sports

Background: Improving sports performance and reducing anxiety is one of the most important goals of athletes. Recurrence of symptoms and treatment cessation are common problems with common interventions. Approaches based on mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) can be a response to these limitations
Objective: The main purpose of the present study was to determine effectiveness of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based approach to athletic performance enhancement and sports competition anxiety in students who have had athletic experience for 3 to 5 years.
Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, from May 1, 2017 to September 15, 2017. A total of 31 students were randomly assigned to experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=16). The experimental group received the protocol Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) for 8 sessions. Subjects completed the Charbonneau Sports Performance Questionnaire, Action and Acceptance Questionnaire (AAQ) and Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) Questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted by using multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) by SPSS-22.
Results: The results of the study indicated that the MAC approach increases significantly the performance of basketball playing athletes (p<0.05). Furthermore, the MAC approach decreases significantly experiential avoidance and sports anxiety in athletes (p<0.05). The size of the difference between the groups is moderate (Eta squared).
Conclusions: This study revealed that the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment-based approach is an effective intervention to increasing athletic performance and reducing experiential avoidance and sports anxiety in athletes.
Trial registration: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) with the Irct ID: IRCT20170409033333N1.
Funding: This study has been financially supported by the Research Deputy of Iran University of Medical Sciences (Code: 95-04-185-29333).

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of applying the mindfulness-acceptance-insightcommitment approach(MAIC) on improving the mindfulness,acceptance and mental health of Chinese elite badminton players.

Methods

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in this research. A total of 49 Chinese elite badminton players(29 males and 20 females) were recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group(n=25) or the control group(n=24). The intervention group underwent a seven-week MAIC training program, while the control group received no intervention. All psychological variables (mindfulness, acceptance, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with daily training and competition) were assessed before as well as right after and 3 months after the intervention.

Results

The two-way repeated measures ANOVA analysis revealed that comparing with the control group, the MAIC group significantly improved in the mindfulness, acceptance, as well as training and competition satisfaction. In addition, significant reduction of anxiety and depressive symptom was found in the intervention group. The post-hoc test indicated that only the intervention group had significant enhancements in all variables when comparing the difference between pre-and post-test, as well as between pre-and follow-up test. It is notable that the intervention effects for intervention group further improved in depression, training and competition satisfaction, and acceptance when comparing the difference between post-and follow-up test. However, such residual effects were not additionally enhanced in mindfulness and anxiety between post-and follow-up test.

Conclusions

The MAIC mindfulness training was proven to be effective in improving the mindfulness, acceptance, and training’s and competition’s satisfaction, as well as reducing the depression symptom in the Chinese elite badminton players.The findings could contribute to future studies and applications aiming to improve mental health of Chinese badminton players.

This paper details the Flourishing Footballers programme, a practical innovation which was designed to enhance resilience by explicitly integrating ACT into a male Academy football context (Youth Development Phase). The intervention was carried out by implementing a season-long psycho-education programme, which is the culmination of ten years work. Core components of the programme are presented and evaluated. The programme was deemed to be successful based on player engagement with the programme, and utilisation of the taught ACT-based skills. Thus, support is offered for ACT as an efficacious method of intervention within an elite sport context. Consideration is given to the practical implications of this novel programme.

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Research on emotion regulation has typically overlooked factors related to individual differences and situational contexts. The aim of the current study was to examine emotion regulation strategies used by 61 varsity athletes in different contexts; namely, before and after athletic competitions. Participant descriptions of pre- and post-competition emotion regulation strategies were coded using the Complexity of Emotion Regulation Scale. Participants also completed self-report questionnaires of alexithymia, difficulties in emotion regulation, emotional intensity, mental toughness, and perfectionism. The current study found that athletes tended to use more complex strategies following a disappointing game or personal performance, relative to coping with pre-competition distress. This suggests that athletes are generally able to make flexible use of a range of emotion regulation strategies in response to changing contexts and psychological demands. Selecting the right strategy for a given context is discussed as being necessary for athletes and non-athletes alike in achieving personal goals.

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The present study was a randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach compared to traditional Psychological Skills Training (PST) for the mental health and sport performance of female collegiate athletes. Two hypotheses were proposed: (a) participants in the MAC group would demonstrate reduced behavioural issues, emotional distress, and psychological symptoms, and increased athletic performance when compared to those in the PST group; (b) MAC participants would exhibit reduced emotion dysregulation and increased psychological flexibility and dispositional mindfulness, compared to PST participants. Participants included 18 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III female student athletes who were randomly assigned into either the MAC or PST group based upon pre-intervention levels of distress; and were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 1-month follow-up. A mixed-model ANOVA analysis revealed that the MAC effectively reduced Substance Use, Hostility, and Emotion Dysregulation over time when compared to the PST group. Several within-group differences also emerged, as MAC participants demonstrated reduced Generalised Anxiety, Eating Concerns, and Psychological Distress, as well as increased psychological flexibility from post-intervention to one-month follow-up. As per coach ratings, MAC participants also evidenced improved sport performance from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Results suggest that the MAC is an effective intervention for the mental health and sport performance needs of female collegiate athletes.