ANXIETY AS A MULTIFACETED PHENOMENON WITHIN THE MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATION OF JUNIOR ATHLETES

Abstract

The objective is to empirically investigate statistically significant correlations and elucidate determinants of high and low anxiety parameters within the motivational orientation dimensions of junior athletes. The study encompassed male and female junior athletes (n = 96) (Мe = 17; М = 17.38; SD = ±1.71) representing individual sports from sports schools for children and young people – “SSSYOR №1” in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine and “LSSCY Enerhetyk” in Lviv, Ukraine – and youth academies of professional handball clubs: “HC Dniprianka” in Kherson, Ukraine and “HC Real” in Mykolaiv, Ukraine and football club “FC Enerhiya” in Lviv, Ukraine. Methods: valid and reliable methods were applied to find the parameters of anxiety and motivational orientation of the respondents before the beginning of the game. Additionally, a planned observation with standard blanks was used. Statistical coefficients were used to establish significant correlations. Results. It was found that the junior athletes with a low level (Group 1) of the parameters of anxiety have an advantage in the level of motivation over the athletes with a high level (Group 2). A lack of advantage in the parameters of situational and personal social protection – SSP (U = 623.50; p = .549) and PSP (U = 532.00; p = .091) – was explained by an equally important impact of this protection for the respondents with a high level and those with a low level. It was proved that high and low psychological content parameter of anxiety have statistically significant correlations with the respondents’ motivational orientation: Group 1 – thirty correlations; Group 2 – twenty seven correlations. It was empirically established that situational (SAEP) and personal (PAEP) anxious evaluation of prospects has a positive impact on subject-directed (SbM) and socially-directed (ScM) motivational orientation in the two research groups. Discussion and conclusions. It was substantiated that the impact of the parameters of SAEP and PAEP are within the scope of a personal choice, social pressure and an athlete’s construction of the future that requires psychological assistance and support of coaching and teaching staff. It was highlighted that the impact of spectators, social pressure of mass-media, expectations of fans, coaching staff and management of an organization (sports school/professional club) and junior athletes’ aspirations to meet other peoples’ expectations are wrong tactics and strategies of training and competitive process. We can generalize that anxiety is a multifaceted phenomenon in the dimensions of motivational orientation of junior athletes combining a complex of internal and external factors determining psychophysiological reactions of a junior athlete’s body and their motivational orientation. We recommend that the obtained results should be taken into consideration by coaches working with juniors