(PS8-D99) Mindfulness, Imagery, and Effects on Sports Anxiety

The relationship between mental techniques and competitive performance outcomes has been studied in previous research across populations and sports. However, because athletics involve consistent high-pressure, competitive environments, it is useful to also examine the extent to which athletes experience anxiety in these contexts (Craft et al., 2003). Working to lower anxiety levels and promote healthy positive emotions is vital to improve long-term sport performance (Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2009). Mindfulness meditation is a technique used for many purposes, including gaining awareness of inner thoughts and feelings through focusing on a single point such as the breath (Baer, 2003). Mindfulness has been shown to lead to significant reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Another commonly employed mental technique in sports is imagery, which involves visualizing a specific event to work towards automaticity of function (Fazel et al., 2018). The goal of this study was to examine and compare the effects of mindfulness and imagery interventions on athlete sport-related anxiety in collegiate volleyball players.

The [Blinded for review] Women’s Volleyball Team was recruited to participate in an 8-week randomized controlled trial. All players (n = 21) initially entered the study and were randomized via random number generator into one of three conditions: control, imagery, and mindfulness. Participants in the two intervention groups were given pre-recorded scripts to listen to daily over the 8-week intervention during the fall season. Participants completed questionnaires at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. They also completed a weekly treatment fidelity measurement. Measures included the Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2R), The Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS-2), and the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS).

All groups experienced drop-out at post-intervention, with five in control, five in imagery, and six in mindfulness. At 1-month follow-up, mindfulness maintained six participants while control dropped to three and imagery dropped to four participants. As a pilot/feasibility study, our data were underpowered for any inferential statistical analyses, so we focused on trends across time and outcome measures as well as standardized effect sizes. Trends showed decreases in anxiety for both active conditions. The mindfulness condition showed the greatest effects on sport related anxiety (Hedges g medium to large across timepoints and outcome measures). The mindfulness condition had a sharp decrease in cognitive and somatic anxiety constructs and increase in measured mindfulness constructs. Only the mindfulness group showed increases in measured mindfulness, providing some support for mindfulness being a potential mechanism of change for improvements in anxiety. Mindfulness interventions could be a helpful tool in further investigations of anxiety for athletes. Further detail, limitations, and clinical applications of this research will be included in the final poster in addition to tables of descriptive scores and effect sizes.