Amir hossein Mehrsafar; Sajjad Mohammad Yari; Abbas Shakibirad
Abstract
Introduction: The mental appraisal and athlete's ability to deal with stressful factors affect the development of negative emotional states and anxiety. Considering the impact of stress and related psychological responses on performance, interventions that reduce stress and may thus increase athletic ...
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Introduction: The mental appraisal and athlete's ability to deal with stressful factors affect the development of negative emotional states and anxiety. Considering the impact of stress and related psychological responses on performance, interventions that reduce stress and may thus increase athletic performance need to be investigated.This study aimed to determine the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on psychological choking, fear of failure, and shooting performance underpressure in students of Imam Ali Officers’ University.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test design that includes a control and an experimental group. Forty students of Imam Ali Officers' University participated in this study. In the pre-test and post-test, the fearof failure and psychological choking questionnaires and also shooting performance tests were used. The tDCS was applied for 20 minutes with an intensity of 2 mA overthe dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) region for 10 sessions. Data were analyzed using univariate repeated measures ANOVA test.Results: The results showed that tDCS over DLPFC could reduce psychological choking under pressure but could not change the fear of failure. The results also showed that tDCS can increase shooting performance under pressure.Conclusion: In general, it can be concluded that tDCS probably increase performance-related indicators in high-pressure military environments. However, more studies are needed to find the underlying mechanisms.
Amir Hossein Mehrsafar; Mohammad Khabiri; Ali Moghadamzadeh
Abstract
The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) is the most widely used instrument to measure competitive anxiety in the literature. The aim of this study was to examine the factorial validity and reliability of Persian version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 regarding intensity, direction, ...
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The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) is the most widely used instrument to measure competitive anxiety in the literature. The aim of this study was to examine the factorial validity and reliability of Persian version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 regarding intensity, direction, and frequency dimensions. The original form included 27 questions and 3 subscales including somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. 356 questionnaires were completed by 16-34-year-old athletes who took part in different sport fields. Five competing models were used to estimate construct validity of the inventory. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to contrast the proposed models. The inventory reliability was calculated using the internal consistency method. To examine temporal reliability, intraclass correlation coefficient was applied using test–retest method. The results showed that the Persian version of the inventory supported the 16-item 3-factor model in intensity, direction, and frequency dimensions; thus, validity and reliability of the inventory were confirmed. In conclusion, Persian version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 with 16 items is recommended to measure athletes' state competitive anxiety.