Anxiety and athletic performance of finnish athletes: Application of the zone of optimal functioning model

The aim of this study was to test five hypotheses based on Haninʹs [in Spielberger, C. D. & Diaz-Guerrero, R. (Eds), Cross-cultural anxiety (Vol. 2, pp. 45–64), 1986] Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model. Eighty Finnish athletes filled out the State Anxiety Inventory two weeks, one week and one hour before the start of a competition. The predicted anxiety level measured two weeks and one week before the competition correlated significantly with the state anxiety level measured one hour before the start. Comparison of athletes preparing for a very important competition showed that those who were inside their optimal individual zone performed significantly better than those who were outside their optimal zone. This result supported the IZOF model. As far as applied sport psychology is concerned, the findings showed that by using the State Anxiety Inventory it is possible to find out the direction needed for regulation of anxiety towards the optimal individual level prior to competition. Practical implications from the findings, which related to the possibility of regulating anxiety to optimal individual levels prior to and during competitions, are discussed.