Psychometric properties of the Sports Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) on the Indian athletes

Competitive anxiety is a key psychological factor influencing athletic performance, and its accurate assessment is essential for both research and applied sport psychology. The Sports Anxiety Scale 2 (SAS 2) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption in athletes. Although the scale has been validated across several cultural contexts, evidence from South Asian populations remains limited. Cultural differences in emotional expression, competitive environments, and sport participation patterns highlight the need for localized validation. This study therefore aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the SAS 2 among Indian athletes, evaluating its reliability, factorial structure, measurement invariance, and convergent validity with established psychological measures.A total of 416 athletes aged 18 to 35 years (M=22.83; SD=3.38) participated in the study in India. Validity was examined through associations with the Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Scale (ADSS BSPSA) and the Self Perception Measuring Scale (SPMS A), allowing for an assessment of both convergent and divergent constructs. Internal consistency was high, with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.90 for the total scale and 0.78, 0.79, and 0.77 for the somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption subscales, respectively, indicating strong reliability across all dimensions of the SAS 2.It was found that the three factor and hierarchical models demonstrated good fit indices (CFI > 0.90, TLI > 0.90, RMSEA < 0.08), confirming that the underlying structure of the SAS 2 is stable and theoretically coherent within this population. Measurement invariance analyses further supported the scale’s applicability across genders and athlete groups. Test–retest reliability was satisfactory (ICC = 0.79–0.84). A weak but statistically significant negative correlation was observed between self perception and anxiety measures, while moderate positive correlations were found between total anxiety and ADSS BSPSA subscales. Strong correlations were also observed among total anxiety and its subscales (r = 0.86–0.88).The findings indicate that the SAS 2 demonstrates strong reliability, a stable factorial structure, and consistent performance across different athlete groups, supporting its suitability for use in India. The confirmed measurement invariance, satisfactory test–retest reliability, and meaningful associations with related psychological constructs collectively show that the scale effectively captures key dimensions of competitive anxiety in this cultural context. These results highlight the SAS 2 as a robust instrument for both research and applied sport psychology among Indian athletes.