Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2

What it measures

The most widely used measure of pre-competitive state anxiety. Cognitive anxiety captures worry and negative expectations; Somatic anxiety captures physiological arousal perceptions; Self-confidence captures positive expectations. The most cited anxiety measure in sport psychology, used in thousands of studies across individual and team sports.

Response format

Likert (1–4, not at all to very much so) — administered immediately before competition

Representative items

• I am concerned about this competition. (Cognitive)
• I feel nervous. (Somatic)
• I feel at ease. (R, Somatic)
• I am concerned that I may not do as well in this competition as I could. (Cognitive)
• I feel self-confident. (Self-Confidence)

Usage notes & scoring

(R)=reverse-scored. Three subscale scores. Administered immediately before competition. Self-confidence is a separate construct — it is not simply low anxiety. The CSAI-2R adds direction ratings (facilitative vs debilitative) for each item, which moderate the anxiety-performance relationship.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R.S., Bump, L.A., & Smith, D.E. (1990). Development and validation of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. In R. Martens, R.S. Vealey, & D. Burton (Eds.), Competitive anxiety in sport (pp. 117-190). Human Kinetics.

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