Gender Based Disparities in Anxiety Experienced by Athletes and their Coping Mechanisms

Manish Acharjee; Prabal Dutta; Rahul Devchoudhury

doi:10.60081/SSHA.3.1.2025.359-367

Authors

Manish Acharjee Department of Physical Education, Swarnim Gujarat Sports University https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6630-2768
Prabal Dutta Regional College of Physical Education, Panisagar, Tripura https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4677-146X
Rahul Devchoudhury Assistant Professor, Regional College of Physical Education, Panisagar, Tripura https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8570-532X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60081/SSHA.3.1.2025.359-367

Keywords:

Sports Anxiety, Coping Skills, Gender Differences, Competitive Athletes, Psychological Resilience

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the anxiety levels experienced by male and female athletes and their coping skills in managing anxiety. The research aimed to address gaps in understanding how psychological traits, beyond biological sex, influence athletes' anxiety and coping strategies. Additionally, the study focused on age- and sport-specific differences by concentrating on younger athletes participating in handball, volleyball, and basketball. Method: Data were collected from 60 athletes (30 males and 30 females) aged 12-16 years, representing handball, volleyball, and basketball. The Athletic Coping Skill Inventory-28 and the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 questionnaires were used to assess coping skills and anxiety levels, respectively. Statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, and Pearson correlation, were conducted using IBM SPSS-27. Results: The results showed no statistically significant gender differences in total anxiety (p = 0.106), the three sub-domains of anxiety-somatic anxiety (p = 0.158), worry (p = 0.886), concentration disruption (p = 0.136)-or coping skills (p = 0.903). However, female athletes exhibited slightly higher anxiety levels than males. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a weak negative relationship between sports anxiety and coping skills for both genders, but these correlations were not statistically significant for males (r = -0.113, p = 0.551) or females (r = -0.227, p = 0.228). Conclusions: The study concludes that individual psychological traits and training experiences may play a more significant role in shaping anxiety and coping responses than gender alone. The authors recommend future research with larger and more diverse samples to further clarify these relationships and inform targeted psychological interventions for athletes.

Author Biographies

Manish Acharjee, Department of Physical Education, Swarnim Gujarat Sports University

acharjeemanish07@gmail.com
Prabal Dutta, Regional College of Physical Education, Panisagar, Tripura

priyanshupdutta@gmail.com
Rahul Devchoudhury, Assistant Professor, Regional College of Physical Education, Panisagar, Tripura

devrahul09@gmail.com

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