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Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI)3

Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test

Designed for athletes, the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test takes about 6 minutes to complete across 28 questions. It highlights coping strengths related to pressure, focus, preparation, confidence, and coachability, giving you a practical profile for self-reflection and targeted training goals.

Questions: 286 minutes

Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI): agreement scale card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Freedom From WorryFFW

Measures how well an athlete stays free from worry and self-criticism after mistakes and how much concern they have about others’ judgments when performing poorly.

example score4/12

4/12Low negative emotion impactexample score

0 – 2High negative emotion impact

3Moderate negative emotion impact

4 – 12Low negative emotion impact

A score of 4 suggests relatively low impact of negative emotions, with the athlete generally able to move past mistakes without excessive worry about performance or others’ opinions.

Peaking Under PressurePUP

Measures how strongly the athlete treats pressure as a challenge and maintains performance under stress.

example score5/12

5/12High under-pressure performanceexample score

0 – 3Low under-pressure performance

4Moderate under-pressure performance

5 – 12High under-pressure performance

A score of 5 suggests the athlete is generally able to view pressure as a challenge and deliver solid results in stressful situations.

Goal Setting and Mental PreparationGSaMP

Measures how clearly the athlete sets performance goals and mentally plans and prepares for upcoming competition or events.

example score6/12

6/12Well-preparedexample score

0 – 4Needs structure

5Developing

6 – 12Well-prepared

A score of 6 suggests generally strong goal-setting and mental preparation, with a reasonably clear plan and performance focus before events.

Confidence and Achievement MotivationCaAM

Assesses an athlete’s confidence and achievement-oriented motivation to sustain effort and persist in skill development under pressure.

example score8/12

8/12Highexample score

0 – 6Low

7Moderate

8 – 12High

A score of 8 indicates a high level of self-confidence and achievement motivation, suggesting consistent effort and a strong drive to improve during training and competition.

ConcentrationC

Measures how well the athlete can maintain focus on training or competition tasks despite distractions, unpleasant events, or unexpected situations.

example score6/12

6/12Moderate focus stabilityexample score

0 – 5Low focus stability

6Moderate focus stability

7 – 12High focus stability

A score of 6 indicates moderate focus stability, suggesting the athlete can usually stay on task but may still be noticeably affected by distractions under pressure.

CoachabilityC

Measures how open an athlete is to learning and instruction and how calmly they accept constructive feedback without taking it personally.

example score3/12

3/12Lowexample score

0 – 6Low

7Moderate

8 – 12High

A score of 3 indicates low learnability, suggesting the athlete may be less receptive to instruction or may react more sensitively to criticism under pressure.

Coping With AdversityCWA

Measures how well an athlete stays positive, calm, and able to quickly regain control after mistakes or setbacks.

example score4/12

4/12Low resilienceexample score

0 – 4Low resilience

5 – 12Moderate resilience

A score of 4 indicates low resilience on this scale, suggesting setbacks may more often disrupt composure and make it harder to quickly bounce back.

Overall Coping Skills ScoreOCSS

This scale summarizes the athlete’s overall coping resources and resilience when facing sport-related stress and pressure.

example score45/84

45/84Moderateexample score

0 – 44Low

45 – 65Moderate

66 – 84High

A score of 45 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting average overall coping resources that may be reliable in some stressful situations but can vary under higher pressure.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Competitive athletes under pressure

46%OF USERS

Athletes preparing for important events take it to see how they handle stress, stay focused, and keep confidence in high-stakes situations.

Coaches and sport psychologists

34%OF USERS

Support staff use it to spot weak coping skills in athletes and tailor mental training or readiness plans over a season.

Injured or returning athletes

20%OF USERS

Athletes in rehab or coming back after a break take it to track emotion control, motivation, and adaptability during recovery.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Freedom from Negative EmotionsFfNE

You?

Average5.7

Typical rangeTypical3.8 – 7.6

Possible0 – 12

The highest achievement under stressThaus

You?

Average8.8

Typical rangeTypical6.6 – 11

Possible0 – 12

Goal Setting and Mental PreparationGSaMP

You?

Average3.2

Typical rangeTypical1 – 5.3

Possible0 – 12

Self-Confidence and Achievement MotivationSaAM

You?

Average4

Typical rangeTypical1.9 – 6.1

Possible0 – 12

ConcentrationC

You?

Average3.7

Typical rangeTypical1.6 – 5.7

Possible0 – 12

LearnabilityL

You?

Average3.1

Typical rangeTypical1 – 5.3

Possible0 – 12

Coping with DifficultiesCwD

You?

Average6.5

Typical rangeTypical4.7 – 8.2

Possible0 – 12

Overall coping skills scoreOcss

You?

Average62.5

Typical rangeTypical51 – 74

Possible0 – 84

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

The statements below are used by professional athletes to describe their experiences. Please read each statement carefully and indicate how often you have the same experience. There are no right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much time on any one statement. Select the response that best reflects how often you experience similar feelings in sport.

- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Often
- Almost always

These are 3 of the 28 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test - Description and methodology of the test

coping behavior

sport

For athletes who want to understand how they respond when performance becomes demanding, the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test offers a structured profile of sport-related coping. It suits competitors, coaches, and practitioners examining preparation, concentration, confidence, emotional control, and responses to feedback. As a performance coping assessment, it identifies patterns that can guide reflection and deliberate practice.

What This Assessment Explores

The questionnaire separates coping into seven tendencies. Overall Coping Skills Score (0-84) measures total stress-coping capacity: Low 0-44/Moderate 45-65/High 66-84. The following dimensions show coping skills for athletes:

Freedom From Worry (0-12) measures performance concern/judgment fear; High negative emotion impact 0-2/Moderate negative emotion impact 3-3/Low negative emotion impact 4-12.
Peaking Under Pressure (0-12) measures challenge appraisal/pressure performance; Low under-pressure performance 0-3/Moderate under-pressure performance 4-4/High under-pressure performance 5-12.
Goal Setting and Mental Preparation (0-12) measures goals, planning, and readiness; Needs structure 0-4/Developing 5-5/Well-prepared 6-12.
Confidence and Achievement Motivation (0-12) measures confidence, effort, and improvement; Low 0-6/Moderate 7-7/High 8-12.
Concentration (0-12) measures focus amid distraction/unexpected events; Low focus stability 0-5/Moderate focus stability 6-6/High focus stability 7-12.
Coachability (0-12) measures receptiveness to instruction/criticism; Low 0-6/Moderate 7-7/High 8-12.
Coping With Adversity (0-12) measures positivity, self-control, and recovery after setbacks; Low resilience 0-4/Moderate resilience 5-12.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

In use, the athlete coping test presents first-person statements about training and competition. Four response options run from Rarely to Almost always, so scores reflect how often each pattern is recognized. Responses are grouped into dimensions, and the overall score sums the subscales; use the displayed ranges as supplied rather than inferring point values.

Its evidence base is the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 (Smith et al., 1995). This questionnaire is conceptually consistent with that instrument, not an adaptation of it. Goudas, Theodorakis, and Karamousalidis (1998) examined a Greek form; Smith and Christensen (1995) studied psychological skills in professional baseball. Bourgeois et al. (2003) examined impression management and self-deception, showing why socially desirable responding matters in self-report.

Published findings do not automatically transfer every norm or administration condition to an online presentation. Results describe reported tendencies rather than a diagnosis and may vary with current form, context, honesty, and self-awareness.

Author: Frank L. Smoll, Ronald E. Smith, Sean P. Cumming

Literature:

Smith, R. E., Schutz, R. W., Smoll, F. L., & Ptacek, J. T. (1995). Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Sport-Specific Psychological Skills: The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 17(4), 379-398. 10.1123/jsep.17.4.379
Goudas, M., Theodorakis, Y., & Karamousalidis, G. (1998). Psychological Skills in Basketball: Preliminary Study for Development of a Greek Form of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86(1), 59-65. 10.2466/pms.1998.86.1.59
Smith, R. E., & Christensen, D. S. (1995). Psychological Skills as Predictors of Performance and Survival in Professional Baseball. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 17(4), 399-415. 10.1123/jsep.17.4.399
Bourgeois, A. E., Loss, R., Meyers, M. C., & LeUnes, A. D. (2003). The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory: Relationship with Impression Management and Self-Deception Aspects of Socially Desirable Responding. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 4(2), 71-79. 10.1016/S1469-0292(01)00024-3

Updated: 2025-10-02