Injury, Anxiety, and Mood in Competitive Gymnasts

Psychological factors related to injury were investigated in 115 competitive gymnasts. The subjects were administered the Profile of Mood States-Bipolar Form (POMS-BI) and Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). Direct discriminant function analysis showed that the best predictors for distinguishing between gymnasts with four or more injuries and those with fewer than four injuries were CSAI-2 Cognitive Anxiety and the POMS-BI Composed-Anxious and Energetic-Tired scores. The more-injured gymnasts were more anxious and tired, and reported higher scores on the CSAI-2 Cognitive Anxiety scale. Males could be differentiated from females by scores on the CSAI-2 Self-confidence and the POMS-BI Composed-Anxious, Confident-Unsure, Energetic-Tired, and Clearheaded-Confused scales. The female gymnasts were more anxious, unsure, tired, and confused, and reported lower levels of CSAI-2 Self-confidence. The findings were interpreted as further evidence of the anxiety-injury link in athletes.