A Pilot Feasibility Study Comparing Mindfulness and Imagery Interventions on Sports Anxiety in Division 1 Volleyball Players
Keywords:
Sport anxiety, mindfulness, Imagery, VolleyballAbstract
Sport performance is increasingly understood to be an outcome affected by both physical and mental variables. Successful athletes display excellent conditioning, skill, strength, and agility as well as mental fortitude, concentration, confidence, and management of negative affective states like anxiety. Numerous interventions for sport anxiety have been developed, including imagery and mindfulness interventions, though there is little research directly comparing these interventions to understand potential differential effects on anxiety. Furthermore, these interventions are often delivered by experts in individual or group therapy formats leading to questions of whether more accessible, self-directed interventions can also positively impact anxiety. The current pilot study utilized a randomized, controlled design to compare the effects of a mindfulness intervention and imagery intervention to an “as usual” control group on self-reported sport anxiety in a sample of Division 1 collegiate volleyball players on the same team over the course of a single season. Results showed improvement for both active conditions versus the control, though some evidence for differential effects of treatment was found.
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