Testing the buffering hypothesis: Perceptions of coach support and pre-competitive anxiety among male and female high school athletes

Research suggests that social support moderates or “buffers” the impact of stress on the individual and thus indirectly affects emotional well-being (Cohen and Wills, 1985). The present study sought to extend the “buffering hypothesis” to competitive sport by examining the influence of perceived coach support on competitive state anxiety among young athletes (N = 270). Results from confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) substantiated the validity of the sport-modified Social Provisions Scale (Russell and Cutrona, 1984; Ryska and Yin, 1994). Structural equation modeling analyses revealed a significant support-anxiety effect in the high trait-anxious model only (r =-.27, p .05). The present results suggest that perceived coach support represents an important mediating factor in the sport stress process among highly anxious athletes.