Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions on Competitive State Anxiety and Salivary Cortisol In Elite Sprinters

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Sport Psychology, Faculty Of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Univercity Of Tehran

2 Sport Psychology & motor Behavior, Faculty Of Physical Education & Sport Sciences, Univercity Of Tehran

Abstract

Few studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of psychological skills training on hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis response and sport performance. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of 8-week psychological skills training on competitive anxiety and salivary cortisol in elite sprinters. This study was a quasi-experimental study by pretest-posttest design with a control group. Statistical group comprised all men sprinters with an age range of 18-29 years in Khuzestan Province. To do this test, 30 male elite sprinters were randomly allocated into experimental and control groups(15 in each). We used salivary cortisol kit (Germany IBL company model RE-52611 model) to and Competitive Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). The results were analyzed with SPSS 20. The findings showed significant reduction in salivary cortisol and significant reduction in Competitive Anxiety in experimental group to comparison with the control group after 8 weeks of psychological skills training. The results suggest that psychological skills training can be uses as a promised strategy in reduction of competitive anxiety and salivary cortisol in athletes.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Volume 9, Issue 2
July 2018
Pages 163-179

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History

  • Receive Date: 26 December 2017
  • Revise Date: 25 December 2018
  • Accept Date: 03 August 2018
  • First Publish Date: 03 August 2018
  • Publish Date: 22 June 2018

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