Self and Relative Effects of Competitive State Anxiety on Per- ceived Performance in Middle and High School Taekwondo Ath- letes: An Actor and Partner Interdependence Model Analysis

Background: The present study aimed to provide an empirical theoretical basis for the psychological phenom- ena that occur among competing athletes. To this end, we utilized the actor and partner interdependence model (APIM) to analyze the self- and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance in middle and high school Taekwondo athletes. Methods: Data were analyzed for 372 middle and high school athletes (red group=186, blue group=186) who participated in the first round of the 2020 Korea Taekwondo Association National Taekwondo Competition. Analysis based on the APIM was applied to the collected data, and a path analysis was conducted to verify the self- and relative effects of competitive state anxiety on perceived performance. Results: Cognitive (red: P<0.01, blue: P<0.001) and physical state anxiety (red: P<0.01, blue: P<0.01) exerted a significant negative self-effect on perceived performance in both groups. In contrast, state confidence (red: P<0.001, blue: P<0.001) exerted a significant positive self-effect on perceived performance. Furthermore, cog- nitive (red: P<0.001, blue: P<0.01) and physical state anxiety (red: P<0.001, blue: P<0.001) exerted a significant positive relative effect on the opponent’s perceived performance in both groups, while state confidence (red: P<0.01, blue: P<0.001) exerted a significant negative relative effect on the opponent’s perceived performance. Conclusion: Sports psychologists should focus on developing a psychological training program that provides practical psychological support as well as self-regulatory and relative strategies for improving athletic perfor- mance in competitive scenarios.