Document Type : Original research study
Authors
University of Tehran
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mindfulness trainings on performance and anxiety in young football players. For this purpose, 30 football players were assigned to an experimental group of 15 players (intervention based on Mindfulness) and control group of 15 players. Athletes in the experimental group received 12 30-minute sessions of mindfulness meditation for sport (6 weeks, twice a week). The control group did not receive any intervention. Before and after interventions Sport Anxiety Scale Questionnaire and Shooting Performance Test were used to collect data. The results of MANOVA showed that the reduction of anxiety scale scores and improvement of athletic performance scores were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group. According to these findings, we concluded that mindfulness training is appropriate to decrease the level of sport anxiety and increase athletic performance of football players.
Keywords
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15. Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K. G. (2003). Mindfulness: Method and process. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 161-165.
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17. Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(2), 109-119.
18. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. New York, NY: Delacorte.
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22. Kee, Y. H., Chatzisarantis, N., Kong, V. P. W., Chow, J. Y., & Chen, L. H. (2012). Mindfulness, movement control, and attentional focus strategies: effects of mindfulness on a postural balance task. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 34(5), 561-579.
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24. Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.
25. Moazam, S. (2015). Comparing the effectiveness of Mindfulness and Imagery training methods to improve Basketball free throw. (Master), University of Tehran, Tehran. (In Persian).
26. Moore, Z. E. (2009). Theoretical and empirical developments of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach to performance enhancement. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 25(4), 291-302.
27. Mor, D., & Christian, V. (1979). The development of a skill test battery to measure general soccer ability. North Carolina Journal of Health and Physical Education, 15(1), 30.
28. Nabilpour, M., & Aghababa, A. (2015). The relationship between mental toughness, mindfulness and physiological profile of selected young football players. Sport Psychology, 7(12), 1064-1074. (In Persian).
29. Omidi, A., Mohammadkhani, P., Dollatshahi, P., & Pourshahbaz, A. (2009). Efficacy of combined Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. Feyz, 12(2), 9-14. (In Persian).
30. Öst, L.-G. (2008). Efficacy of the third wave of behavioral therapies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 46(3), 296-321.
31. Roemer, L., Orsillo, S. M., & Salters-Pedneault, K. (2008). Efficacy of an acceptance-based behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(6), 1083.
32. Schwanhausser, L. (2009). Application of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) protocol with an adolescent springboard diver. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 377-395.
33. Scott‐Hamilton, J., Schutte, N. S., & Brown, R. F. (2016). Effects of a mindfulness intervention on sports‐anxiety, pessimism, and flow in competitive cyclists. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 8(1), 85-103.
34. Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., & Schutz, R. W. (1990). Measurement and correlates of sport-specific cognitive and somatic trait anxiety: The Sport Anxiety Scale. Anxiety research, 2(4), 263-280.
35. Thompson, R. W., Kaufman, K. A., De Petrillo, L. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2011). One year follow-up of mindful sport performance enhancement (MSPE) with archers, golfers, and runners. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 5(2), 99-116.
36. Zack, S., Saekow, J., Kelly, M., & Radke, A. (2014). Mindfulness based interventions for youth. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 44-56.
37. Zeidan, F., Grant, J., Brown, C., McHaffie, J., & Coghill, R. (2012). Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain. Neuroscience letters, 520(2), 165-173.
2. Alizade, M., Gaini, A., Gharakhanlo, R., Vaez Musavi., S. M., Kordi, M., & Kashef, M. (2007). Physical preparation, proficiency and psychic assessment tests of elite athletes in several sports. Tehran: N.O.C.I.R.IRAN. (In Persian).
3. Atchley, A. R. (2011). An examination of the effects of mindfulness and task-relevant attentional focus on running performance. (Master), Western Kentucky University, Kentucky.
4. Bairami, M., & Abdi, R. (2009). The Effect of Teaching Mindfulness-Based Techniques on Reducing Test Anxiety in Students. Journal of Instruction and Evaluation, 2(6), 35-54.
5. Baltzell, A., & Akhtar, V. L. (2014). Mindfulness Meditation Training for Sport (MMTS) intervention: Impact of MMTS with Division I female athletes. The Journal of Happiness and Well-being, 2(2), 160-173.
6. Bell, K. A. (2015). Mindfulness Skills Training for Elite Adolescent Athletes. (Degree of Doctor of Philosophy), SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, Burnaby.
7. Bernier, M., Thienot, E., Cordon, R., & Fournier, J. F. (2009). Mindfulness and acceptance approaches in sport performance. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 25(4), 320-333.
8. Besharat, M. A. (2009). Construction and standardization of multi-dimensional competitive anxiety inventory. Tehran: University of Tehran. (In Persian).
9. De Petrillo, L. A., Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2009). Mindfulness for long-distance runners: An open trial using Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE). Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 3(4), 357-376.
10. Eberth, J., & Sedlmeier, P. (2012). The effects of mindfulness meditation: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 3(3), 174-189.
11. Gooding, A., & Gardner, F. L. (2009). An investigation of the relationship between mindfulness, preshot routine, and basketball free throw percentage. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 25(4), 303-319.
12. Grossbard, J. R., Cumming, S. P., Standage, M., Smith, R. E., & Smoll, F. L. (2007). Social desirability and relations between goal orientations and competitive trait anxiety in young athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8(4), 491-505.
13. Hadinezhad, A. (2012). Survey psychometric properties of Sport Anxiety Scale between elite athletes of Tehran city. (Master), Islamic Azad University, Tehran center Branch, Tehran. (In Persian).
14. Hasker, S. M. (2010). Evaluation of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (mac) approach for enhancing athletic performance. (Degree of Doctor of Philosophy). Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.
15. Hayes, S. C., & Wilson, K. G. (2003). Mindfulness: Method and process. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 161-165.
16. Hofmann, S. G., Sawyer, A. T., Witt, A. A., & Oh, D. (2010). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on anxiety and depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 78(2), 169-183.
17. Jha, A. P., Krompinger, J., & Baime, M. J. (2007). Mindfulness training modifies subsystems of attention. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 7(2), 109-119.
18. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness. New York, NY: Delacorte.
19. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Coming to our senses: Healing ourselves and the world through mindfulness: Hachette UK.
20. Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of behavioral medicine, 8(2), 163-190.
21. Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2009). Evaluation of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE): A new approach to promote flow in athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 3(4), 334-356.
22. Kee, Y. H., Chatzisarantis, N., Kong, V. P. W., Chow, J. Y., & Chen, L. H. (2012). Mindfulness, movement control, and attentional focus strategies: effects of mindfulness on a postural balance task. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 34(5), 561-579.
23. Kerr, C. E., Jones, S. R., Wan, Q., Pritchett, D. L., Wasserman, R. H., Wexler, A., . . . Kaptchuk, T. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness meditation training on anticipatory alpha modulation in primary somatosensory cortex. Brain research bulletin, 85(3), 96-103.
24. Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York, NY, US: Guilford Press.
25. Moazam, S. (2015). Comparing the effectiveness of Mindfulness and Imagery training methods to improve Basketball free throw. (Master), University of Tehran, Tehran. (In Persian).
26. Moore, Z. E. (2009). Theoretical and empirical developments of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach to performance enhancement. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 25(4), 291-302.
27. Mor, D., & Christian, V. (1979). The development of a skill test battery to measure general soccer ability. North Carolina Journal of Health and Physical Education, 15(1), 30.
28. Nabilpour, M., & Aghababa, A. (2015). The relationship between mental toughness, mindfulness and physiological profile of selected young football players. Sport Psychology, 7(12), 1064-1074. (In Persian).
29. Omidi, A., Mohammadkhani, P., Dollatshahi, P., & Pourshahbaz, A. (2009). Efficacy of combined Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. Feyz, 12(2), 9-14. (In Persian).
30. Öst, L.-G. (2008). Efficacy of the third wave of behavioral therapies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 46(3), 296-321.
31. Roemer, L., Orsillo, S. M., & Salters-Pedneault, K. (2008). Efficacy of an acceptance-based behavior therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: evaluation in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(6), 1083.
32. Schwanhausser, L. (2009). Application of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) protocol with an adolescent springboard diver. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 377-395.
33. Scott‐Hamilton, J., Schutte, N. S., & Brown, R. F. (2016). Effects of a mindfulness intervention on sports‐anxiety, pessimism, and flow in competitive cyclists. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 8(1), 85-103.
34. Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., & Schutz, R. W. (1990). Measurement and correlates of sport-specific cognitive and somatic trait anxiety: The Sport Anxiety Scale. Anxiety research, 2(4), 263-280.
35. Thompson, R. W., Kaufman, K. A., De Petrillo, L. A., Glass, C. R., & Arnkoff, D. B. (2011). One year follow-up of mindful sport performance enhancement (MSPE) with archers, golfers, and runners. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 5(2), 99-116.
36. Zack, S., Saekow, J., Kelly, M., & Radke, A. (2014). Mindfulness based interventions for youth. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 32(1), 44-56.
37. Zeidan, F., Grant, J., Brown, C., McHaffie, J., & Coghill, R. (2012). Mindfulness meditation-related pain relief: evidence for unique brain mechanisms in the regulation of pain. Neuroscience letters, 520(2), 165-173.
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