coach and a doctoral student in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Patras.

Notes on contributors

Stephanos P. Vassilopoulos, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Patras.

Andreas Brouzos, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Ioannina.

Nicholas J. Moberly, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter.

Haralambos Tsorbatzoudis is professor in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Olga Tziouma, M.Sc., is a coach and a doctoral student in the Department of Primary Education at the University of Patras.

Notes

1. Although our cross-sectional design led us to favour a moderation model, we also conducted exploratory mediation analyses to test whether anticipatory processing and post-event processing mediate the relationship between (i) performance attitudes and (ii) performance cognitions and sport anxiety. Following Baron and Kenny's (1986) rationale, we constructed regression models in which anticipatory processing and post-event processing served as joint mediators of the association between performance attitudes or cognitions and sport anxiety. We then used the Sobel procedure to test the significance of the indirect effects in each of the model. In the model with performance attitudes as the predictor variable, anticipatory processing was a significant partial mediator of the relationship with sport anxiety, Sobel z = 3.03, p = .002, as was post-event processing, Sobel z = 2.71, p = .007. Performance attitudes remained significantly associated with sport anxiety when the mediators were included. In the model with performance cognitions as the predictor variable, anticipatory processing was a significant partial mediator of the relationship with sport anxiety, Sobel z = 2.97, p = .003, as was post-event processing, Sobel z = 2.22, p = .03. Again, performance cognitions remained significantly associated with sport anxiety when the mediators were included. Notwithstanding the aforementioned difficulty of testing a (causal) mediation model using cross-sectional, correlational data, these results are at least consistent with the possibility that anticipatory and post-event processing could mediate, as well as moderate, the relationship with performance attitudes and cognitions and sport anxiety.