Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1979, 48, 1009-1010.
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1979
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN SCUBA DIVING1 T . J. GRIFFITHS, D. H. STEEL, P. VACCARO University of Maryland Summary.-The present research examined the relationship between the anxiety levels of 6 2 beginning Scuba diving students and standardized performance tests from the Y.M.C.A. training program. Results suggested that there was no relationship between anxiety and performance o n relatively simple tasks, while there was a relationship between anxiety and performance o n the more complex diving maneuvers. Radloff and Helmreich ( 1 9 6 9 ) reported that underwater divers who experienced high levels of fear were the least successful divers. Other researchers have stressed the importance of controlling anxiety, noting that high levels of anxiety may be related to an increase in underwater accidents (Egstrom & Bachrach, 1 9 7 1 ) . Beginning students of Scuba diving have been shown co display slight increases in anxiety during their training test sessions (Griffiths, Steel, & Vaccaro, 1 9 7 8 ) . Whether this increase in anxiety is related to performance decrement has not been previously studied. T h e present research examined the relationship between the anxiety levels of 62 beginning Scuba diving students and standardized performance tests from the Y.M.C.A. training programs. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1 9 7 0 ) . A-Trait was measured in a classroom o n a non-test day. A-State only was examined immediately prior to the underwater tests. The performance tests were administered by a certified YMCA Scuba Diving Instructor employing standardized procedures (Y.M.C.A., 1978) and were administered in increasing order of difficulty. Test 1, Skin Diving Proficiency, involved all-around skin diving skills; Test 2, Buddy Breathing, required two students to share a Scuba tank for a distance of 400 yds.; Test 3, Scuba Familiarity Evaluation (Bail O u t ) involved donning and removing Scuba equipment underwater; and Test 4, Deepwater Quarry Dive, required each participant to dive to a depth of 5 0 feet. T h e first three tests were conducted in a 25-yd. swimming pool. The fourth was administered in an open water training site which had limited visibility ( 1 0 to 20 ft.) and a water temperature between 38" and 45" F. In Tests 1 through 3, the divers were scored on a 20-point rating scale based o n errors o r test completion time. I n Test 4, the Quarry Dive, the divers were scored on a 100-point rating scale, 20 points for each of five different performance categories (Y.M.C.A., 1 9 7 8 ) . T h e data were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation. Bail Out, the most complex task in the pool environment, correlated significantly with The ,001, r = -.461). both trait and state anxiety ( P < .02, r = -.320 and p .02, Quarry Dive, another difficult task, correlated significantly with state anxiety ( p 7 = -.320). None of the other performance tests were significantly related to either A-Trait or A-State levels. These results suggest that there is no relationship between anxiety and performance o n relatively simple casks, while they are significantly related o n more complex diving maneuvers. This finding seems logical since others have indicated that anxiety may
@ Perceptual and Motor Skills 1979
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANXIETY AND PERFORMANCE IN SCUBA DIVING1 T . J. GRIFFITHS, D. H. STEEL, P. VACCARO University of Maryland Summary.-The present research examined the relationship between the anxiety levels of 6 2 beginning Scuba diving students and standardized performance tests from the Y.M.C.A. training program. Results suggested that there was no relationship between anxiety and performance o n relatively simple tasks, while there was a relationship between anxiety and performance o n the more complex diving maneuvers. Radloff and Helmreich ( 1 9 6 9 ) reported that underwater divers who experienced high levels of fear were the least successful divers. Other researchers have stressed the importance of controlling anxiety, noting that high levels of anxiety may be related to an increase in underwater accidents (Egstrom & Bachrach, 1 9 7 1 ) . Beginning students of Scuba diving have been shown co display slight increases in anxiety during their training test sessions (Griffiths, Steel, & Vaccaro, 1 9 7 8 ) . Whether this increase in anxiety is related to performance decrement has not been previously studied. T h e present research examined the relationship between the anxiety levels of 62 beginning Scuba diving students and standardized performance tests from the Y.M.C.A. training programs. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1 9 7 0 ) . A-Trait was measured in a classroom o n a non-test day. A-State only was examined immediately prior to the underwater tests. The performance tests were administered by a certified YMCA Scuba Diving Instructor employing standardized procedures (Y.M.C.A., 1978) and were administered in increasing order of difficulty. Test 1, Skin Diving Proficiency, involved all-around skin diving skills; Test 2, Buddy Breathing, required two students to share a Scuba tank for a distance of 400 yds.; Test 3, Scuba Familiarity Evaluation (Bail O u t ) involved donning and removing Scuba equipment underwater; and Test 4, Deepwater Quarry Dive, required each participant to dive to a depth of 5 0 feet. T h e first three tests were conducted in a 25-yd. swimming pool. The fourth was administered in an open water training site which had limited visibility ( 1 0 to 20 ft.) and a water temperature between 38" and 45" F. In Tests 1 through 3, the divers were scored on a 20-point rating scale based o n errors o r test completion time. I n Test 4, the Quarry Dive, the divers were scored on a 100-point rating scale, 20 points for each of five different performance categories (Y.M.C.A., 1 9 7 8 ) . T h e data were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation. Bail Out, the most complex task in the pool environment, correlated significantly with The ,001, r = -.461). both trait and state anxiety ( P < .02, r = -.320 and p .02, Quarry Dive, another difficult task, correlated significantly with state anxiety ( p 7 = -.320). None of the other performance tests were significantly related to either A-Trait or A-State levels. These results suggest that there is no relationship between anxiety and performance o n relatively simple casks, while they are significantly related o n more complex diving maneuvers. This finding seems logical since others have indicated that anxiety may
