The Effect of Anxiety on Basketball Performance
The Effect of Anxiety on Basketball Performance
Adam Kirchoff
March 8, 2020
Abstract
Performance anxiety is a form of social stress induced by the idea or action of performing before an audience that typically coincides with or intensifies generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or both. These mental health conditions are identified as palpable and categorized in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. However, they remain stigmatized and thus, can often become marginalized in health care. Although appropriate treatment methods and consciousness exist in for these conditions, social tendencies often amplify the stigma of mental health illness. This is especially prominent in professional sports culture throughout the United States. As a result of perpetuating a public image associated with willpower, anxiety-related mental health conditions can unfavorably evolve, most notably when repressed or left untreated. Regarding professional basketball competition, anxiety-related disorders carry the ability to alter the attentional control of players, notably hampering on-court production and efficiency. While no definite treatment exists in curing such mental health disorders, it is vital for health care providers to appropriately address these conditions as tangible, all while developing holistic mental health wellness programs to eliminate repression.
Keywords: anxiety, mental health, performance anxiety, pressure, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, sports psychology, basketball, NBA
Introduction
Remaining composed while leading a class presentation before twenty students can often be overwhelming. Applying the nearly identical feeling of unease to a high-stakes athletic performance before a stadium audience of twenty-thousand and a national television audience of twenty-million is essentially unimaginable for many. In the the National Basketball Association (NBA), the current state of the league revolves around its individual “stars" -- players who produce a significant amount of league revenue and media attention based on their high-caliber level of play and additional off-court recognition. With these individual stars as a driving force of popularity, the NBA also embraces social awareness, leadership, and community surrounding their players, perhaps notably more so than each of the dominant professional American sports leagues. However, even with the NBA prioritizing player wellness, few attempts have been made to investigate the role of mental health disorders on the performance of professional players. In fields that position individuals to be figures of the public eye, such as with professional athletics, mental health disorders are especially stigmatized. In addition to the intense inner discomfort induced by anxiety and related mental health disorders, athletes are often pressured to suppress any display of emotion to perpetuate social norms tied to masculinity.
In an attempt to limit these stigmas, professional NBA basketball players have recently used their platform to courageously disclose their struggle with anxiety through a vivid description of their experiences, both in their personal lives and on the basketball court. However, to approach and ultimately mitigate the issue, the impact of mental health on professional athletes must be perceived as tangible and treated legitimately. Based on a series of case studies and corresponding analytical data, the effects of performance anxiety and panic disorder on muscle control and vision can significantly alter performance among players partaking in organized basketball competitions.
The remainder of the research essay will highlight case studies supporting the initial thesis, disclosing specific data-based examples of how varying forms of anxiety-based mental health conditions can alter on-court basketball efficacy. The literature review compiles several analytical case studies and background reports to further support the research. The discussion expands on the supporting evidence and initial thesis statement by providing supplemental information regarding the overarching factors in the perceived tendency of general discomfort among players in the National Basketball Association. The research will be concluded with discourse concerning further research topics and methods that can potentially be explored in the area.
Literature Review
Sports culture in the United States has commonly been linked to a stereotyped image of aggressiveness associated with values of masculinity. Through the efforts of its players, coaches, and executives, the National Basketball Association (NBA) continues to cultivate an identity of acceptance that contrasts with the typical image of stoic behavior displayed in other American sports leagues. However, with the NBA existing at the forefront of major professional sports, it is nearly impossible to eliminate the stigmatization of emotional display during participation that might be perceived as “weak” or “cowardly.” Furthermore, any mental health conditions or disabilities that induce feelings or displays of vulnerability are seen as even more abnormal in the realm of athletics. Based on a series of case studies and corresponding analytical data, the effects of performance anxiety on muscle control and vision can significantly alter performance among players partaking in organized basketball competitions.
Performance anxiety, commonly referred to as “stage fright,” is described as “a result of threat and is related to the subjective evaluation of a situation with regard to one’s self-esteem” (Wilson, Vine, & Wood, 2009, p. 152). Although this form of anxiety can be applied to any individual, “problems in interpersonal relationships, depression, stress, and competitive anxiety are higher in athletes” (Dehghani, M., Saf, A. D., Vosoughi, A., Tebbenouri, G., & Zarnagh, H. G, 2018, p. 6749). Wilson, Vine & Wood (2009) discovered anxiety to cause disruptions in attentional control, and thus, can generate negative impacts on basketball free-throw shooting efficiency, in particular. In a case study that compared stress response of anxiety to on-court performance, Abenza et al., (2009, p. 409) identified a pattern of decreased success in two-point field goal percentages and a higher rate of turnovers among basketball players with “higher state anxiety.” However, Mascret, et al. (2016, p. 12) found that while “anxiety symptoms may be interpreted by the player as hampering sport performance, they may also be interpreted as facilitative." This experimental data did not reveal any notable effect of stress on the parameters of free-throw shooting efficiency. Furthermore, while performance anxiety can act as a detriment to some individuals, it also has the potential to strengthen competitive arousal.
Through experimentation and analyzed data, the studies above showcase a generally positive correlation between anxiety and decreased athletic performance of various basketball activities. Further research is necessary to expand on this relationship, in addition to exploring potential methods to treat both performance anxiety and related mental health conditions affecting thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. With the implication that performance anxiety exists as a tangible health concern and legitimate factor in the effects of performance, it is necessary to develop specific methods accessible to players who may suffer from this condition. Additionally, the relationship between performance anxiety and either the inception or amplification of anxiety disorders becomes essential to explore for the development of both the National Basketball Association and the general sphere of mental health care.
Discussion
Pressure and hype are two terms that often gain traction in the realm of sports culture, both of which revolve around an inherent expectation to succeed. Individuals are likely to experience this socialization pattern in the plights of daily interaction, perhaps with an additional expectation to fulfill responsibilities that maximize resources for both oneself and familial parties. Existing under the spotlight of professional sports significantly augments this social trend. The growth of online social media continues to exist at the forefront of twenty-first-century identity. Issues surrounding the relationship between social media and self-image primarily stem from unrealistic expectations perpetuated by online sources, with two in three young people reporting that they “feel pressure to look good,” with nearly a third of young individuals claiming they have been victims of cyberbullying (Grové, 2017; par. 5). This idea can transcend outward appearance and materialism for many athletes.
With varying levels of personal social media engagement, athletes may engage in constant discourse with online strangers and professional analysts alike who callously criticize both their on-court play and identity. As performance anxiety proves to revolve around self-confidence tribulations, the adverse effects of social media provide an accessible platform for open criticism and carry the potential to fortify self-image consciousness. Furthermore, an expectation to succeed can be thus strengthened through the primary incentive of vanquishing criticism.
In addition to general self-esteem difficulties, sufferers of performance-induced anxiety disorder will often experience symptoms including, but not limited to, racing pulse, rapid breathing, trembling, perspiration in the hands, nausea, and vision changes. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, several symptoms of performance anxiety are mutually shared with diagnostic criteria for panic disorder, which is defined as an “abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and during time which four (or more) of the following symptoms occur . . .” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The diagnostic criteria for panic disorder include, but are not limited to, “sweating, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea, and detachment from reality” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). “All-Star” NBA forward Kevin Love emphasizes his debilitating experience with these symptoms in a detailed recount of his first encounter with a panic attack during an organized NBA basketball game. He compares the experience to a "signaling of death" in his 2018 article, “Everyone Is Going Through Something.” In addition to the intense discomfort, Love emphasizes his desire to hide the emotions induced by an experience with anxiety (Love, 2018, par. 22). Love continues to emphasize the importance of normalizing mental health wellness and promotion treatment measures. He claims that “mental health is an invisible thing, but it touches all of us at some point or another. It’s part of life. . . you never know what that person is going through,” (Love, 2018, par. 28). In other words, Love implies that although the addressing of mental health treatment should necessarily be expanded on in the scope of professional athletics, it should not exist as a form of special treatment, but rather as an intrinsically accepted element of discourse among players, coaches, and other league professionals.
Conclusion
Due to the prevailing stigmas of mental health disorders, it is often difficult for suffering individuals to be appropriately diagnosed and treated, primarily due to the constructed social barriers that may exist surrounding culture, religion, or profession. In the process of seeking help, individuals’ conditions may be generalized, and in turn, marginalized from potential communication disparities that are critical for understanding proper therapeutic discourse. Since mental health support struggles to remain easily discernible, the avenue towards diagnosis and treatment can often be inconsistent and feel futile to the individual. Further exploration in this area of research might expand on the long-term effects of more permanent mental health conditions and their effect on the human psyche whilst partaking in organized basketball competition, rather than its effect on the sport itself.
Variation in the study between different professional leagues, different levels of athletic organizations, and women’s leagues can be explored, as well. For professional athletes, more specifically those who compete in the National Basketball Association, the dynamic of mental health care has entered a state of dire urgency, but with promising hope. Lead organization officials now recognize mental health wellness as a palpable societal issue that spans league-wide. Players enduring the struggles of mental health complications have also shared their experiences and vulnerabilities to assist others. Through figures who strive to conserve the league’s staples of camaraderie and diversity, mental health care consciousness has been rightfully embraced by its most essential leaders. The NBA has taken an established stance on the importance of mental health care and continues to develop tactics meant to reduce the adverse effects of anxiety disorders.
THE EFFECT OF ANXIETY ON BASKETBALL PERFORMANCE
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Abenza, L., Alarcón, F., Piñar, M. I., & Ureña, N. (2009). Relationship between the anxiety and performance of a basketball team during competition. Revista de Psicología Del Deporte, 18, 409–413. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=49868544&site=ehost live
Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on people with mental illness. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 1(1), 16-20.
Dehghani, M., Saf, A. D., Vosoughi, A., Tebbenouri, G., & Zarnagh, H. G. (2018). Effectiveness of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based approach on athletic performance and sports competition anxiety: A randomized clinical trial. Electronic Physician, 10(5), 6749–6755. https://doi.org/10.19082/6749
Grové, C. (2017, December 7). How parents and teens can reduce the impact of social media on youth well-being. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/how-parents-and-teens-can-reduce-the-impact-of-social-medi a-on-youth-well-being-87619
Love, K. (2018, March 6). Everyone is going through something | By Kevin Love. Retrieved from https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something
Mascret, N., Ibáñez-Gijón, J., Bréjard, V., Buekers, M., Casanova, R., Marqueste, T., ... Cury, F.(2016). The influence of the ‘Trier Social Stress Test’ on free throw performance in basketball: An interdisciplinary study. PLoS ONE, 11(6), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157215
Wilson, M. R., Vine, S. J., & Wood, G. (2009). The influence of anxiety on visual attentional control in basketball free throw shooting. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 31(2), 152-168. doi:10.1123/jsep.31.2.152