The influence of game location on athletes' psychological states

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between game location and precompetition psychological states. Male rugby players (N = 100) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and the Profile of Mood States approximately 1 hr before a home and an away game. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance of mood and anxiety scores indicated significant differences between home and away locations. Participants scored higher on Vigor and Self-confidence, and lower on Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion, Cognitive Anxiety, and Somatic Anxiety when competing at home. The findings support the proposal (Courneya & Carron, 1992) that psychological states are influenced by game location.