Validation of a Greek version of the French adaptation of the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2 and links with performance

Findings are reported on initial validation of a Greek translation of the 16-item French adaptation of the Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory - 2 (CSAI-2R) capturing self-reported intensity of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence. The sample comprised 402 adult martial arts athletes of Kick Boxing, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, and Jiu Jitsu (257 males, 145 females) aged 18-57 years. CSAI-2R data were collected one hour before competition while performance data were collected up to 30 min. after competition. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the structural validity of the Greek CSAI-2R responses. McDonald's omega coefficients supported subscale internal reliability. Measurement invariance analyses supported item meaning equivalence across males and females, participants with secondary and post-secondary education, athletes who lost or won the match, and athletes who reported having achieved their goal in the match or not. Lower cognitive and somatic anxiety, and higher self-confidence emerged for athletes of the good performance category compared to the poor performance category. Lower cognitive anxiety and higher self-confidence emerged for athletes who won the match, and for athletes who reported achieving their goal in the match. Lower somatic anxiety and higher self-confidence was found for males compared to females. The present findings provide initial psychometric support to the Greek 16-item CSAI-2R scores and extend validity evidence of the CSAI-2R.