Psychometric properties of the "Kenny-Music Performance Anxiety Inventory" modified for general performance anxiety

The main objective of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory – Revised (K-MPAI-R, Kenny, 2009) modified as the Kenny Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-PAI) for a general population of individuals with experience in public performance in fields other than music. Another aim was to test the factor structure of K-PAI on a Polish sample. We analysed the relationship between the scores on K-PAI and general anxiety, depression, attentional control, the scores on the Behavioural Inhibition Scale (BIS) and the Behavioural Activation Scale (BAS) and reward susceptibility. Participants (N = 586) completed the questionnaires in a wider online study. The scores on K-PAI revealed a moderate to strong positive association with different measures of anxiety, trait-anxiety in particular, and negative associations with attentional control and susceptibility to reward. K-PAI scores were strongly associated with depression, but displayed no relationship with the BAS or any of its sub-dimensions. These results generally replicated those obtained on the K-MPAI-R with Australian and Peruvian musicians, indicating the cross-cultural validity of the K-MPAI-R and K-PAI. It is suggested that performance anxiety develops on the basis of the biological predispositions and early negative experiences in performance contexts.