Matteo Campagna
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Before competition worry weighs on archers more than somatic anxiety

6 studies · 375 archers measured

ForContextAgainst20102015202020252025, for, n = 2072026, context, n = 802023, for, n = 442023, context, n = 442023, context, n = 322024, context, n = 122009, context, n = 7
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.

Two Malaysian surveys point the same way. In 44 recurve archers, thirty minutes before a selection event, worry stands at 12.6 out of 20, concentration disruption at 10.5 and somatic anxiety at 10.3; in 207 archers at the national and university games the order is the same, 2.56, 2.41 and 2.22 on a scale from 1 to 4. Two other samples, in Hong Kong and India, find the cognitive component slightly above the somatic one. It is a descriptive picture, though, and weak on three counts. No study has ever tested the difference between the components, which is small in every sample, a few tenths on the 1 to 4 scales and two or three points on the longer ones; the two Malaysian surveys appear in conference proceedings, one as a two-page abstract; and the two anxieties nearly always travel together, with correlations from 0.41 to 0.87, so an archer who is worried also tends to feel the body stirred up. Nor is it known which of the two weighs more on the score: in the two Malaysian samples the link with performance is calculated on total anxiety, and the second names worry and concentration without showing the figures, while in the Indian juniors no component turns out to be linked to the score.

Also phrased as: "competition anxiety is mostly mental"; "worry and somatic anxiety in archers"; "before competition the head weighs more than the body"; "components of competitive anxiety"

In practice

Archers are told that before competition the problem is the head more than the body: thoughts about how it will go weigh more than a racing heart and shaking hands.

Evidence

  • 2009
    Context Other sport Published later

    7 elite double-trap shooters, CSAI-2 before competition (each scale from 9 to 36): cognitive anxiety 17.0 ± 5.2 and somatic 15.6 ± 4.3 with placebo, 16.9 and 15.4 with caffeine. The two components are not compared with each other.

    Caffeine and performance in clay target shooting · Bianca Share, Nick Sanders, Justin Kemp

  • 2023
    For Archers Published later

    44 Malaysian recurve archers aged 18 to 24, Sport Anxiety Scale-2 thirty minutes before a 36-arrow event at 70 m: worry 12.62 ± 3.54, concentration disruption 10.47 ± 2.93, somatic anxiety 10.33 ± 2.91 (each from 5 to 20). The comparison between components is not tested.

    Relationship Between Competitive Anxiety and Performance: A Study of the Archers at the National Competition · Jamatul Shahidah Shaari, Nur Farah Diyana Mohd Nizam, Mohad Anizu Mohd Nor, Nur Asmidar A Halim, Suhana Aiman, Yudik Prasetyo

  • 2023
    Context Archers Published later

    Total anxiety sits at mid-scale, 33.32 ± 8.41 on a range from 15 to 60, with individual values from 16 to 50, and it is linked to the score (r = -0.45, p = 0.002); the correlation of the individual components with the score is not reported, so which one weighs more on performance is unknown.

    Relationship Between Competitive Anxiety and Performance: A Study of the Archers at the National Competition · Jamatul Shahidah Shaari, Nur Farah Diyana Mohd Nizam, Mohad Anizu Mohd Nor, Nur Asmidar A Halim, Suhana Aiman, Yudik Prasetyo

  • 2023
    Context Archers Published later

    32 junior recurve archers during the COVID-19 isolation period: somatic and cognitive anxiety moderately linked (r = 0.67, p < 0.001). The table also reports a confidence-cognitive anxiety correlation of 0.55 with p = 0.72, a figure that does not add up.

    Anxiety status of junior archers in COVID-19 during training isolation period towards the shooting performance Questionable venue · Wan Nurlisa Wan Ahmad, Mohd Azrul Hisham Mohd Adib, Irdayanti Mat Nashir, Mon Redee Sut Txi, Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh, Jing Rui Tang

  • 2024
    Context Archers Published later

    12 competitive archers from Hong Kong, CSAI-2 before a 12-week mindfulness programme: cognitive anxiety 19.83 ± 5.49 and somatic 16.92 ± 4.52, falling to 13.25 and 12.25 after the programme. The two components are strongly linked (r = 0.868, p < 0.001), and the questionnaire was filled in after the competition.

    Examining the Feasibility of a Mindfulness Flow Program for the Hong Kong Archers · Ka K. Lo, Mimi M. Y. Tse, Joanne W. Y. Chung, Queenie P. S. Law, Fenghua Sun

  • 2025
    For Archers Published later

    207 Malaysian archers from 14 states competing at the SUKMA national games and the university championships, Sport Anxiety Scale-2 on four levels: worry 2.56 ± 0.73, concentration disruption 2.41 ± 0.73, somatic anxiety 2.22 ± 0.69. It is a two-page conference abstract, with no test between components.

    Exploring the relationship between competitive anxiety and archery performance: evidence from Malaysian athletes · Muhammad Farhan Hakim Rhyme, Rozita Abdul Latif

  • 2026
    Context Archers Published later

    80 junior recurve archers, item means on a 1 to 4 scale before competition: cognitive anxiety 1.88 in males and 1.81 in females, somatic 1.69 and 1.75, with no test between the two components. The two rise together (r = 0.413, p < 0.001); the confidence-somatic anxiety link reported as significant (r = -0.156) cannot be with 80 participants. Neither component turns out to be linked to the competition score.

    Exploring Gender Differences in Competitive Anxiety and Performance in Junior Recurve Archers Questionable venue · Namchan Norbu Bhutia, Atanu Ghosh, Snehunsu Adhikari

Status history

  1. 2009 Not studied Nobody has yet broken down pre-competition anxiety in archers. The closest data come from clay target shooting: in seven elite double-trap shooters before a competition, cognitive and somatic anxiety are almost equal, 17.0 and 15.6 in the placebo trial on a scale from 9 to 36, and nobody compares them. It is evidence neither for nor against.
  2. 2023 Reported Forty-four Malaysian recurve archers fill in the scale thirty minutes before an event that counts for selection: worry stands at 12.62 out of 20, concentration disruption at 10.47 and somatic anxiety at 10.33. The comparison between components is not tested and the work appears in conference proceedings; in the same year, in 32 junior recurve archers, somatic and cognitive anxiety turn out to be linked (r = 0.67). A single descriptive study in favour: the evidence is there and it is limited.
  3. 2024 Reported In twelve archers from the Hong Kong squad, before a mindfulness programme, cognitive anxiety stands at 19.8 and somatic anxiety at 16.9, but the two run almost in parallel, with a correlation of 0.87. The questionnaire was filled in after the competition and the difference was not tested: it adds that the two anxieties move together, not that one prevails, and the status remains reported.
  4. 2025 Reported A second Malaysian sample, much larger, 207 archers from the national and university games, finds the same order: worry 2.56, concentration disruption 2.41, somatic anxiety 2.22 on a scale from 1 to 4. Two studies point the same way, but both are descriptive, with small differences that were never tested, and the second is a two-page conference abstract: the status remains reported.
  5. 2026 Reported In eighty Indian junior recurve archers the cognitive component stays slightly above the somatic one, 1.88 against 1.69 in the boys and 1.81 against 1.75 in the girls on a scale from 1 to 4, both at low values, and the two rise together (r = 0.41). No test between components and a journal with questionable editorial standards: it confirms the tendency without strengthening it.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Before competition worry weighs on archers more than somatic anxiety (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/worry-somatic-anxiety-before-competition

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_componentiansiapregara,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Before competition worry weighs on archers more than somatic anxiety},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/worry-somatic-anxiety-before-competition},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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