“Mindset: performing under pressure” – a multimodal cognitive-behavioural intervention to enhance the well-being and performance of young athletes

MANSELL, Paul, Sparks, Katherine, Wright, Jason, Roe, Leanne, Carrington, Shane, Lock, James and SLATER, Matthew (2023) “Mindset: performing under pressure” – a multimodal cognitive-behavioural intervention to enhance the well-being and performance of young athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. pp. 1-20. ISSN 1041-3200

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Abstract or description

Young athletes experience stress daily and coping adaptively with these stressful situations is an important determinant of their well-being and performance. Rather than seeking to change the often-unavoidable stressful situations, it is possible to change the way in which young athletes think about the situations. The present study aimed to investigate whether a multimodal cognitive-behavioral intervention could enhance young athletes’ psychological well-being and performance. Delivered toward the end of the competitive season when there is often more at stake, the intervention employed a combination of education and reappraisal delivered in 6 × 1-hour group workshops. Content included stress mindset, irrational beliefs, self-compassion, and imagery. We hypothesized that the intervention would enhance stress mindset and reduce irrational beliefs, and in turn, this would enhance the psychological well-being and performance of young athletes. Ninety-four footballers and swimmers (n = 48 females, n = 46 males, Mage = 17.49 years, SD = 3.53) completed measures in stress mindset, perceived performance, irrational beliefs, anxiety and negative affect at baseline and post-intervention. Participants were allocated to an experimental (n = 49) or control condition (n = 45). Results from the mixed model ANOVAs demonstrate that the intervention was successful at enhancing stress mindset and reducing negative affect in the experimental condition, compared to those in the control condition. There were no significant changes in performance, irrational beliefs, or anxiety. Findings offer support for targeting stress mindset to enhance young athletes’ well-being. To reduce irrational beliefs, a more specific approach to the individual may be required.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	“This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Applied Sport Psychology on 22.12.23, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2023.2296900.”
Faculty:	School of Life Sciences and Education > Sport and Exercise
Depositing User:	Paul MANSELL
Date Deposited:	01 Feb 2024 15:55
Last Modified:	02 Feb 2024 04:30
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/8043

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