Toppdommerrollen i fotball : sammenhengen mellom angst og mental tøffhet og toppdommeres subjektive opplevelse av press i norsk fotball

Abstract

Mental toughness, anxiety and pressure are well-used terms within sports, even though it can be difficult to understand the meaning of them. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between anxiety (cognitive- and somatic anxiety and self-confidence) and mental toughness, and top-class referees’ subjective experience on pressure as a soccer official. 183 top-class referees answered an online questionnaire. Mental toughness was measured by using the SMTQ and anxiety by using the CSAI-2. Of all the referees included in this study, 97.2% had been active footballers themselves, 44.3% had played on a high level. There is a high degree of correlation between “SMTQ total” and “pressure” (-.617) and “CSAI cognitive” and “CSAI somatic” (.615). Female referees score lower than their male colleagues on cognitive anxiety (13.86 vs. 16.80), somatic anxiety (13.71 vs. 16.83) and self-confidence (24.46 vs. 27.24). Still female referees reach a lower top-score for perceived pressure than males, concluding that they may handle pressure better. Regression analysis concludes that anxiety describes 32.2% of the perceived pressure. Anxiety and mental toughness combined describes 37.7% while anxiety, mental toughness and age describes 37.4%. Key words: Anxiety, mental toughness, self-confidence, elite referees, soccer