DEVELOPMENT OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS INVENTORY FOR CHINESE ATHLETES

by

Xiaochun Yang

B.Sc, Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, 1993

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

in

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(School of Human Kinetics)

We accept this thesis as conforming to thej'equired standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

April 1997

© Xiaochun Yang, 1997

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced

degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it

freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive

copying of this thesis for scholarly „ purposes may be granted by the head of my

department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or

publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written

permission.

; Department of f£t»ia>£JL^

The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada

Date

DE-6 (2/88)

ABSTRACT

An inventory for testing the psychological skills of Chinese Athletes was developed

based on a two-order structure of both Howe's (1993), and Hardy and Jones' (1994)

conceptualizations. This project consisted of two phases. In Study I the original version of

the 47-item Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (PSICA) was administrated

to 305 subjects ranging from college level to international level athletes. The PSICA contains

five sport specific subscales: Anxiety Control, Concentration, Confidence, Mental

Preparation, and Motivation. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed some problems

with the original 47-item PSICA, but a modified 23-item scale demonstrated a good factorial

validity. In Study II the revised 23-item PSICA was administrated to 713 subjects ranging

from college level to international level athletes. Cross validation test revealed some problems

with the model, and /or the inventory. The overall fit indices, with exception of the R M S E A

for the female subsample, when analyzed using weighted least square (WLS) procedure,

indicated an adequate but not good fit of the five-factor model. Convergent and discriminant

validity test, and the test-retest reliability results indicated that the PSICA is psychometrically

strong in these aspects. The findings suggest that the PSICA has potential as a valid

psychological scale.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF FIGURES v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi

INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction to Psychological Skills 1 Components of the New Psychological Skills Inventory 5 Psychological Techniques 8

STUDY I: INITIAL INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT 12 Instrument 12 Subjects 12 Procedures 13 Results 15

STUDY BE: ASSESSMENT OF RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 19 Instruments 19 Subjects 19 Procedures and Results 20

DISCUSSION 33

REFERENCES 38

LITERATURE REVIEW 43

APPENDICES I. Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (Original Version) 55 II. Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (Final Version) 59 III. Demographic Information of Subjects (Study II) 61

iii

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1 Descriptive Statistics and Internal Consistency of PSICA subscales (Study I) 15

2 Model-Testing Results from Confirmatory Factor Analyses (Study I) 16

3 Interscale Correlations among the Subscales (Study I) 18 4 Descriptive Statistics, Internal Consistency, and Test-retest Reliabilities of the

PSICA Subscales (Study II) 21

5 Model-Testing Results from Confirmatory Factor Analyses (Study II) 23

6 Factor Loadings of the PSICA Items Using a Polychoric Correlation Matrix as Data Input (Study II) 24

7 Factor Loadings of the PSICA Items Using a Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Matrix as Data Input (Study II) 26

8 Factor Score Correlations among the PSICA Subscales and CSAI-II Subscales (Study II) 28

9 Multivariate Summary and Univariate Follow-ups (Study II) 30

10 Post-hoc Results of the Sport Level by the PSICA Subscale Main Effect

(Study II) 31

11 Demographic Information of Male Subjects (Study II) 61

12 Demographic Information of Female Subjects (Study II) 62

iv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Classification of Psychological Skills and Techniques based on a

Literature Review 4

2 Psychological Skills and Techniques Assessed with the PSICA 10

3 Classification of Psychological Skills and Techniques based on a Literature Review 51

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The completion of this thesis was a result of a successful group effort. I am greatly

appreciative to a number of individuals who provided their guidance and support that made

this research process a valuable learning experience.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my committee members: Dr.

Bleuler, Dr. Schutz, and Dr. Sinclair for their expertise and guidance.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge those who have assisted me at different stages of this

research.

I would like to thank the efforts of Mr. Jie Ren, and some other Chinese sport

psychologists who collected the valuable data for this study.

The most valuable learning experience though has been through my association with

Dr. Schutz. He was unfailing in his enthusiasm and support and, at all time, he was willing to

discuss with me the numerous questions and problems that I encountered. His time, effort

and thorough knowledge was very much needed and appreciated, and also his example as a

statistician/scientist has left a lifelong impression.

vi

INTRODUCTION

Introduction to psychological skills

Research on peak performance and ideal performance states is still in its relative

infancy. However, there is sufficient evidence from retrospective studies to suggest that a

number of psychological skills may contribute to peak performance (e.g., Gould, Hodge,

Peterson, & Petlichkoff, 1987; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987; Vealey, 1988).

Psychological skills are psychological characteristics such as anxiety control and

concentration that can be improved through practising. Consequently, psychological skills

training (PST) programs have flourished since the 1980's. Regardless of the age or skill level

of the athletes, individuals who have weak psychological skills will benefit from PST

(Williams, 1986). There is a wide variation in what skills people consider to be important,

and the inclusion of particular areas is somewhat arbitrary depending on the experience of the

individual (Seiler, 1992). For example, Hall and Carron (1990) provided coaches with

information on self confidence, mental imagery, performance analysis, goal setting, token

rewards and variety in practice sessions. Gould, Petlichkoff, Hodge, and Simons (1990)

offered a psychological skills training program to elite wrestlers which included relaxation,

visualization/imagery, goal setting, and mental preparation techniques. Gould, Tammen,

Murphy, and May (1989) noted that there was some agreement among sport psychologists

working with Olympic athletes who were asked to list those areas they considered important.

Consensus was obtained for the areas of goal setting, relaxation training, arousal regulation,

visualization (imagery), and self-talk. These factors could be considered specific techniques

although they might not necessarily be presented independently. A more general listing of

mental skills was presented by Gould, Hodge, Peterson, and Petlichkoff (1987), derived from

their survey of wrestling coaches. They reported that these coaches were eager to develop

programs for anxiety/ stress management, attention/concentration, and confidence building

during competition. These areas were confirmed by Sullivan and Hodge (1991) in their

survey of New Zealand athletes and coaches, who also added the area of precompetition

preparation as a concern. These can be seen as broader areas of concern and do not reflect

the techniques as directly. In Weinberg and Gould's (1995) summary of the topics coaches

and athletes would find useful in PST programs, they listed arousal regulation, imagery

(mental preparation), confidence building, increasing motivation and commitment (goal

setting), and attention (concentration skills, self-talk, mental plan).

When considering the underlying principles involved in PST, Vealey's (1988)

distinction between advanced skills and basic techniques was considered to be an appropriate

starting point: advanced skills are "qualities to be attained", while basic techniques are what

"athletes engage in to develop advanced skills"(p. 326). In this context, advanced skills such

as anxiety control, can be thought of as the desired outcomes associated with the

implementation and practice of basic techniques, such as goal-setting and relaxation. Hardy

and Jones (1994) classified the advanced skills and basic techniques as follows: basic

techniques included Goal-setting, Imagery, Relaxation, and Self-talk; and advanced skills

included Anxiety Control, Activation Control, Self-confidence, Maintaining Motivation, and

Attention Control. Howe (1993) developed a two-order structure for psychological skills

training. The higher-order component included Arousal Management, Confidence Building,

Focusing/Concentration, Precompetition and Competition Strategies, and Leadership. The

first-order component included Relaxation, Imagery, Self-talk, Reinforcement, Goal Setting,

Communication, and Attention Strategies. This is similar to the advanced skills and basic

2

techniques classification. The differentiation between skills and techniques is quite important,

because they are two different components. Therefore, the two-order structure

classifications of Howe's (1993) and Hardy and Jones' (1994) are quite useful. A benefit of

those structures is that they avoid the confusion in the development of PST programs.

People often become confused when facing a PST program that contains both an anxiety

control skill and a relaxation technique, because the later is one of the basic techniques of

anxiety control skill. Figure 1 summarizes the classification of psychological skills and

techniques based on a literature review.

Silva (1982) and Seabourne, Weinberg, Jackson, and Suinn (1985) indicated that a

comprehensive or abbreviated training program will be more effective if psychological skills

training objectives appropriate to the athletes are identified before the program is planned.

Therefore, the first step in planing any PST program should be to assess those psychological

skills that may be deficient. A few instruments designed to assess psychological skills specific

to sport have recently been developed, such as the Competition State Anxiety Inventory-II

(Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990), the Sport Anxiety Scale (Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990),

and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens, 1977). However, there is still a need for a

multidimensional scale instrument that assesses a broad range of psychological skills

possessed by athletes as the presently available instruments are most often used to assess pre-

competition anxiety specifically. In an attempt to develop such a measure, Mahoney and his

colleagues (Mahoney & Avener, 1977; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987) developed the

Psychological Skills Inventory for Sport (PSIS). The scale has undergone continuous

development, and the most frequently studied version (PSIS R-5) consists of 45 items that

are arranged into six subscales (Anxiety Control, Concentration, Confidence, Mental

3

Figure 1 Relationships among the Psychological Skills and the Techniques

Self-talk

Relaxation

Imagery

Reinforcment

Competition Plan

Goal Setting

Psychological Skills Psychological Techniques

Preparation, Motivation, and Team Emphasis). In its various forms, the PSIS has been

successfully employed by a number of investigators to differentiate between elite and nonelite

athletes, male and female athletes, nordic disabled and able-bodied athletes, athletes in

4

various sports and athletes of different nationalities (e.g., Cox & Liu, 1993; Cox & Yoo,

1995; Qiu, 1993; White & Croce, 1992).

Despite its promise as a research instrument, the PSIS R-5 appears to have a number

of serious psychometric shortcomings that limit its potential usefulness. Both Yang (1995)

and Tammen, Murphy, and Jowdy (1990) were unable to replicate the factor structure

established by Mahoney and his coworkers (1987). The result from Yang's study might be

due to culture differences since Chinese athletes were used as subjects in her study.

Chartrand, Jowdy, and Danish (1992) tested the hypothesized six-factor (subscale) model

advanced by Mahoney and his coworkers (1987) using confirmatory factor analysis. They

found no evidence for the factorial validity of the scale, nor for any of the alternative models

that they tested. Many of the items loaded on several of the factors, indicating that the

subscales were not measuring distinct constructs, and seven of the items failed to load on any

factor. It thus appears that, in its present form, the PSIS R-5 does not meet the factorial

validity standards required for a multidimensional instrument used for research or applied

purposes.

Components of the new psychological skills inventory

It is thus appropriate to develop a new multidimensional instrument with good

factorial validity for the assessment of the psychological skills of athletes, and this is the

purpose of this study. There may be two reasons for the results of Chartrand, Jowdy, and

Danish (1992) that showed the factorial validity problem of the PSIS R-5. One possibility

was that the theoretical structure of the PSIS R-5 was wrong. The other possibility was that

the test items were not properly written, and could not reflect the theory structure of the

PSIS R-5.

5

Since the six-subscale structure of the PSIS R-5 is similar to the first-order

classification of psychological skills by Howe (1993) and Hardy and Jones (1994), it is

reasonable to believe that the theoretical structure of the PSIS R-5 is acceptable. Therefore,

a five-subscale structure for a new psychological skills inventory was developed based on the

PSIS R-5 structure and Howe's (1993) and Hardy and Jones' (1994) classifications. The five

subscales are Anxiety Control, Concentration, Confidence, Mental Preparation and

Motivation. Concentration and Confidence are two common psychological skills that were

included in all of the three previous structures.

The words "arousal" and "anxiety" are often used interchangeably, but it is important

to distinguish between them. Arousal is "a general physiological and psychological activation

of the organism [person] that varies on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement"

(Gould & Krane, 1992, pp. 120-121), while anxiety is "a negative emotional state with

feelings of nervousness, worry, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the

body" (Weinberg, & Gould, 1995, p. 93). On the basis of those definitions, the Arousal

Management skill in Howe's (1993) classification included Hardy and Jones' (1994) Anxiety

Control skill and Activation skill. Anxiety Control skill aims at reducing the negative effect

of anxiety and helps athletes to calm down when they are highly anxious. Activation control

skill aims at helping athletes to arrive at the desired arousal level required by competition.

Few studies have examined the effect of raising arousal level (Howe, 1993), and the lack of

activation is not a common phenomenon in competition situations. On the other hand, many

researchers have reported that athletes experience high levels of competition anxiety. As

Howe (1993) said "Higher arousal may be necessary for several action-type sports.

However, it is also likely that all sports will involve some situations that produce enough

6

anxiety to interfere with performance" (p. 34). Therefore, only anxiety control skill was

included in the new inventory.

Although there was inconsistency in Howe's (1993) and Hardy and Jones' (1994)

classifications on Mental Preparation and Motivation factors, they were kept in the new

structure for two reasons. One was a theoretical reason. Although some of the techniques

for mental preparation are also used in anxiety control, concentration control, or even in

obtaining confidence, there are some techniques that are used exclusively for mental

preparation. It is an individual skill that can help athletes gain control before and during a

competition. Motivation is a special field in sport psychology research, and it is widely

agreed that motivation is an important component of human behavior. The important

question here is "Is controlling motivation a psychological skill or not?". Since people can

set appropriate levels of motivation through goal setting or some other techniques, it should

be viewed as a kind of psychological skill. The second reason for retaining motivation was

based on practical reasons. The purpose of the new inventory is to assess the needs in

psychological skill training, so it should cover a wide variety of psychological skills.

The Team Emphasis subscale in the PSIS R-5 was excluded from the new inventory

not only because it was excluded in both Howe's and Hardy and Jones' classification, but

also because Mahoney (1989b) himself mentioned that team emphasis varies among team and

individual sports. Since the new inventory is for testing athletes' psychological skills, the

leadership factor in Howe's classification was not included. Finally, the five theoretical

psychological skills in the new inventory are similar to the five psychological skills Weinberg

and Gould (1995) determined from their survey of athletes and coaches. Thus, the

theoretical structure of the new inventory will have practical utility.

7

Psychological techniques

An examination of the PSIS R-5 test items, revealed some items had problems. The

items were written to test the psychological state of the athletes rather than their

psychological skills. For example, a question like "I am more tense before I perform than I

am during the performance", is testing the athletes' anxiety state, not testing the anxiety

control skill. Although there are high correlations among psychological skills and

psychological states, they are two constructs. Researchers have pointed out that while both

elite and non-elite athletes have competition anxiety, the difference is that elite athletes know

how to control their anxiety (Gould, Eklund, & Jackson, 1993; Troup, 1991). The purposed

new inventory will focus on testing athletes' psychological skills.

As classified by Howe (1993), and Hardy and Jones (1994), each psychological skill

consists of many techniques. Relaxation (including breath control) and self-talk ( coping

statements, cue words, and thought-stopping techniques) are techniques widely used for

developing anxiety control, concentration, and confidence skills. Although some researchers

included imagery as a technique for developing those three psychological skills, it is included

in the Mental Preparation subscale in the new inventory. Not only because imagery is a very

important technique for mental preparation ~ Weinberg and Gould (1995) even regarded it as

an interchangeable word for "mental preparation", but also because pre-competition imagery

is really a part of mental preparation. A special technique for confidence building is

reinforcement, and research has shown that positive information can help athletes gain

confidence. A technique referred to as a "competition plan" has been viewed as a very

important technique for developing mental preparation skill since the 1980's. Although some

researchers reported that it can help athletes with concentration control (Boutcher, 1990;

8

Jones & Hardy, 1990; Orlick, 1986; Orlick & Partington, 1988), it is based on the fact that

athletes are mentally well prepared. This technique is included in the Mental Preparation

subscale in the new inventory. One well-known technique for motivation control is goal

setting. This technique was developed in management psychology, and is now widely used in

sport psychology. Based on the fact that athletes with a proper goal for competition (that is,

aiming at challenging the reachable personal potential) will be less distracted by non­

competition related things, and will develop their confidence little by little, this technique can

also be used for developing concentration (Boutcher, 1990; Jones & Hardy, 1990; Orlick,

1986; Orlick & Partington, 1988) and confidence (Elliot & Dweek, 1988). In the new

inventory, this technique is included only in the Motivation subscale. Figure 2 summarizes

the factorial structure of the new inventory.

Although those techniques are basic factors in developing psychological skills, the

new inventory still aims at testing the psychological skills not the techniques. This is because

the techniques are only the vehicles used to attain the target psychological skills. It is the

absence of psychological skills that determines which kind of technique should be used. As

Vealey (1988) stated, the sport psychologist should focus on the skill to be attained and to

choose any technique or combination of techniques to use toward attaining and enhancing

that skill.

From indications above, one can see that the five psychological skills are naturally

related. Not only are some of the underlying techniques common among the psychological

skills, but also some psychological skills are the basis for other psychological skills. For

example, Weinberg and Gould (1995) indicated that confidence can help individuals in

concentration and goal setting (motivation). Other research revealed that less anxious

9

Figure 2. Psychological Skills and Techniques Assessed with the PSICA

Self-talk

Psychological Skills Psychological Techniques

athletes have less concentration problems. Therefore, moderate correlations among those

subscales are expected.

Although the five-subscale construct is based on research in North America, the

successful use of the PSIS R-5 on Chinese athletes (Cox & Liu, 1993; Qiu, 1993) did provide

evidence that the five-subscale construct fits this population too. The new inventory will be

applied to Chinese athletes, and as culture differences are expected, the utility of the

inventory is limited to that population. Therefore, the instrument is named as Psychological

Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (PSICA), but a subsequent a North American version

may be possible.

The thesis project consisted of two studies. Study I was the initial inventory

development, an examination of its psychometric characteristics, and modifications of the

original inventory. Study II involved cross validation of the revised inventory (through

administration to a new sample) and a testing of the psychometric characteristics of the

revised inventory. Details will be discussed in the following sections.

11

STUDY I: INITIAL INVENTORY DEVELOPMENT

The first two phases of Study I, the development of the instrument and its

administration, were conducted prior to the initiation of this thesis and thus are only briefly

described here. The second two phases, the psychometric analyses and inventory

modification constitute the starting point for this specific research project.

Instrument

A total of 57 test items were written based on the theoretical structure of the new

inventory, former research results and data collected from an open-ended psychological skills

inventory handed out to 50 Chinese athletes ranging from college level to national level. An

example of an item from the open-ended inventory was: "What will you do when you can not

concentrate on your performance during the competition?" The 57 items covered

psychological skills used before competitions and during competitions. The pool of 57 items

was then given to three Chinese athletes to review for ambiguity and wording, and to two

Chinese sport psychologists to review for adequacy of content coverage, and face validity.

Based on their reviews, 10 items were eliminated and minor changes in wording were made.

The 47-item original inventory was scored on a 5-point Likert-scale ranging from 1 to 5

(Always- Often- Sometimes- Seldom- Never). Demographic and training questions such as

birth date, gender, sport experience, and best achievement in sport were included in the

Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (PSICA). The original PSICA is

presented in Appendix I.

Subjects

A total of 350 sets of the original inventory were sent to male and female adult

athletes (older than 18 years old) from international level, national level, and college level.

Inventories in which over 80% of the items were completed were considered useful, resulting

in a total of 305 inventories retained for analysis (male=209, female=96). Individuals who

had been competitors of world competitions were considered international level subjects.

China categorizes athletes from grade three to grade one and elite. We considered

individuals at grade one or above, but having not taken part in international competitions as

national level subjects, and individuals under grade one and studying at colleges as college

level. Because of the limitation of the sample size, both male and female athletes were

analyzed together. The athletes represented sixteen different sports.

Procedures

After contacting coaches and athletes and receiving their approval, PSICA tests were

administered under the supervision of supervisors trained for this study. The supervisors

were trained to explain the items according to a standard procedure. The finished inventories

were collected by the supervisors directly, and then sent to the researcher. Athletes were

assured that coaches had no chance to see the answers and that supervisors would not take

part in the data analysis.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted for testing the factor validity of

this inventory with LISREL 8 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993) and using maximum likelihood

estimation procedures with a variance-covariance matrix as data input. Confirmatory factor

analysis allows developers to evaluate the degree to which the structural characteristics of a

scale conform to a hypothesized underlying model, as well as the degree to which each item

maps appropriately on to the underlying subscale structure. The fit of each model was

evaluated with a number of indices, including the p-value associated with the X 2 statistic,

Steiger's (1990) Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), the Goodness-of-Fit

13

Index (GFI), the Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index (PGFI), and Bentler's 1990 Comparative

Fit Index (CFI). A R M S E A of .05 or less indicates that the model based on the sample data

represents a " close fit" to the population, and values less than .08 a reasonable fit (Joreskog

& Sorbom, 1993). The GFI indicates the relative amount of variance and co variance jointly

explained by the model, and a value close to 1.00 indicates a good fit (Byrne, 1989). The

PGFI was selected because of its utility in comparing competing models (the larger the PGFI,

the more parsimonious the model), and the CFI was chosen over other normed fit indices

because it is contained in the 0~ 1 interval. CFI values of .90 and larger were deemed to

indicate an adequate fit of the model to the data, even with a PGFI as low as .50 (Mulaik,

James, Van Alstine, Bennett, Lind, & Stilwell, 1989). A X 2 / d f ratio of around 2.0 or less is

considered good, and may indicate an acceptable fit of the overall model.

Cronbach's alphas were calculated for the five subscales to test their internal

consistency. Item-total correlations were also calculated for each subscale to test the item-

subscale relationships.

Some modifications were done to the items on the basis of the results from

confirmatory factor analyses and item-total correlation analyses, providing that there was

theoretical support. First, items that had a low correlation with the subscale they belonged to

and loaded low on the completely standardized solution of confirmatory factor analyses

(compared to the loadings of the other items on that scale), were deleted from that subscale.

Second, modification indices for the factor loadings and completely standardized expected

change for these loadings were checked. If an item loaded higher on more than one subscale,

it was deleted, and if an item loaded higher on a subscale other than on the subscale it

belonged to, it was switched to the subscale on which it loaded highest. Third, the largest

14

positive/negative standardized residuals were checked, and items that caused very large

standardized residuals were considered for deletion. Confirmatory factor analysis was rerun

after each modification, and the goodness of fit indices were checked to see if the

modification led to a better fitting model. Finally, the subscale correlations were examined.

Confirmatory factor analysis was run for a single-factor model to see if it was better than the

5-factor model. Cronbach's alphas were tested again for the modified PSICA inventories.

Results

As a preliminary step to the factor analysis, the distributional properties of the

responses to the 47 items were examined. Skewness and kurtosis measures suggested that

the marginal distributions of the data set were approximately normal; skewness values ranged

from -1.00 to .71, and kurtosis values ranged from -1.00 to .49. Table 1 contains the number

of items, means, standard deviations, and internal consistency statistics (Cronbach's alpha)

for each of the five PSICA subscales. The CFA results of 11 different models are presented

in Table 2.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Internal Consistency of PSICA Subscales (Study I)

Subscales No. of Items M SD a

Anxiety Control 10(4) 32.80 4.46 .52 (.54)

Concentration 8(4) 27.56 4.01 .54 (.52)

Confidence 9(3) 31.03 4.82 .61 (.47)

Mental Preparation 10(7) 31.76 6.27 .71 (.69)

Motivation 10(5) 34.04 5.81 .70 (.63)

Note. The parameters of the final model are in parentheses.

15

Table 2. Model-Testing Results from Confirmatory Factor Analyses (Study I)

PSICA models X 2 / d f R M S E A GFI PGFI CFI

Original(47,5) 1.76 .050 .80 .72 .67

Revision 1(41,5) 1.75 .050 .82 .74 .73

Revision2(38,5) 1.75 .050 .84 .74 .76

Revision3(35,5) 1.61 .045 .86 .75 .81

Revision4(34,5) 1.58 .044 .86 .75 .82

Revision5(31,5) 1.56 .043 .88 .75 .84

Revision6(28,5) 1.56 .043 .89 .75 .86

Revision7(26,5) 1.58 .044 .90 .74 .87

Revision8(24,5) 1.63 .046 .90 .73 .87

Final(23,5) 1.60 .045 .91 .73 .88

Single-factor 5.48 .120 .53 .49 .00

Note. The first numbers in the parentheses are the number of items in the inventories, and the second numbers in the parentheses are the number of factors in the inventories. RMSEA= Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, GFI = Goodness-of-Fit Index, PGFI = Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index, CFI = Comparative Fit Index.

In the first analysis, the 47-item, 5-factor PSICA was evaluated. The goodness-of-fit

statistics indicated that the data did not conform well to the hypothesized structure. The CFI

of the original inventory was only .67. A series of controlled sequential steps finally resulted

in a new 23-item, 5-factor inventory that proved to have the acceptable dimensional

structure. None of the negatively worded items in the original inventory held well on the

sub scales, and were deleted from the sub scales. This might reveal that Chinese athletes had

some reaction patterns to the negative items. As can be seen in Table 2, the statistics for the

16

final (23,5) model indicated an acceptable fit of the model to the data (X2/df=1.60,

RMSEA=.045, GFI=.91, and CFI=88). Additionally, factor loadings were significant at

p<.001, and 15 out of the 23 loadings exceeded .45 (others were over .40).

Because alpha coefficients are highly influenced by the number of items in the scale,

most alphas went down after deletion of several items. For example, the alpha value of the

Confidence subscale went down to .47 from .63 after 6 items were deleted from the subscale

and only 3 items were left. In this case, the goodness of fit between the subscales and the

underlying model in a confirmatory factor analysis might be more indicative of the adequacy

of construct measurement than a borderline level of internal consistency (Nunnally &

Berntein, 1994; Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991). The only exception was the Anxiety Control

subscale. Its alpha coefficient went up from .52 to .54 after the deletion of 6 items. This

might mean that the items in the original Anxiety Control subscale had a really weak internal

consistency, therefore, modifications deleting the weak items led to a better internal

consistency among the remaining four items.

Table 3 shows the interscale correlations of the final model, which were calculated

from the raw score subscale item totals. The subscales were correlated at a low to moderate

level, ranging from .34 to .55. The moderately correlated subscales were Anxiety Control

and Concentration (r=55); Concentration and Confidence (r=.53); and Concentration and

Motivation (r=.52). In order to test the possibility that moderate correlations among the

subscales meant a single-factor structure, a single-factor model was tested. The single-factor

model gave a very poor fit; the X 2 / d f ratio went up to 5.48, the R M S E A value went up to

.12, and the CFI value went down to .00. These results indicated that the construct of

psychological skills is best regarded as a multifaceted construct having five underlying

17

psychological skills facets. The moderate to low correlations among the subscales also

suggested that the subscales can be treated as measures of reasonably distinct psychological

characteristics in multivariate analyses.

Table 3. Interscale Correlations among the Subscales (Study I)

Subscales Anxiety Concentration Mental Motivation

Control Preparation

Concentration .55

Confidence .43 .53

Mental Preparation .39 .47 .48

Motivation .34 .52 .46 .46

The results of Study I suggested that the five factors structure of the PSICA is

correct, and the revised 23-item, 5-factor PSICA had an acceptable factorial validity.

However, more tests of the PSICA's psychometric characteristics were conducted in Study

II. The revised PSICA is presented in Appendix II.

18

STUDY II: ASSESSMENT OF RELIABILITY

AND VALIDITY

Instruments

The Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes (PSICA). This is the 23-

item, 5-factor inventory developed from Study I. Since all items are positively stated,

answers from "always" to "never" are scored from 5 to 1, respectively. Therefore, higher

PSICA subscale scores indicate higher psychological skills.

To test the convergent validity and discriminant validity of the PSICA several well

developed inventories were needed to compare with the PSICA. The problem is that

although there are many sport specific inventories, not many of them have Chinese versions.

The only existing inventory suitable for this purpose is the Competitive State Anxiety

Inventory (CSAI-II).

Competition State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-II). The CSAI-II is a multidimensional

measure of state anxiety, assessing somatic and cognitive anxiety in sport situations as well as

confidence. It is a well-developed inventory, and has been widely used in sport psychology

research. The Chinese version of the CSAI-II is available with detailed psychometric

information (Zhu, 1994). High somatic or cognitive anxiety scores indicate high anxiety,

while high confidence scores indicate high confidence. Correlations among the PSICA

subscale scores and the CSAI-II subscale score were calculated.

Subjects

A total of 800 sets of the revised inventory were sent to male and female Chinese

athletes participating in 18 different sports at international, national, and college levels, (the

definitions for the three levels are same as the definitions given in Study I). Only 713 sets of

19

the inventory were returned and useful (male=460, female=253, age 13 to 33). The subjects

were chosen from typical cities in eight geographical regions of China: North East China,

North West China, North China, Middle China, East China, South China, South West China,

and South East China. Different participants were used in Study I and Study II. Detailed

information is presented in Appendix III.

Athletes were contacted through coaches. After obtaining the athletes' approval, the

PSICA and CSAI-II tests were administered under the supervision of the supervisors trained

for this study. The international and national level athletes were tested in the competition

intervals during their competition seasons, and the college level athletes were tested in their

rest time during the off-season. Because that the CSAI-II was not tested right before a

competition, the test scores might be less accurate, and this in turn, would decrease the

correlation among CSAI-II and PSICA subscales. The completed inventories were collected

by the supervisors and sent to the researcher by mail. Athletes were assured that coaches

would not see the answers and that supervisors would not take part in the data analysis.

Confirmatory factor analyses and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) tests for

each subscale were conducted. Test-retest reliability, convergent validity and discriminant

validity, and criterion related validity were also examined. The details are discussed in the

following section.

Procedures and Results

Psychological Characteristics. Table 4 shows the male and female means, standard

deviations, and internal consistency statistics (Cronbach's alpha) for the 5-subscales. Only

the Anxiety Control subscale showed a significant gender difference on the means

(Hotelling's J2=10.46, p_<05).

20

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics, Internal Consistency, and Test-retest Reliabilities of the

PSICA Subscales (Study II)

Scale Male Female Total Test-

Retest

M SD a M SD a M SD a

A X 14.66 2.95 .52 15.39 2.82 .53 14.92 2.92 .53 .87

CC 14.56 2.94 .61 14.86 2.48 .37 14.67 2.79 .54 .87

CF 11.36 2.28 .37 11.50 2.14 .39 11.41 2.23 .37 .88

M P 23.63 5.23 .72 24.26 4.94 .72 23.85 5.14 .72 .92

M V 18.93 3.80 .73 18.80 3.65 .71 18.88 3.75 .72 .93

Note. Descriptive statistics and alphas are based on a sample of 460 male and 253 female Chinese athletes. Test-retest coefficients are based on 140 athletes who were retested after four weeks. A X = Anxiety Control, CC = Concentration, CF = Confidence, MP = Mental Preparation, M V = Motivation.

Athletes were grouped by their ages (group 1: age 13-17; group 2: age 18-21; group

3: age 22-25; group 4: age 26-29: group 5: age 30-35). Tests of the means showed that none

of the subscales had significant difference among the age groups. Therefore, comparisons

were not considered in the following analyses.

It was not surprising that the alpha coefficients were not large, given that the

subscales contained only 3 to 7 items, and sampled fairly broad psychological skills

constructs. The Confidence subscale had the lowest internal consistency (a=.37), which was

even lower than in study one (a=.47). Internal consistency statistics were similar for male and

female athletes, with the exception of the Concentration subscale, which had a higher internal

consistency for the male subjects (a=.61) than for the female subjects (a=.37). The item-

21

total score correlations of the subscale were quite low for the female subjects, ranging from

. 11 to .29. This suggested that males and females might have different response modes on

this subscale.

Cross validation of the factorial structure. The distributional properties of the

responses of the 23 items were examined before confirmatory factor analyses were

conducted. Skewness values ranged from -1.10 to .12, and kurtosis values ranged from -1.05

to .62. This suggested that the marginal distributions of the data set were approximately

normal.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).was conducted with LISREL 8 (Joreskog &

Sorbom, 1993), using the weighted least squares procedure (WLS) with a polychoric

correlation matrix as data input, and the asymptotic variance-covariance matrix elements as

weights. This is a method recommended for analyzing ordinal data (Bollen, 1989; Muthen,

1993). The C F A analyses were run on the total group, and separately by gender. Separate

analyses for males and females were deemed necessary because of the descriptive statistics

results (differences in some means and alpha coefficients), and because males and females are

known to differ in psychological traits. The CFA results are presented in Table 5. The 23-

item, 5-factor model did not fit the data very well. Al l X 2 / d f ratios were higher than 2.00.

The female subsample had the highest X 2 / d f ratio of 3.84, and the male subsample had the

lowest X 2 / d f ratio of 2.13. The female subsample also had the highest R M S E A value (. 106),

this was beyond the acceptable value of .080. However, the R M S E A values for the male

subsample(.050) and the total sample (.045) were acceptable. Although the GFI values were

all very high, ranging from .93 to .95, only male (CFI=.91) and female (CFI^.92) subsamples

had very high CFI values. Because that the GFIs can be influenced by sample size, the robust

22

Table 5. Model-Testing Results from Confirmatory Factor Analyses (Study II)

PSICA models X 2 / d f R M S E A SRMR GFI PGFI CFI

Polychoric correlations analyzed*

Males 2.13. .050 .265 .94 .75 .91

Females 3.84 .106 .382 .93 .74 .92

Total Group 2.45 .045 .214 .95 .76 .87

Pearson correlations analyzed**

Males 2.30 .053 .052 .91 .72 .88

Females 1.63 .050 .058 .89 .71 .87

Total Group 2.76 .050 .046 .93 .74 .88

22-item, 5-factor model

Males 2.18 .050 .046 .93 .72 .87

Females 1.63 .050 .048 .90 .71 .90

Total Group 2.59 .047 .042 .94 .74 .90

Note. * Weighted least squares procedures with a polychoric correlation matrix as data input, and asymptotic variance-covariance matrix elements as weights were used. ** Maximum likelihood procedures with Pearson product-moment correlations as data

input were used. R M S E A = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, SRMR = Standard Root Mean Residual, GFI = Goodness-of-Fit Index, PGFI = Parsimony Goodness-of-Fit Index, CFI = Comparative Fit Index.

CFI values were considered to be more indicative of a good model fit. The bad fit of the

X 2 / d f ratios, and the good fit of the CFI values were not consistent. An examination of the

residuals revealed that almost all of the covariances between two variables were

overpredicted in the three confirmatory factor analyses. This was unusual, as there is usually

23

Table 6. Factor Loadings of the PSICA Items for Using a Polychoric Correlation Matrix as

Data Input (Study II)

Items Anxiety Concentration Confidence Mental Motivation

Control Preparation

8 .74 (.66) 15 .74 (.73) 16 .64 (.78) 18 .76 (.91) 6 .72 (.63) 10 .79 (.91) 12 .76 (.82) 21 .71 (.75) 5 .68 (.91) 7 .66 (.75) 11 .71 (.82) 1 .66 (.59) 3 .65 (.78) 9 .73 (.87) 13 .77 (.83) 14 .70 (.70) 17 .73 (.89) 19 .80 (.73) 2 .77 (.80) 4 .76 (.74)

20 .81 (.92) 22 .77 (.79) 23 .79 (.66)

Note. Factor loadings for the female subsample are in parentheses, and outside the parentheses are factor loadings for the male subsample.

a balance between the number of overpredicted and underpredicted covariances. The

overprediction of the covariances might be the reason that the X 2 / d f ratios, and the R M S E A

value of female subjects were very high.

The factor loadings for the items were moderate to high, ranging from .55 to .77 for

the total sample; from .64 to .81 for the male subsample; and from .59 to .92 for female

24

subsample. Table 6 presents the factor loadings of the PSICA items for the male and female

subsamples. The female subsample had four items which loaded higher than .90 on their

factors (item 5,10,18, and 20). These were also the items that had the highest number of

overpredicted covariances. The male subsample had few overpredicted covariances and

comparatively lower factor loadings. Therefore, the overpredictions of the covariances cast

doubt on the CFA results.

Because the C F A using polychoric correlation and WLS led to extreme

overestimation of the variances and covariances, the validity of the results is questionable.

Consequently the CFA analyses were repeated using maximum likelihood estimation

procedures (ML) with Pearson product-moment correlation as data input. The CFA results

are presented in Table 5. There was a balance between the overpredicted and underpredicted

covariances in all cases. The X 2 / d f ratios and the R M S E A values of the total sample (X 2 /df

=2.76, RMSEA=.050) and the male subsample (X 2 /df =.2.30, RMSEA=.053) were slightly

higher than the former results. Al l GFI values were lower than the former results, and the

CFI values went down for the male (CFI=88) and female (CFI=.87) subsamples, but were

still acceptable. The CFI went up slightly for the total sample (CFI=.88). Results for the

female subsample indicated that further examination of these results was required. The X 2 / d f

ratio and R M S E A value went down to 1.63 and .050 respectively. This was quite different

than the former results, and suggested a good fit of the model for the female data. The

inconsistent changes of X 2 / d f ratios from different CFA results requires further explanation.

Since the Pearson product-moment correlation matrix generally leads to underestimates of

factor loadings and overestimates of their standard errors (Babakus, Ferguson, & Joreskog,

1987), the factor loadings were much lower this time in all three samples (see Table 7).

25

Table 7. Factor Loadings of the PSICA Items Using a Pearson Product-Moment Correlation

Matrix as Data Input (Study II)

Items Anxiety

Control

Concentration Confidence Mental

Preparation

Motivation

8 .56 (.43) 15 .49 (.48) 16 .38 (.51) 18 .45 (.48) 6 .56 (.31) 10 .58 (.45) 12 .48 (.30) 21 .53 (.40) 5 .45 (.38) 7 .35 (.42) 11 .49 (.50) 1 .39 (.31) 3 .48 (.54) 9 .54 (.54) 13 .59 (.70) 14 .56 (.64) 17 .47 (.41) 19 .60 (.52) 2 .59 (.55) 4 .55 (.68)

20 .67 (.51) 22 .63 (.63) 23 .56 (.49)

Note. Factor loadings for the female subsample are in parentheses, and outside the parentheses are factor loadings for the male subsample.

However, the items all held very well on the factors they belonged to. Modification indices

indicated that no changes were required, and suggested that the items only tested the

characteristics they were expected to reflect.

Although neither method yielded reliable results, there were some consistencies, and

two reasons to believe that the results from the second method were closer to the real

relationships between the model and the data. The first reason was that the goodness-of-fit

26

statistics based on a balanced overprediction and underprediction of the covariances should

be more accurate than the indices based only on an overprediction of the covariances. The

second reason was that the ordinal data used in this research was normally distributed with no

excessive kurtosis and skewness, and had sufficient number of categories. Data such as these

were robust when treating them as if they were continuous (Bollen, 1989). Therefore, the

results from the second method will be discussed instead of the results from the first method.

The factor loadings on Anxiety Control subscale were not high. And the moderate

internal consistencies for both male (a=.52) and female (a=53) subsamples suggested that

this subscale could be improved with some modifications. Item 16 loaded the lowest on the

subscale for the male subsample (.38; and the highest for the female subsample (.51). This

item might test underlying difference between males and females. There were big differences

on the alpha coefficients for the male (a=.61) and female (a=.37) subsamples on the

Concentration subscale. Items also loaded high on this subscale for the male subsample, but

quite low for the female subsample (3 out of four items loaded below .40). Obviously, this

subscale was better for testing males than for females. The Confidence subscale had only

three items, and was the weakest subscale. The factor loadings on this subscale were low for

both male and female subsamples (none of them beyond .50), and alpha coefficients were all

quite low (a=.37 for males, and a=.39 for females). Items in this subscale should be

reanalyzed, and more items added. The subscale items loaded highly on the Mental

Preparation and Motivation subscales, with the exception of item 1 in the Mental Preparation

subscale, which loaded comparatively low (factor loading was .39 for males and .31 for

females) on the subscale. The alpha coefficients of the Mental Preparation subscale were the

same for both male and female subsamples (a=.72). Table 5 also includes the CFA results

27

after the deletion of item 1 from the Mental Preparation subscale. Most of the goodness of

fit indices were improved, especially for the female subsample (X2/df=1.63, RMSEA=.050,

GFI=.90, CFI=.90), and suggested that the Mental Preparation subscale would be a good

subscale without item 1, and this, in turn, would improve the factorial validity of the whole

inventory. The Motivation subscale had high internal consistencies for both male (a=.73) and

female (a=71) subsamples, even though it only had five items. It was the strongest subscale

in the PSICA.

The moderate correlations among the PSICA subscales presented in Table 8 ranged

Table 8. Factor Score Correlations among the PSICA Subscales and CSAI-II Subscales

(Study II)

Scales Anxiety

Control

Concentration Confidence Mental

Preparation

Motivation

A X 1.00

CC .48 1.00

CF .46 .50 1.00

MP .45 .55 .52 1.00

M V .41 .57 • .49 .51 1.00

COGNITIVE - .66 - .34 - .07 - .19 - .22

SOMATIC - .66 - .25 - .24 - .27 - .24

CONFIDENCE .28 .19 .53 .24 .26

Note. Sample size was 713 for the PSICA interscale correlations, and was 111 for bi-correlations between the PSICA and CSAI-II subscales.

28

from .41 to .57. The highest correlation was between Concentration subscale and Motivation

subscale. This was consistent with the findings that athletes with a proper goal/ motivation

for competition will be less distracted outside competition things (Boutcher, 1990; Jones &

Hardy, 1990; Orlick, 1986; Orlick & Partington, 1988).

Test-retest reliability. A total of 140 subjects (male=101, female=39) were retested

after a 4-week interval. Pearson product moment correlations between the two sets of

PSICA raw scores were calculated for each subscale, and the results are presented in Table 4.

The test-retest reliability of the inventory was very high, ranging from .87 to .93. This

suggested that in spite of its weakness in its factorial structure, the inventory was a reliable

measure, and tested relatively stable characteristics.

Convergent validity and discriminant validity. A total of 116 subjects completed

both the PSICA and CSAI-II. In order to avoid a test order effect, 64 subjects answered the

PSICA first, followed by the CSAI-II; and 52 subjects answered in the reverse order.

Correlations among the PSICA and CSAI-II subscales were calculated, and are presented in

Table 8. The Anxiety Control subscale in the PSICA correlated highly with the Cognitive

Anxiety (r=- .66) and Somatic Anxiety (r=- .66) subscales in the CSAI-II, but lowly with the

Confidence subscale in the CSAI-II (r=.28). Since higher scores in the PSICA subscales

represent higher psychological skills, while higher scores in the CSAI-II Cognitive and

Somatic Anxiety subscales represent higher anxiety, the negative relationships between the

PSICA subscales and the CSAI-II Anxiety subscales were consistent with the assumption that

athletes with less psychological skills have higher anxiety. On the other hand, the Confidence

subscale in the PSICA had a high correlation with the Confidence subscale (r=.53) in the

CSAI-II, but low correlations with the Cognitive Anxiety (r=- .07) and Somatic Anxiety

29

(r=- 24) subscales in the CSAI-II. This indicated that the Anxiety Control and Confidence

subscales in the PSICA had high convergent validity and discriminant validity.

High discriminant validity was also shown on the other PSICA subscales. None of

the other subscales in the PSICA were highly correlated with the CSAI-II subscales, the

absolute correlations ranged from .07 to .34. The highest correlation was between the

PSICA Concentration subscale and the CSAI-II Cognitive Anxiety subscale (r=- .34) . This

result is consistent with reports that athletes' cognition has effects on their concentration

(Gould, Eklund, & Jackson, 1993).

Criterion-related validity. As noted above, psychological skills are thought to

contribute in important ways to quality of sport performance, and this in turn relates to the

performance level of the participants. It was reasonable to expect to find significant

differences on the PSICA subscale scores between athletes at the international level and

college level, and thus a one-way M A N O V A was performed on the PSICA scores. The

results are presented in Table 9. The multivariate F ratio indicated a significant (p_<01) sport

level main effect. The follow-up univariate A N O V A yielded significant sport level main

Table 9. Multivariate Summary and Univariate Follow-ups (Study II)

Effect Multivariate Follow-up univariate results (F(2,710))

A C CC CF MP M V

Level 2.98** 3.48* 3.49* 2.03 9.34** .14

Note. *p_<05; **p_<01. A X = Anxiety Control, CC = Concentration, CF = Confidence,

MP= Mental Preparation, M V = Motivation.

30

Table 10. Post-hoc Results of the Sport Level by PSICA Subscale Main Effect (Study II)

Means International National

Anxiety

Control

International

National

College

15.62

15.01

14.78

Concentration International

National

College

15.31

14.92

14.51

Confidence International

National

College

11.33

11.44

11.02

Mental

Preparation

International

National

College

25.62

24.30

23.29

Motivation International

National

College

18.98

18.91

18.53

Note. Means with a significant difference between the sport levels are indicated as '* '

effects for Anxiety Control (p_<05), Concentration (p_<05), and Mental Preparation

(p<0001) subscales. Post-hoc tests using the Tukey (b) procedure revealed that international

level athletes differed from college level athletes on all three subscales. There were also

differences between international and national athletes, and national and college athletes on

31

the mental preparation subscale. The subscale mean scores of the three sport level athletes

are presented in Table 10. The difference between college level and international level

athletes on the three subscales indicated that the inventory had criterion-related validity on

the three subscales. Since there are not many differences between international and national

athletes, it is not surprising that there are no significant differences between these athletes on

most of the subscales.

32

DISCUSSION

Measures of psychological skills are being used in a variety of ways to study the role

of psychological factors in sport. Existing measures have found applicability in such areas as

sport performance and prediction of injuries. As a first step in PST programs, the assessment

of athletes' psychological skills provides psychologists and coaches the direction of personal

psychological skills training (Vealey, 1988). The evaluation of psychologically based

performance enhancement programs also requires the assessment of changes in the coping

skills that are the focus of an intervention. The PSICA is an initial attempt to provide a

psychometrically sound measure for these purposes.

The PSICA was based on theoretical classifications and practical research, and had a

theoretical based factorial structure. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is proving to be a

useful statistical tool, both in evaluating the factorial validity of the existing measures and in

the development of new ones (Judd, lessor, & Donovan, 1986; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz,

1990). The use of C F A to evaluate several widely used sport psychological measures has

cast doubt on their adequacy as valid measures of multidimensional constructs. For example,

the results of recent C F A studies have raised serious questions concerning the factorial

validity of the Group Environment Questionnaire (Schutz, Eom, Smoll, & Smith, 1994), and

PSIS R-5 (Chartrand, Jowdy, & Danish, 1992). In each case, the measure in question has

failed to conform to its hypothesized factor structure, suggesting that either the underlying

theoretical model (where one exists) is invalid, or the items designed to measure the

constructs in the model are inadequate, or both.

More recently, researchers have begun to use CFA as a basis for designing new

measures (e.g., Judd, Jessor, & Donovan, 1986; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990). Using this

33

approach early in the test construction phase can assist researchers in developing measures

that conform to an underlying structure of latent variables (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994).

This structure may be derived from a formal theoretical model, as was the case in developing

the PSICA. In the first study, 47 items were tested using CFA, and 24 weak items were

deleted. The remaining 23-item 5-factor inventory, called the Psychological Skills Inventory

for Chinese Athletes (PSICA), showed an acceptable model fit. A one-factor model did not

fit the data and suggested that the five-factor model represented the real structure of

psychological skills.

When cross-validated with a larger sample, some problems of the PSICA were

revealed. The new data was first analyzed with a weighted least squares procedure (WLS)

with a polychoric correlation matrix as data input, and the asymptotic variance-covariance

matrix elements as weights, a procedure recommended for ordinal data (Bollen, 1989;

Muthen, 1993). However, for the female subsample, this method overpredicted almost all

covariances, and led to a high X 2 / d f ratio, and an unacceptably large RMSEA. A maximum

likelihood procedure with the Pearson product-moment correlation matrix as data input

yielded balanced predictions of covariances, and fit indices only slightly lower than those

obtained with the WLS procedure. Since the hypothesized covariance structure usually does

not hold for the covariance matrix of the observed ordinal variables, even though the model

does match well with the latent continuous variables (Bollen, 1989), the second method

tended to predict lower fit of the model. There is a trend of factor loading attenuation when

analyzing the Pearson correlations of ordinal measures, and this was the reason that the factor

loadings in method two were all lower than in method one.

Although none of the methods provided strong support for the factorial validity of the

PSICA, the results from the CFAs, combined with results from other tests, could provide

some information about the psychometric characteristics of the inventory. The overall fit

indices, with exception of the R M S E A for the female subsample, when analyzed using WLS,

indicated an adequate but not good fit of the five-factor model. The alpha coefficients were

rather low for three of the factors, and the factor loadings were all rather low when PPMC

were analyzed, but both of these situations are particularly due to the low correlations

produced by the PPMC method with ordinal data. The factor loadings were strong when

polychoric correlations were used ( but problems occurred with the model fit for females).

These generally supportive findings, along with strongly supportive results from the

convergent and discriminant validity study, and the test -retest reliability results, suggested

that the PSICA has potential as a valid psychological scale.

Two of the subscales, Motivation and Mental Preparation (excluding item 1), had a

good factorial structure. The factor loadings were high, and no items loaded on other

subscales. This suggested that the subscale items represents unique factors. Although

Motivation and Mental Preparation subscales represented many different techniques with a

small number of items, they still had high internal consistencies (Cronbach's alphas), and

showed good psychometric properties. In spite of the their moderate correlations with the

other PSICA subscales, the low correlations with the CSAI-II subscales proved that these

two subscales have good discriminant validities. The correlations with other PSICA

subscales were due to the natural relationships among the psychological skills, and this in

turn, proved that the subscales represents the real characteristics of these psychological

skills.

35

The Confidence subscale was the weakest scale in the PSICA. Its factor loadings and

internal consistency were all very low. This reason for this is that the subscale is assessing

different techniques that relate to confidence skill, so that the items do not correlate very

strongly. However, the subscale items did not load on any other PSICA subscales, and the

subscale correlated highly with the CSAI-II Confidence subscale. This suggested that the

subscale does test confidence skill, but that using only three items to test a skill as wide as

confidence is obviously not enough. More items should be added to this subscale.

The psychometric characteristics of the Concentration subscale were good for the

male subsample, but poor for the female subsample. The factor loadings and internal

consistency were significantly higher for the male subsample than for the female subsample,

and indicated that the subscale items are not appropriate for the female subsample.

Therefore, either a separate subscale should be developed for female athletes, or some

modification on the items should be done to fit both male and female athletes. Although

males and females have different reaction modes, there is one consistency, that is, no items

loaded on the other PSICA subscales for both subsample. This along with the subscale's low

correlation with the CSAI-II subscales, suggested that the items are assessing a unique

psychological skill.

The Anxiety Control subscale, though not the worst in the PSICA, needs to be

improved. The high correlations with the CSAI-II Cognitive Anxiety and Somatic Anxiety

subscales and the low correlation with the CSAI-II Confidence subscale were encouraging

findings, and suggested that the subscale has convergent validity and discriminant validity,

and tests a skill that relates to anxiety control. However, the moderate internal consistency,

and low factor loadings implied that the subscale needs some modifications. As with the

36

Confidence subscale, four items are not enough to test a wide variety of anxiety control skills.

Therefore, more items should be added to this subscale.

The high test-retest reliability of the inventory was a good signal to the inventory's

psychometric properties. In Cox and Liu's (1993) study they reported that the test-retest

reliabilities of the PSIS R-5 ranged from .853 to .979 in a two-week interval, and therefore

the PSICA test-retest reliabilities of .87 to .93 after a four-week interval are considered

strong. This suggested that the inventory is a stable measure.

International athletes scored higher on all PSICA subscales than college athletes, but

significantly higher only on Anxiety Control, Concentration and Mental Preparation

subscales. The significant differences between international and college athletes on Anxiety

Control, Concentration and Mental Preparation subscales suggested that the inventory could

discriminate these two levels of athletes on the three subscales, and these three subscales have

criterion-related validity. The non-significant differences between the two levels of athletes

on Concentration and Motivation subscales might be due to the lack of discriminant ability of

the inventory, or the naturally low differences between these two levels of Chinese athletes

on those skills. More research in this field will be necessary.

The results of Study II indicated that the PSICA is still an immature inventory. More

work must be done before it can be used for research or applied purposes. The Motivation

and Mental Preparation subscales are less problematic subscales, and can be kept in the

inventory for further study. However, the Confidence subscale needs some fundamental

research, and the Anxiety Control and Concentration subscales need to be improved.

37

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42

LITERATURE REVIEW

Within the past 30 years, a new field of sport science has been recognized, called

sport psychology. The interest of earlier sport psychology research was in the personalities

and characteristics of great athletes, and this declined in the 1970s because of heated debates

about the validity of personality traits. Complementing the interest in the person and the

patterns of the exceptional athletes, an enduring fascination of sport psychologists, past and

present, has been with the phenomenon of peak performance. Peak performances are those

magic moments when an athlete puts it all together— both physically and mentally. The

performance is exceptional, seemingly transcending ordinary levels of play. Competitively,

these performances often result in a personal best. Unfortunately, those moments are

relatively rare and, according to many athletes, nonvoluntary. Are they truly nonvoluntary?

Probably not. A precondition of peak performance is a certain level of physical conditioning

and mastery of the physical skills involved in performance. This is beyond the research of

sport psychologists. However, most athletes and coaches will acknowledge that at least 40

to 90 percent of success in sports is due to mental factors (Williams, 1986). The higher the

skill level, the more important the mental aspect becomes. In fact, at the elite competitive

level, it is not uncommon to hear that the winner invariably comes down to who is the

strongest athlete, mentally, on a given day!

Over the last 20 years, there has been a tremendous surge of research on the

psychological aspects of peak performance. There are at least three excellent sources for

helping to identify the psychological characteristics underlying successful athletic

performance. One is the data that have been generated from researchers who have asked

athletes to recall their subjective perceptions during the greatest moment they ever had while

participating in sport. Garfield and Bennett (1984) identified several mental conditions that

athletes described as being characteristic of the feelings they have at those moments when

they are doing something extraordinarily well: mentally relaxed; confident/optimistic; focused

on the present; and highly energized.

The second source is the data generated from studies that have compared the

psychological characteristics of successful and less successful athletes. When Mahoney and

Avener (1977) compared 1976 U.S. Olympic qualifiers and non-qualifiers in men's

gymnastics, they found that the finalists coped more easily with competitive mistakes, were

better able to control and utilize anxiety, had higher self-confidence and more positive self-

talk, had more gymnastics-related dreams, and had more frequent imagery of an internal

versus external nature. External imagery occurs when a person views himself or herself from

the perspective of an external observer, such as seeing oneself on television or videotape.

Internal imagery requires an approximation much more like the actual perspective when the

skill is performed physically, that is, imagining being inside the body and experiencing the

same sensations as one might expect in actual physical execution. In a wrestling study

comparing successful and less successful wrestlers in a Big Ten wrestling tournament, the

successful wrestlers were more self-confident, indicated that they were closer to achieving

their maximum wrestling potential, and more frequently focused their attention only on

wrestling-related thoughts prior to competition (Gould, Weiss, & Weinberg, 1981).

The third source of information comes from people who have asked top athletes,

coaches and scouts what they think it takes to be successful in their given sport. In a study

designed to assess the psychological principles used by wrestling coaches, descriptive

statistics revealed that the psychological attributes of mental toughness, positive attitude,

individual motivation, and attention-concentration were judged to be most important for

success in wrestling (Gould, Hodge, Peterson, & Petlichkoff, 1987). A case study of elite

swimmers revealed that peak performance is characterized by high self-confidence, self-

controlled arousal, a holistic state of mind, good concentration, and a belief in previous

training (Troup, 1991).

Regardless of the source of the data or the nature of the sport, a certain psychological

profile appears to be linked with successful performance. Although there are numerous

individual variations, in most cases this general profile is depicted by the following

characteristics: self-regulation of arousal (energized yet relaxed, no fear); higher self-

confidence; better concentration (being appropriately focused); in control, but not forcing it;

positive preoccupation with sport (imagery and thoughts); and determination and

commitment (Williams, 1986). Those psychological characteristics are not innate, and they

are skills that can be learned and developed. The term psychological skills training (PST)

was coined to describe techniques and strategies designed to teach or enhance mental skills

that facilitate performance and a positive approach to sport competition (Vealey, 1988). A

major premise of PST is that athletes are basically mentally healthy but they may need to

learn cognitive skills and strategies to cope with the various demands of sport competition

(Harris & Harris, 1984; Martens, 1987).

Interest in PST has proliferated in North America since the 1980s. Numerous books

outlining various PST approaches have been published and PST has also become more visible

as professional and world-class amateur athletes employ sport psychologists and publicly

acknowledge the importance of psychological skills in their performance. However, Seiler

(1992) indicated that there is a wide variation in what techniques people consider to be

45

important, and the inclusion of particular areas is somewhat arbitrary depending on the

experience of the individual. Suinn (1985) conducted open-ended interviews with 11 sport

psychology specialists who were significantly involved with the psychological training of elite

athletes who participated in the 1984 Olympic Games. The most frequently used

interventions were reported to be concentration, relaxation, self-regulation, visualization,

coach/athlete communication, goal setting, self-talk, stress management, thought

management, biofeedback, and crisis interventions.

Hall and Carron (1990) provided coaches with information on self confidence, mental

imagery, performance analysis, goal setting, token rewards and variety in practice sessions.

Gould, Petlichkoff, Hodge, and Simons (1990) offered a psychological skills training program

to elite wrestlers that included relaxation, visualization/imagery, goal setting, and mental

preparation techniques. Gould, Tammen, Murphy, and May (1989) noted that there was

some agreement among sport psychologists working with Olympic athletes who were asked

to list those areas they considered important. Consensus was obtained for the areas of goal

setting, relaxation training, arousal regulation, visualization (imagery), and self-talk. These

factors could be considered specific techniques although they might not necessarily be

presented independently. A more general listing of mental skills was presented by Gould,

Hodge, Peterson, and Petlichkoff (1987), derived from their survey of wrestling coaches.

They reported that these coaches were eager to develop programs for anxiety/ stress

management, attention/concentration, and confidence building. These areas were confirmed

by Sullivan and Hodge (1991) in their survey of New Zealand athletes and coaches who also

added the area of precompetition preparation as a concern. These can be seen as broader

areas of concern and do not reflect the techniques as directly. In Weinberg and Gould's

46

(1995) summary of the topics that coaches and athletes would find useful in PST programs,

they indicated arousal regulation, imagery (mental preparation), confidence building,

increasing motivation and commitment (goal setting), and attention (concentration skills, self-

talk, mental plan).

The lack of an underlying theory might be the reason for the variation in the content

of PST programs. Vealey's (1988) distinction between advanced skills and basic techniques

was considered to be an appropriate starting point of exploring the underlying principal

involved in psychological skills training: advanced skills are "qualities to be attained", while

basic techniques are what "athletes engage in to develop advanced skills"(p. 326). In this

context, advanced skills, such as anxiety control, can be thought of as the desired outcomes

associated with the implementation and practice of basic techniques, such as goal-setting and

relaxation. Hardy and Jones (1994) classified the advanced skills and basic techniques as

follows: basic techniques include Goal-setting, Imagery, Relaxation, and Self-talk; and

advanced skills include Anxiety Control, Activation Control, Self-confidence, Maintaining

Motivation, and Attention Control. Howe (1993) developed a two-order structure for

psychological skills training, which was similar to the advanced skills and basic techniques

classification. The higher-order component includes Arousal Management, Confidence

Building, Focusing/Concentration, Precompetition and Competition Strategies, and

Leadership. The first-order component includes Relaxation, Imagery, Self-talk,

Reinforcement, Goal Setting, Communication, and Attention Strategies. A benefit of these

classifications is that they avoid the confusion in the development of PST program. People

often become confused when facing a PST program that contains both anxiety control skill

and relaxation technique, which is a basic part of anxiety control skill. Also, the

47

differentiation between skills and techniques will encourage sport psychologists to focus on

the skill to be attained and to choose any technique or combination of techniques to use

toward attaining and enhancing that skill.

The first step in planing any PST program should be to assess those psychological

skills that are deficient. As Silva (1982), and Seabourne and his colleagues (1985) indicated,

regardless of whether a comprehensive or abbreviated training program is being planed, it will

be more effective if psychological objectives appropriate to the athletes are identified.

However, sport psychologists often become enamored of a particular method (e.g., imagery)

and use it indiscriminately instead of focusing on a skill that an athlete needs to develop and

then utilizing several techniques to develop that skill. Orlick (1982) emphasized that athletes

often lose interest in PST unless the psychological training is directed specifically at meeting

their individual needs. A few instruments designed to assess psychological skills specific to

sport have recently been developed, such as the Competition State Anxiety Inventory-II

(Martens, Vealey, & Burton, 1990), the Sport Anxiety Scale (Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990),

and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens, 1977). However, these instruments are

generally used for the assessment of precompetitive anxiety, and there is still a need for

multidimensional instrument that assesses a broad range of psychological skills possessed by

athletes.

In an attempt to develop such a measure, Mahoney and his colleagues (Mahoney &

Avener, 1977; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987) developed the Psychological Skills

Inventory for Sport (PSIS). The scale has undergone continuous development, and the most

frequently studied version (PSIS R-5) consists of 45 items that are arranged into six subscales

(Anxiety Control, Concentration, Confidence, Mental Preparation, Motivation, and Team

48

Emphasis). In its various forms, the PSIS has been successfully employed by a number of

investigators to differentiate between elite and nonelite athletes, male and female athletes,

nordic disabled and able-bodied athletes, athletes in various sports and athletes of different

nationalities (Cox & Liu, 1993; Cox & Yoo, 1995; Qiu, 1993, Mahoney, 1989a; Mahoney &

Avener, 1977; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkins, 1987; Meyer, Sterling, Treadwell, Bourgeois, &

LeUness, 1994; White, 1993; White & Croce, 1992).

Despite its promise as a research instrument, the PSIS R-5 appears to have a number

of serious psychometric shortcomings that limit its potential usefulness. In Lesser and

Murphy's (1988) research with athletes in training at the United States Olympic Training

Center in Colorado Springs, they reported that test-retest reliability was satisfactory for three

of the scales of the PSIS R-5, but low for the other three scales. They also reported that

responses on the anxiety control, motivation, and mental preparation scales were age related,

and on two scales (Anxiety Control and Confidence) there were gender differences in

responses. Factor analyses revealed more serious problems of the PSIS. Both Yang (1995)

and Tammen, Murphy, and Jowdy (1990) were unable to replicate the factor structure

established by Mahoney and his coworkers (1987). The result from Yang's study might be

due to cultural differences since Chinese athletes were used as subjects in her study.

However, Chartrand, Jowdy, and Danish (1992) tested the hypothesized six-factor (subscale)

model advanced by Mahoney and his coworkers (1987) using confirmatory factor analysis.

They found no evidence for the factorial validity of the scale (X2/df=2.4, GFI=.754, and

AGFI=.726), nor for any of the alternative models that they tested using structural equation

modeling (X2/df=2.27, GFI=.805, and AGFI=.777). Many of the items loaded on several of

the factors, indicating that the subscales were not measuring distinct constructs, and seven of

49

the items failed to load on any factor. It thus appears that in its present form, the PSIS R-5

does not meet the factorial validity standards required of a multidimensional instrument that is

to be used for research or applied purposes. Further study of the psychological skills

included in the PSIS R-5 may help us to better understand these psychological skills, and in

turn, develop a good test instrument.

Psychological skills and techniques

Figure 3 provides a classification of the fundamental psychological skills and

techniques based on a literature review. The words "arousal", and "anxiety" are used

interchangeably, but it is important to distinguish between them. Arousal is "a general

physiological and psychological activation of the organism [person] that varies on a

continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement" (Gould & Krane, 1992, pp. 120-121),

while anxiety is "a negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness, worry, and

apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body" (Weinberg, & Gould, 1995,

p. 93). That is, anxiety is a negative factor in competition. However, Mahoney used

"anxiety" as an interchangeable word for "arousal". He said that "peak performers report

being less likely to experience their anxiety as an enemy", and "many report that they become

concerned if their anxiety level is not high enough: (Mahoney, 1989, p. 115). In a study of

young gymnasts, Mace and Carroll (1989), showed that a stress inoculation group exposed to

a treatment package of relaxation, imagery, and making self-statements reported less stress

and performed more consistently than a control group. Harris and Harris (1984) advocated

the use of relaxation and a combination of techniques such as relaxation with imagery to

reduce anxiety.

Peak performers seem to have developed exceptional concentration abilities

50

Figure 3. Relationships among the Psychological Skills and the Techniques

Self-talk

Psychological Skills Psychological Techniques

appropriate to their sport. They sometimes report being unaware of the audience and fully

absorbed by the demands of their performance. In a study of weightlifters, McGowan,

Talton, and Tobacyk (1990) suggested that mental skills training including the use of

51

relaxation, imagery, and self-talk might be useful, especially in athletes who tend to be

distracted. Elite athletes also report using process-oriented goals and detailed, well-

rehearsed competition plans as part of their attention control strategies (Boutcher, 1990,

Jones and Hardy, 1990, Orlick, 1986, and Orlick, & Partington, 1988).

There is fairly consistent evidence that more successful athletes also tend to be more

confident than less successful athletes (Highlen & Bennett, 1979), but the nature of the

relationship between confidence and performance remains a focus of modern research.

Bandura's (1977) theory of self-efficacy (situationally specific self-confidence) has now

received considerable support in sport and other settings. Most mental training that is

focused on enhancing self-confidence teaches performers to use goal setting, imagery, and

self-talk techniques (Hardy & Jones, 1994). Reinforcement is also a technique suggested for

developing self-confidence (Howe, 1993).

Motivation is another of those familiar psychological concepts that becomes

increasingly complex as its scientific investigation is refined. Serious athletes commit

themselves to difficult and demanding goals, the achievement of which will lead to enhanced

feelings of competence and greater intrinsic motivation towards their sport. In view of this,

mental training of motivation skill often focuses on encouraging performers to set goals that

are within their control in order to enhance feelings of self-competence, and upon

attributional re-training to encourage performers to attribute their failures to unstable internal

factors (Hardy & Jones, 1994).

The final psychological skill relevant to exceptional performance to be discussed here

involves the mental preparations performed by athletes in anticipation of actual competition.

This area is a combination of the previous work discussed above, as this skill is designed to

52

bring about an appropriate arousal level without debilitating anxiety, an optimum focus for

competition, a maintaining of confidence before and during the event, and a positive

motivation toward competition. A number of recent studies have shown that a consistent

precompetition routine produces superior performance. In a series of studies, Singer and his

associates found that a rehearsed strategy led to improved performance in a group of motor

skills (Singer, 1988; Singer, De Francesco, & Randall, 1989; Singer, Flora, & Aboutezk,

1989, and Singer, Cauraugh, Tennant, Murphey, Chen, & Lidor, 1991).

Team emphasis is a skill only included in the study by Mahoney and his colleagues'

(1987). Mahoney (1989b) pointed out that although elite athletes placed greater emphasis on

team (vs. their own individual) performance, this finding must be qualified depending on the

type of sport involved. For those reasons, team emphasis is not a psychological skill common

to all athletes.

Summary

Although psychological skills are an important factor in peak performance, research in

this field is still in its relative infancy. Most of the presently available test instruments are

limited to specifically assess pre-competition anxiety. The most frequently used

multidimensional psychological skills scale, the Psychological Skills Inventory for Sport

(PSIS R-5), has been shown to have some psychometric problems, especially lack of factorial

validity. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new multidimensional psychological skills

scale. A classification of the psychological skills and techniques was obtained based on a

literature review. The fundamental psychological skills are considered to be anxiety control,

concentration, confidence, mental preparation, and motivation. However, self-talk,

53

relaxation, imagery, reinforcement, competition plan, and goal setting, are techniques that can

be used to improve those psychological skills.

54

APPENDIX I

Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes

Gender: M / F Birth Date: / / ( M M / DD / Y Y ) Sport Level: Sport Item: Years of Sporting: Best Achievement:

Introduction

This inventory is for assessing the psychological skills of athletes. Please read following statement carefully, and mark the answer that fits your situation. There is no correct answer, please answer every question. The completion and return of the inventory will be considered consentory. You can withdraw the test at any time you want. Please answer every question.

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

1. I develop my confidence on my sport O O O O O ability in every day training.

2. Since I keep thinking of tomorrow's competition, I can't fall asleep the night O O O O O before competition.

3. When I think too much about money and reputation before a competition, I remind O O O O O myself that the goal of competition should be to show my sport ability.

4. My concentration is on my techniques and O O O O O tactics during the competition.

5. I can not control my anxiety before O O O O O competition.

6. Once I perform badly, my confidence drops O O O O O down immediately.

7. I have a set of" inner words" to control O O O O O my mental activity.

8. When audiences' shouts make me feel

55

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

anxious during competition, I can control it O O O O O immediately.

9. I visualize tomorrow's competition the O O O O O night before the competition.

10. I recall my successful experiences before O O O O O competition to increase my confidence.

11.1 set goals with certain difficulty and try O O O O O my best to achieve them.

12. I make a competition procedure for myself O O O O O several days before the competition.

13. The failure in competition will not shake my confidence, because I look it as a useful O O O O O experience.

14. When I feel fear and think of giving up during the competition, I order myself not to O O O O O think of it anymore.

15. When I'm warming up, I try my best to O O O O O feel my body feeling.

16. The reason that I take part in competition O O O O O is to challenge my potential ability.

17. When the opponent is better than me, I tell O O O O O myself to not fear him/her.

18. When my concentration is not on my competition, I remind myself to concentrate O O O O O on the key techniques and tactics.

19.1 use imagery to improve my confidence O O O O O before competition.

20. When I make mistakes in competition, I O O O O O tell myself not to be anxious.

21. When I am preparing for a competition, I follow my competition procedure to visualize O O O O O the competition.

56

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

22.1 can concentrate on the key techniques O O O O O and tactics freely.

23. When my confidence begins shaking, I tell myself that since I train well I should haven't O O O O O any problem.

24. After I make mistakes in a competition, I O O O O O can concentrate on my next step.

25.1 can not calm down before a competition. O O O O O

26.1 follow certain procedure to control my O O O O O mental state before a competition.

27.1 concern more about my performance O O O O O than the final outcome.

28.1 make a mental adaptation plan for myself. O O O O O

29. When the important meaning of the competition make me anxious, I tell myself to O O O O O look it as a usual competition.

30. Neither referee's erroneous judgments nor audiences' shouts can distract me during O O O O O competition.

31. When my confidence is shaken, I use O O O O O some words to encourage myself.

32. When I feel anxious, I use words to O O O O O control it.

33.1 can see my performance clearly when I O O O O O imagine it.

34. When I feel anxious, I make a deep breath. O O O O O

35.1 can not keep my concentration steadily O O O O O during competition.

36.1 will imagine the competition techniques O O O O O and tactics before the competition.

57

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

37. Sport is all of my life. O O O O O

38. When I feel my muscle unproperly tense, I O O O O O know how to relax it.

39. Some stage goals make me keep O O O O O improving my sport level.

40.1 concentrate on the competition relevant O O O O O things with the help of some prompt words.

41.1 look a competition as a challenge to my O O O O O sport potential.

42.1 look the expectations of coach and relatives as a motivation power not a O O O O O pressure.

43.1 only concentrate on my current O O O O O performance during a competition.

44. When my goal is not proper, I can adjust it O O O O O immediately.

42.1 look the expectations of coach and relatives as a motivation power not a O O O O O pressure.

43.1 only concentrate on my current O O O O O performance during a competition.

44. When my goal is not proper, I can adjust it O O O O O immediately.

45. When thinking of competition make me anxious before a competition, I order myself not O O O O O to think about competition any more.

46.1 have a strategy to deal with the O O O O O unexpected things in a competition.

47.1 intentionally develop my interest in my O O O O O sport.

THE END

58

APPENDIX II

Psychological Skills Inventory for Chinese Athletes

Gender: M / F Birth Date: / / ( M M / D D / Y Y ) Sport Level: Sport Item: Years of Sporting: Best Achievement:

Introduction

This inventory is for assessing the psychological skills of athletes. Please read following statement carefully, and mark the answer that fits your situation. There is no correct answer, please answer every question. The completion and return of the inventory will be considered consentory. You can withdraw the test at any time you want. Please answer every question.

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

1. I visualize tomorrow's competition the O O O O O night before the competition.

2. I set goals with certain difficulty and try O O O O O my best to achieve them.

3. I make a competition procedure for myself O O O O O several days before the competition.

4. The reason that I take part in competition O O O O O is to challenge my potential ability.

5. When the opponent is better than me, I tell O O O O O myself to not fear him/her.

6. When my concentration is not on my competition, I remind myself to concentrate O O O O O on the key techniques and tactics.

7. I use imagery to improve my confidence O O O O O before competition.

8. When I make mistakes in competition, I O O O O O tell myself not to be anxious.

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Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

9. When I am preparing for a competition, I follow my competition procedure to visualize O O O O O the competition.

10.1 can concentrate on the key techniques O O O O O and tactics freely.

11. When my confidence begins shaking, I tell myself that since I train well I should haven't O O O O O any problem.

12. After I make mistakes in a competition, I O O O O O can concentrate on my next step.

13. I follow certain procedure to control my O O O O O mental state before a competition.

14.1 make a mental adaptation plan for myself. O O O O O

15. When the important meaning of the competition make me anxious, I tell myself to O O O O O look it as a usual competition.

16. When I feel anxious, I use words to O O O O O control it.

17. I can see my performance clearly when I O O O O O imagine it.

18. When I feel anxious, I make a deep breath. O O O O O

19.1 will imagine the competition techniques O O O O O and tactics before the competition.

20. Some stage goals make me keep O O O O O improving my sport level.

21.1 concentrate on the competition relevant O O O O O things with the help of some prompt words.

22.1 look a competition as a challenge to my O O O O O sport potential.

23.1 look the expectations of coach and relatives as a motivation power not a pressure. O O O O O

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APPENDIX III

Demographic Information of Subjects

Table 11. Demographic Information of Male Subjects (Study II)

Sports Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Age Age Age

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 10 2 4 3 7 13 2 21 12 2 3 2 3 2 1 4 2 4 7 14 5 2 6 9 5 21 5 6 5 6 1 10 1 4 15 14 1 7 5 6 8 2 8 4 2 7 15 9 4 . 4 9 10 7 13 11 4 8 12 1 4 5 13 5 2 9 6 1 7 3 14 4 1 7 13 16 1 15 7 4 2 16 2 7 6 2 17 5 9 6 3 18 5 5

Total 19 13 23 1 1 8 107 48 1 0 18 176 43 1 1 Note. For sports, l=Martial Arts, 2=Boxing, 3=Wrestling, 4=Soccer, 5=Volleyball, 6=Basketball, 7=Badminton, 8=Table Tennis, 9=Handball, 10=Football, ll=Tennis, 12=Baseball, 13=Gymnastic, 14=Track and Field, 15=Bicycle, 16=Rowing, 17=Swimming, 18= Weight Lifting. Forage, 1=13-17, 2=18-21, 3=22-25, 4=26-29, 5=30-35. Subjects were from 31 different cities of China: Ha'erbing, Shenyang, Changchun, Huhehaote, Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, Beijing, Tianjing, Jinan, Nanjing, Hefei, Shanghai, Nanchang, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Zhenzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanning, Guangzhou, Haikou, Wunumuqi, Xining, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Xi'an, Lasa, Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, and Taibei.

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Table 12. Demographic Information of Female Subjects (Study II)

Sports Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Age Age Age

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 4 2 5 10 11 1 2 3 4 3 2 5 3 2 2 2 5 5 5 8 2 6 3 1 .3 3 4 10 2 7 2 4 2 8 3 4 5 2 9 3 8 10 11 2 5 12 13 1 14 5 5 10 6 6 14 9 3 5 6 3 15 2 3 16 3 2 1 1 3 3 17 1 2 3 1 4 2 2 18 3 4 2

Total 2 41 18 2 1 22 61 8 0 0 28 65 4 0 1 Note. For sports, l=Martial Arts, 2=Boxing, 3=Wrestling, 4=Soccer, 5=Volleyball, 6=Basketball, 7=Badminton, 8=Table Tennis, 9=Handball, 10=Football, ll=Tennis, 12=Baseball, 13=Gymnastic, 14=Track and Field, 15=Bicycle, 16=Rowing, 17=Swimming, 18= Weight Lifting. For age, 1=13-17, 2=18-21, 3=22-25, 4=26-29, 5=30-35. Subjects were from 31 different cities of China: Ha'erbing, Shenyang, Changchun, Huhehaote, Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, Beijing, Tianjing, Jinan, Nanjing, Hefei, Shanghai, Nanchang, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Zhenzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanning, Guangzhou, Haikou, Wunumuqi, Xining, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Xi'an, Lasa, Chengdu, Guiyang, Kunming, and Taibei.

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