In this article, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about The Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT), including what it measures and how to conduct the test. We’ll also cover normative data, the advantages and disadvantages of the test and common questions.

What is the SCAT?

The SCAT, which Martens and colleagues created in 1977, is a questionnaire that measures anxiety levels in athletes in a competition or performance situation, which is known as competitive trait anxiety.

The SCAT contains fifteen statements that an athlete indicates if they “rarely,” “sometimes” or “often” feel that way in a competition situation in their sport for each statement. Ten of those statements measure symptoms associated with anxiety (the other five statements are included to reduce inaccurate or false responses to the self-report questionnaire, which is known as internal response-set bias).

Answers to the 10 statements are given a score and the scores are summed to provide an overall measure of competitive trait anxiety. Martens and colleagues stated high scores indicate an athlete has a tendency to experience competitive triat anxiety.

Side note: Competition Trait Anxiety

Let’s briefly explore what competitive triat anxiety (CTA) is through a definition and practical example. We’ll also look at why we want to know about it.

Competitive trait anxiety is an innate predisposition for an athlete to perceive the competitive sporting situation as threatening, which in turn causes the athlete to respond with state anxiety levels that are out of proportion to the true level of the threat.

An example of an athlete with high levels of competition trait anxiety is a gymnast performing a routine on the beam, where they think the width of the beam is too thin and therefore threatening. This then causes a physical (somatic) response, such as an increase in heart rate, shaking and tension in their neck muscles. This response may negatively affect the gymnast’s performance.

If our athlete is experiencing competitive trait anxiety that is having a negative impact on their performance, a qualified practitioner could provide them with coping recourses through psychological skills training to help them cope with stressors that are perceived as threatening.

How to conduct the SCAT?

The athlete will need access to the SCAT questionnaire, which we’ve included below. For each statement, they must select if they “rarely,” “sometimes” or “often” feel that way when competing or performing in sport. There is no time limit when completing this questionnaire and the athlete should be on their own so they feel like they can answer honestly.

The SCAT Questionnaire

The Sport Competition Anxiety Test Questionnaire — The Sport Competition Anxiety Test

How to score the SCAT?

To calculate the athletes SCAT score, use the table below to enter the score for each question into the “athletes score” collumn. Then, sum the athletes score collum up into the total score box, and that will provide you with the athletes overall SCAT score.

Please note:

For questions 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 15, scores are coded: rarely = 1; sometimes = 2; often = 3

For questions, 6 and 11 scores are reverse coded: rarely = 3, sometimes = 2 and often = 1.

For questions 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13, score are coded zero. This is too to reduce inaccurate or false responses to the self-report questionnaire, which is known as internal response-set bias).

Normative SCAT data

Martens and colleagues suggested that…

A score of less than 17 indicates an athlete has a low level of competitive trait anxiety.

A score between 17 and 24 indicates an athlete has an average level of competitive trait anxiety.

A score of more than 24 indicates an athlete has a high level of competitive trait anxiety.

Studies have researched normative values based upon the level athletes compete at (district, state, college and national) or the type of sports athletes compete at (individual, team and combat), which can be seen below:

Normative Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) data

We could compare athletes scores to these normative values, however, we can see there are inconsistencies in the research so caution must be taken.

It’s also important for us to highlight all research has been conducted in men. We researched normative values for all genders, yet, we were unable to identify research conducted that included females. We encourage future research to focuse on research in the female popuation and for coaches to collect their own data with the athletes that they support. This means that coaches can use the athletes score to compare to the score they get when the athlete undertake the test again in the future, which considers the individual athlete in their context.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the SCAT

Advantages	Disadvantages
The questionnaire can be adapted to be sport specific and contextually relevant. For example, statements of “competition” or “performing” can be replaced with the name of the sport.	Results are not detailed; this means that we don’t get a full understanding of the athletes competitive trait anxiety or the potential sources of threat that causes the somatic response.
Considers the athletes perceptions and the presence and frequency of competition trait anxiety.	Martins and colleagues categories scores that are deemed high, average, or low levels of competition trait anxiety. Yet, the questionnaire doesn’t ask the athlete about the severity of their competition trait anxiety, so caution must be taken when interpreting results.
It is practical and requires minimal equipment, which means we can collect information quickly.	Athletes may have an inaccurate perception of themselves or alter their answers to be more socially acceptable which can affect the reliability of the results.
It is easy to interpret the scores, which means it’s easy to identify competition trait anxiety levels.
The test can be re-taken, so we can use athletes score to compare it to the score they get when they undertake the test again in the future, which considers the individual athlete.

The advantages and disadvantages of the SCAT

How is the SCAT useful for understanding sport performance?

The SCAT test indicates if an athlete has high levels of competition trait anxiety. It’s important for coaches and support practitioners to know this, as a high level of competitive trait anxiety can negatively affect an athletes performance in a competition or game.

Lower levels of competition trait anxiety has been shown to be better for performance. This was demonstrated in a study of a group of golfers in a competition, which was conducted by Weinberg and Genuchi. They showed that golfers with low levels of competition trait anxiety performed better than golfers that had high or moderate levels of competition anxiety. Athletes with low levels of competition trait anxiety have also been shown to be more confident on competition days, have more positive emotions after the competition and lower levels of state anxiety.

Given the benefits that lower levels of competition trait anxiety has on both performance and athlete wellbeing, researchers Ma & Kim have identified that psychological skills training can be used to reduce competition trait anxiety in athletes.

Considerations for sport scientists using the SCAT

The SCAT test identifies athletes that have high levels of competition trait anxiety, yet, it doesn’t provide us with any understanding of why those athletes are experiencing that anxiety, which means the SCAT is just one part of the jigsaw.

To understand why those athletes are experiencing competition trait anxiety, some studies suggest the SCAT should be used in comination with a questionnaire that has separate subscales measuring different situational components of competition trait anxiety. One example of these questionnaires, is the Collegiate Hockey Worry Scale (CHWS) by Dunn, which assesses ice-hockey players predisposition towards experiencing worries around (1) injury / physical danger (2) negative social evaluation (3) personal performance failure and (4) uncertain / unknown competitive conditions before a game or competition.

These studies have demonstrated that players might get the exact same score in the SCAT test that indicates they have high levels of competition trait anxiety, yet, in the Collegiate Hockey Worry Scale, they have quite different reasons for why they are experiencing that anxiety. For example, one athlete is worried about getting injury whereas the other athlete is worried about being judged negatively by their peers watching the game.

This is useful for practitioners to be aware of if they are designing a psychological skills training programme for athletes that are experiencing competition trait anxiety, as they can target the specific source of why they are experiencing that anxiety before or during competitions or games.

Common Questions on the SCAT Test:

How do I prepare for the SCAT test?

Print the test out and have a pen or pencil ready. Find yourself a quite space to complete the test on your own and book out 20-30 minutes out of your schedule to complete the test with no time pressures.

How is the SCAT test calculated?

To calculate the athletes SCAT score, use the info below to score each question. Then, sum the athletes scores up and that will provide you with the athletes overall SCAT score.

For questions 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 15, scores are coded: rarely = 1; sometimes = 2; often = 3

For questions, 6 and 11 scores are reverse coded: rarely = 3, sometimes = 2 and often = 1.

For questions 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13, score are coded zero. This is too to reduce inaccurate or false responses to the self-report questionnaire, which is known as internal response-set bias).

Is the SCAT test quantitative?

The SCAT test is qualitative, this is because athletes provide answers based upon their thoughts and feelings, even though the athlete receives a number at the end of the test.

What is the SCAT test?

The SCAT is a questionnaire that contains fifteen statements that measures anxiety levels in athletes in a competition or performance situation, which is known as competitive trait anxiety.

What is the average SCAT score?

A score between 17 and 24 indicates an athlete has an average level of competitive trait anxiety, according to Martens and colleagues.

Who made the SCAT test?

Rainer Martens and colleagues made the SCAT test in 1990.

Why is the SCAT test useful?

The SCAT test can indicate if an athlete is experience competitive trait anxiety. If they are, we canprovide them with coping recourses through psychological skills training to help them cope with stressors that are perceived as threatening and to support their wellbeing.

Summary

The SCAT is a valuable tool that can help identify athletes who are experiencing high levels of anxiety in competition or performance situations, which is known as competition trait anxiety.

However, it is important to remember that the SCAT is just one part of the puzzle, and should be used in conjunction with questionnaires that measure different situational components of competition trait anxiety. This is so that qualified practitioners can design appropriate mental skills training that targets the specific source of why they are experiencing competition trait anxiety.

If you wish to learn more around sport anxiety measures check out this article exploring CSAI-2 questionnaire.

The Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) – Everything You Need to Know