GENDER AND ACHIEVEMENT-LEVEL DIFFERENCES IN COMPETITIVE STATE ANXIETY AND SELF-CONFIDENCE AMONG BOXING ATHLETES
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Abstract
The competitive state anxiety is commonly acknowledged as a critical psychological construct affecting the performance of athletes, however, its interrelation with gender and competitive achievement levels have been subjects of very sparse empirical research on the area of combat sports. The current study compared gender-specific variations and the level of achievement in somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and self-confidence in high-level boxing athletes using a multidimensional analysis. A sample of 67 competitive boxing athletes completed validated psychometric measures with internal consistency coefficients of α = .727, α = .837, and α = .817 for somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence respectively. The Gender × Achievement Level interaction approached but did not reach significance, Pillai's Trace = .109, F(3, 61) = 2.490, p = .069. A significant interaction was confirmed for self-confidence only, F(1, 63) = 5.68, p = .020, η²p = .083. These findings partially support interaction-based models of competitive anxiety and highlight gender-sensitive confidence development as a priority for psychological preparation in elite boxing. Practical implications for sport psychologists and coaches are discussed based on the findings of the empirical studies.
Keywords
competitive anxiety somatic anxiety cognitive anxiety self-confidence gender boxing combat sports elite athletes interaction effects
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Double-Blind Peer Review
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CC BY-NC 4.0
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Volume 02, Issue 7
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2
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Research Article
Publication Date:
Jul 25 2026
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Acharya, S. & Mehru, I. (2026). Gender and Achievement-Level Differences in Competitive State Anxiety and Self-Confidence Among Boxing Athletes. International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, 02(7), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i7.098
Acharya, Sarthak, and Inderjeet Mehru. "Gender and Achievement-Level Differences in Competitive State Anxiety and Self-Confidence Among Boxing Athletes." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology, vol. 02, no. 7, 2026, pp. 1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i7.098.
Acharya, Sarthak, and Inderjeet Mehru. "Gender and Achievement-Level Differences in Competitive State Anxiety and Self-Confidence Among Boxing Athletes." International Journal of Science, Strategic Management and Technology 02, no. 7 (2026): 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijsmt.v2i7.098.
References
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Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Domínguez-González, J. A., Reigal, R. E., Morales-Sánchez, V., & Hernández-Mendo, A. (2024). Competitive anxiety and self-confidence in young athletes. Sports, 12(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12010020
Mercader-Rubio, I., et al. (2023). Somatic and cognitive anxiety in university athletes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20, 2415. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032415
Woodman, T., & Hardy, L. (2022). Gender differences in sport anxiety. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 59, 102123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102123
Neil, R., Hanton, S., & Mellalieu, S. D. (2022). Advances in competitive anxiety research. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000302
Turner, M. J., et al. (2022). Rational emotive behavior therapy in sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 834512. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.834512
Lane, A. M., et al. (2020). Emotional regulation in sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 563. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00563
Beedie, C. J., et al. (2020). Stress and performance in athletes. Sports Medicine, 50, 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01159-3
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587
Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R. S., Bump, L. A., & Smith, D. E. (1990). Development and validation of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. In R. Martens, R. S. Vealey, & D. Burton (Eds.), Competitive anxiety in sport (pp. 117–190). Human Kinetics.
Hanin, Y. L. (2000). Emotions in sport. Human Kinetics. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781492596233
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
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