Document Type : Original research study

Authors

1 Department of Sport Psychology, Faculty of sport sciences, University of Tehran

2 faculty of sport sciences, University of Bu Ali Sina, Hamedan

3 Department of clinical psychology. faculty of Psychology, University of Tehran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mindfulness intervention on competitive anxiety responses, self-regulating and salivary alpha-amylase levels in elite Wushu athletes. For this purpose, 26 male Wushu athletes participated in this study and were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. In the pretest, competitive anxiety, self-regulation and salivary alpha-amylase levels were measured in both groups. The experimental group performed the protocol for six sessions and then a post-test and follow-up test. The results showed that after the intervention, the competitive anxiety and salivary alpha-amylase levels were decreased, and this reduction continued to follow-up test. Besides, the self-regulating scores of elite Wushu athletes were increased after intervention. In general, it may be concluded that mindfulness intervention could be a strategy to reduce competitive anxiety responses and self-regulation improvement

Keywords

Main Subjects

1. Aherne, C., Moran, A. P., & Lonsdale, C. (2011). The effect of mindfulness training on athletes’ flow: An initial investigation. The Sport Psychologist, 25(2), 177-189.
2. Anicha, C. L., Ode, S., Moeller, S. K., & Robinson, M. D. (2012). Toward a cognitive view of trait mindfulness: distinct cognitive skills predict its observing and nonreactivity facets. Journal of Personality, 80(2), 255-285.
3. Arch, J. J., Brown, K. W., Dean, D. J., Landy, L. N., Brown, K. D., & Laudenslager, M. L. (2014). Self-compassion training modulates alpha-amylase, heart rate variability, and subjective responses to social evaluative threat in women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 42, 49-58.
4. Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Ciarocco, N. J., & Twenge, J. M. (2005). Social exclusion impairs self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(4), 589.
5. Besharat,M . (2012). Psychometric properties of a short version of the Self-Regulation Inventory in a sample of Iranian population. Research In Clinical Psychology And Counseling’s, 1(2). doi:10.22067/ ijap.v1i2.8173.
6. Birrer, D., Röthlin, P., & Morgan, G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness, 3(3), 235-246.
7. Chang, B.-H., Dusek, J. A., & Benson, H. (2011). Psychobiological changes from relaxation response elicitation: long-term practitioners vs. novices. Psychosomatics, 52(6), 550-559.
8. Cheng, W.-N. K., & Hardy, L. (2016). Three-dimensional model of performance anxiety: Tests of the adaptive potential of the regulatory dimension of anxiety. Psychology of sport and exercise, 22, 255-263.
9. Chiesa, A., Calati, R., & Serretti, A. (2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical psychology review, 31(3), 449-464.
10. 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.
11. Duchemin, A.-M., Steinberg, B. A., Marks, D. R., Vanover, K., & Klatt, M. (2015). A small randomized pilot study of a workplace mindfulness-based intervention for surgical intensive care unit personnel: effects on salivary α-amylase levels. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 57(4), 393-399.
12. Ehrlenspiel, F., & Strahler, K. (2012). Psychoneuroendocrinology of sport and exercise: Foundations, markers, trends. Routledge.
13. Farb, N. A., Anderson, A. K., Mayberg, H., Bean, J., McKeon, D., & Segal, Z. V. (2010). Minding one’s emotions: mindfulness training alters the neural expression of sadness. Emotion, 10(1), 25.
14. Goette, L., Bendahan, S., Thoresen, J., Hollis, F., & Sandi, C. (2015). Stress pulls us apart: Anxiety leads to differences in competitive confidence under stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 54, 115-123.
15. Hagger, M. S., Wood, C., Stiff, C., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. (2009). The strength model of self-regulation failure and health-related behaviour. Health Psychology Review, 3(2), 208-238.
16. Hasker, S. M. (2010). Evaluation of the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (mac) approach for enhancing athletic performance. Evaluation, 8, 9-2010.
17. Kasala, E. R., Bodduluru, L. N., Maneti, Y., & Thipparaboina, R. (2014). Effect of meditation on neurophysiological changes in stress mediated depression. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 20(1), 74-80.
18. Lyvers, M., Makin, C., Toms, E., Thorberg, F. A., & Samios, C. (2014). Trait mindfulness in relation to emotional self-regulation and executive function. Mindfulness, 5(6), 619-625.
19. Mardon, N., Richards, H., & Martindale, A. (2016). The Effect of Mindfulness Training on Attention and Performance in National-Level Swimmers: An Exploratory Investigation. The Sport Psychologist, 30(2), 131-140.
20. Mehrsafar, A. h., khabiri, m., & moghadam zadeh, a. (2016). Factorial Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) in Intensity, Direction and Frequency Dimensions. Journal of Motor Learning and Movement, 8(2), 253-279.
21. Mellalieu, S. D., Hanton, S., & Thomas, O. (2009). The effects of a motivational general-arousal imagery intervention upon preperformance symptoms in male rugby union players. Psychology of sport and exercise, 10(1), 175-185.
22. Nater, U., & Rohleder, N. (2009). Salivary alpha-amylase as a non-invasive biomarker for the sympathetic nervous system: current state of research. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(4), 486-496.
23. O’rourke, D. J., Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., & Cumming, S. P. (2014). Relations of parent-and coach-initiated motivational climates to young athletes’ self-esteem, performance anxiety, and autonomous motivation: who is more influential? Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 26(4), 395-408.
24. Rayan, A., & Ahmad, M. (2016). Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Mindfulness, 1-14.
25. Röthlin, P., Birrer, D., Horvath, S., & grosse Holtforth, M. (2016). Psychological skills training and a mindfulness-based intervention to enhance functional athletic performance: design of a randomized controlled trial using ambulatory assessment. BMC psychology, 4(1), 39.
26. Short, M. M., & Mazmanian, D. (2013). Perfectionism and negative repetitive thoughts: Examining a multiple mediator model in relation to mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(6), 716-721.
27. Short, M. M., Mazmanian, D., Ozen, L. J., & Bédard, M. (2015). Four days of mindfulness meditation training for graduate students: A pilot study examining effects on mindfulness, self-regulation, and executive function. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 2(1).
28. Sundquist, J., Lilja, Å., Palmér, K., Memon, A. A., Wang, X., Johansson, L. M., & Sundquist, K. (2015). Mindfulness group therapy in primary care patients with depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206(2), 128-135.
29. Tang, Y.-Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., . . . Fan, M. (2007). Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(43), 17152-17156.
30. Teper, R., Segal, Z. V., & Inzlicht, M. (2013). Inside the mindful mind how mindfulness enhances emotion regulation through improvements in executive control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(6), 449-454.
31. Williams, S. E., & Cumming, J. (2016). Athlete imagery ability: A predictor of confidence and anxiety intensity and direction. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14(3), 268-280.
32. Wolf, S. A., Eys, M. A., & Kleinert, J. (2015). Predictors of the precompetitive anxiety response: Relative impact and prospects for anxiety regulation. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 13(4), 344-358.
33. Woodruff, S. C., Glass, C. R., Arnkoff, D. B., Crowley, K. J., Hindman, R. K., & Hirschhorn, E. W. (2014). Comparing self-compassion, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility as predictors of psychological health. Mindfulness, 5(4), 410-421.
34. 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.
35. Zhou, R., & Liu, L. (2016). Eight-Week Mindfulness Training Enhances Left Frontal EEG Asymmetry During Emotional Challenge: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Mindfulness, 1-9.