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Archers who cope with stress by focusing on the task choke less often in competition

1 study · 115 archers measured

ForContextAgainst20202022202420262021, for, n = 1152021, context, n = 115
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

It comes from a single study of 115 competitive Italian archers who filled in questionnaires on one occasion. Those who describe their way of handling stress as getting back to the task report fewer choking episodes over the previous six months (r = -0.33) and, above all, far less rumination about doubts and fear of failure (r = -0.58), while an avoidant style, keeping emotions in check or playing down the challenge, has no significant link with choking (r = -0.14). The authors, however, do not include coping style among the predictors of how often choking happens: in their model coping lowers rumination, and rumination is one of three factors that predict choking, alongside the ability to step back from one's own thoughts and the coach's support, so the effect, if there is one, runs through there. The sample needs reading too: everyone reports at least one episode in the previous six months, from one to seven, so the comparison is between those who choke less often and those who choke more often, not between those who choke and those who do not. It is an association collected at a single moment, and it does not say whether the style protects against choking or whether those who choke less often describe themselves that way.

Also phrased as: "task-focused coping and choking"; "returning to the process under pressure"; "focusing on the shot sequence in competition"; "stress management and choking"

In practice

It is said that when the pressure rises you have to go back to the process, to the shot sequence, and let the score go: the archer who manages it, people say, is the one who does not fall apart.

Evidence

  • 2021
    For Archers Published later

    115 competitive Italian archers, questionnaires at a single moment, with coping style measured by a two-part scale for athletes: approach, meaning task reinvestment strategies, and avoidance, meaning emotional control and playing down the challenge. Approach is linked to fewer choking episodes over the previous six months (Spearman r = -0.327, p < 0.01) and to far less rumination (r = -0.582, p < 0.01); avoidance is not linked to choking (r = -0.140, not significant) but it too goes with less rumination (r = -0.366). Choking frequency ranges from one to seven episodes, with a mean of 3.08: nobody in the sample reports none.

    An Exploratory Pilot Study on Choking Episodes in Archery · Pierluigi Diotaiuti, Stefano Corrado, Stefania Mancone, Lavinia Falese, Fábio Hech Dominski, Alexandro Andrade

  • 2021
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same study coping style does not enter the model predicting choking frequency, where the weight is carried by rumination (beta = 0.230), the ability to step back from one's own thoughts (beta = -0.250) and the coach's support in competition (beta = -0.231), with 19.3 per cent of the variance explained. It acts one step earlier: in the structural model approach lowers rumination (weight -0.334, p < 0.001) and avoidance lowers it less (-0.169, p < 0.01), while anxiety reduces both styles.

    An Exploratory Pilot Study on Choking Episodes in Archery · Pierluigi Diotaiuti, Stefano Corrado, Stefania Mancone, Lavinia Falese, Fábio Hech Dominski, Alexandro Andrade

Status history

  1. 2021 Reported A hundred and fifteen competitive Italian archers fill in questionnaires on one occasion. Those who cope with stress by getting back to the task report fewer choking episodes over the previous six months (r = -0.33, p < 0.01) and ruminate far less (r = -0.58), while an avoidant style has no significant link with choking (r = -0.14). In the authors' model coping acts on rumination rather than directly on choking, and everyone surveyed reports at least one episode. A single cross-sectional study, an association: reported.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Archers who cope with stress by focusing on the task choke less often in competition (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/task-focused-coping-choking

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_copingcompitochoking,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Archers who cope with stress by focusing on the task choke less often in competition},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/task-focused-coping-choking},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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