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Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI)3

Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test

Understand how an athlete handles pressure in sport in about 6 minutes. Get a clear coping profile to guide training, competition prep, and recovery support.

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Questions: 286 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

25,064 views

2,721 completion

2,299 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

45/84

Overall Coping Skills Score (OCSS)

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

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 44: Low | 45 – 65: Moderate | 66 – 84: High

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.

example score

4/12

Freedom From Worry (FFW)

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.

High negative emotion impact

Moderate negative emotion impact

Low negative emotion impact

0 – 2: High negative emotion impact | 3: Moderate negative emotion impact | 4 – 12: Low 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.

example score

5/12

Peaking Under Pressure (PUP)

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

Low under-pressure performance

Moderate under-pressure performance

High under-pressure performance

0 – 3: Low under-pressure performance | 4: Moderate under-pressure performance | 5 – 12: High 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.

example score

6/12

Goal Setting and Mental Preparation (GSaMP)

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

Needs structure

Developing

Well-prepared

0 – 4: Needs structure | 5: Developing | 6 – 12: Well-prepared

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

example score

8/12

Confidence and Achievement Motivation (CaAM)

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

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 6: Low | 7: Moderate | 8 – 12: High

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.

example score

6/12

Concentration (C)

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

Low focus stability

Moderate focus stability

High focus stability

0 – 5: Low focus stability | 6: Moderate focus stability | 7 – 12: High 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.

example score

3/12

Coachability (C)

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

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 6: Low | 7: Moderate | 8 – 12: High

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.

example score

4/12

Coping With Adversity (CWA)

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

Low resilience

Moderate resilience

0 – 4: Low resilience | 5 – 12: Moderate 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.

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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.

Overall coping skills score (Ocss)

Average

62.5

Normal range

51 — 74

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Freedom from Negative Emotions (FfNE)

Average

5.7

Normal range

3.8 — 7.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

The highest achievement under stress (Thaus)

Average

8.8

Normal range

6.6 — 11

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Goal Setting and Mental Preparation (GSaMP)

Average

3.2

Normal range

1 — 5.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Self-Confidence and Achievement Motivation (SaAM)

Average

Normal range

1.9 — 6.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Concentration (C)

Average

3.7

Normal range

1.6 — 5.7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Learnability (L)

Average

3.1

Normal range

1 — 5.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Coping with Difficulties (CwD)

Average

6.5

Normal range

4.7 — 8.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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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.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) Test - Symptoms and Signs

coping behavior

sport

This measure assesses coping-related skills relevant to managing sport-related stress and performance demands. The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) is a brief self-report questionnaire intended to characterize how an athlete typically responds to pressure and challenge.

It consists of 28 items and typically requires about 6 minutes to complete. Item responses are used to summarize patterns across coping domains commonly linked to behavioral, emotional, and cognitive regulation in sport contexts (e.g., confidence, concentration, emotional control, and adaptation to change). The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI) was developed by Frank L. Smoll, Sean P. Cumming, and Ronald E. Smith and is commonly used to inform case formulation, guide skills-focused intervention planning, and monitor change over time in training, competition, or rehabilitation settings.

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

Literature: Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., & Schutz, R. W. Measurement and correlates of sport-specific cognitive and somatic trait anxiety: The Sport Anxiety Scale. Anxiety Research. 1990.