The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sport-related anxiety: Current insights.
Open accessAbstract
To date, much research has been devoted to understanding how anxiety can affect sport performance, both in practice and in competitive settings. It is well known that sport has the potential for high levels of stress and anxiety, and that practicing and employing a range of psychological strategies can be beneficial in anxiety management. Equally, growing evidence also suggests that anxiety can play a role in sport injury prevention, occurrence, rehabilitation, and the return to sport process. The purpose of this paper is to provide current insights into sport-related anxiety. More specifically, it will provide the reader with definitions and theoretical conceptualizations of sport-related anxiety. This will be followed by making a case for considering the term "performance" to be broader than activities associated with sport-related performance in practice and competition, by including performance activities associated with sport injury prevention, rehabilitation, and the return to sport process. The paper will then highlight the importance of recognizing early signs and symptoms of anxiety, and the potential need for referral. Finally, the conclusions will emphasize the need for appropriate, client-specific, and practitioner competent care for athletes experiencing sport-related anxiety.
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“Importantly, when anxiety is left unchecked it can lead to clinically significant psychological disturbances and be detrimental to athletes’ wellbeing and performance (Ford et al., 2017).”
From Integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Psychological Skills Training (PST): a case study (2025) · cites this paper as Ford et al., 2017
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“Performance anxiety is typically viewed as a reaction to the perceived stress of performing under pressure (Ford et al., 2017).”
From Integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Psychological Skills Training (PST): a case study (2025) · cites this paper as Ford et al., 2017
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“Competitive anxiety is a common psychological challenge among athletes and can negatively affect sports performance.”
From The Effect of Different Psychological Interventions on Athletes' Competitive Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. (2026) · cites this paper as [1]
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Items 201–227 of 227
Ergün, B., Turan, G. G., & Kızılay, F. (2025) · DergiPark (Istanbul University)
Yang, Q., & Wang, Y. (2026) · European Journal of Sport Science · doi:10.1002/ejsc.70124
“Consequently, as indicated by Ford's research, athletic anxiety manifests as a chain reaction involving cognitive evaluation, physiological arousal, and behavioral responses triggered by an individual's perception of potential pressure (Ford et al. 2017).”
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Chen, K., & Xing, Y. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1832397
“…the relationship between anxiety and performance have evolved from the inverted U-shaped hypothesis to the catastrophe model (Hardy et al., 2018) and then to attentional control theory (Ford et al., 2017), reflecting a deepening understanding of the mechanisms by which anxiety affects athletes.”
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“Elevated anxiety has been associated with impaired attentional control, reduced performance efficiency, and increased injury risk [20], particularly in high-pressure sport environments such as tennis [21].”
Analysis of competitive anxiety levels among the age group 4–5 swimming athletes
Sujiwo, P. K., Windriyani, S. M., Pradipta, A. W., & Kurniawan, R. (2026) · Sriwijaya Journal of Sport · doi:10.55379/sjs.v5i3.285
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“For instance, higher levels of grit have been linked to reduced burnout [18], lower life stress [19], and decreased general anxiety [20].”
Corrado, D. D., Buscemi, A., Arculeo, P., Prinzi, S., Parisi, M. C., & Coco, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1837147
Managing stress in sports: the Pro•Stress program
Gomes, A. R., Fontes, L., Simães, C., & Morais, C. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1826419
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“A review of the literature reveals that anxiety is one of the most frequently evaluated emotional variables in relation to an athlete’s skill in their sport (Ford et al., 2017).”
Tiongco, R. E., Corpuz, K. C., Manlapaz, J., Policarpio, P. D., Ramirez, D., Santiago, R. S., Tayag, K., & Basilio, P. V. (2026) · SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine · doi:10.1007/s42399-026-02600-8
“Conversely, sports anxiety is characterized by cognitive worry, somatic tension, and a fear of negative evaluation stemming from performance pressure or social scrutiny [18–20].”
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“Perioperative anxiety has been defined as an emotional state [48], and the emotional domain of the QoR-40 encompasses items related to depression, sleep, anxiety, and other emotional factors.”
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“When elevated, these forms of anxiety can disrupt attentional control, reduce processing efficiency, and negatively affect athletic performance, while also increasing susceptibility to injury [1, 4, 5].”
Hernández‐Fuentes, G. A., Alcalá-Pérez, M. A., Díaz-Llerenas, U., Guerrero-Verduzco, M. E., REYES-MÉNDEZ, N. A., Larios-Gomez, L. A., Virgen-Aguilar, D. G., Romero-Michel, J. C., Guzmán-Sandoval, V. M., Rojas‐Larios, F., et al. (2026) · Diseases · doi:10.3390/diseases14090318
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“In turn, somatic anxiety is characterized by changes in physiological responses, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and muscle tension, often associated with activation of the hypothalamic – pituitary – adrenal axis, resulting in elevated cortisol levels (28).”
Interrelationships among competitive anxiety, gender, and BMI in collegiate athletes
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Pain Anxiety and Its Link to Sports Injury Rehabilitation Beliefs Among Filipino Student-Athletes
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Metadata
- Authors
- Ford, J., Ildefonso, K., Jones, M., & Arvinen-Barrow, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (US)
- Venue
- Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-10
- Volume
- Volume 8
- Pages
- 205-212
- ISSN
- 1179-1543 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5667788
- OpenAlex
- W2765469520
- Cited by
- 231
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 14.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Dove Medical Press (Taylor and Francis Group) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- anxiety reduction, athletic performance, sports injury prevention, sports injury rehabilitation, return to sport, psychological strategies, athlete care
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