Wen-Nuan Kara Cheng *, Lew Hardy ** and David Markland **
(*) Taipei Physical Education College*, Taipei, Taiwan
(**) Bangor University, Bangor, UK
Citation
Kara Cheng, W., Hardy, L., Markland, D. (2011). Cross-cultural validation of a three-dimensional measurement model of performance anxiety in the context of Chinese sports. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 42(5), 417-435.
Abstract
This article presents cross-cultural validation of a three-dimensional measurement model of performance anxiety proposed recently (Cheng, Hardy, &Markland, 2009). This re-conceptualization of performance anxiety emphasizes the adaptive capacity involved in the dynamics of anxiety by including a regulatory dimension, in addition to the conventional intensity-oriented dimensions of cognitive and physiological anxiety. Specifically, this regulatory dimension of anxiety is represented by perceived control. The cognitive dimension is characterized by worry and self-focused attention, and the physiological dimension includes autonomic hyperactivity and somatic tension. The measure of performance anxiety was developed in Chinese based on the proposed conceptualization and its accordant anxiety measure previously established in English (Cheng et al., 2009). The factor structure of the measurement model was examined by confirmatory factor analysis through three samples (N = 203, 450, 236) of Taiwanese sports participants. Consistent with the previous English study, model fit indices indicated support for the three-dimensional first-order model. The factorial validity of the three-dimensional model has been strengthened via this cross-cultural confirmation, and the Chinese three-factor anxiety inventory will facilitate anxiety research and the further development of the model in the Chinese-speaking societies.
Keywords: Adaptive potential of anxiety, Perceived control, Regulatory dimension of anxiety, Three-Factor Anxiaty Inventory