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A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context

Mini Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2020.

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Other Authors: Coetzee, Nicoleen
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Coetzee, Nicoleen
author_browse Coetzee, Nicoleen
author_facet Coetzee, Nicoleen
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2020.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:42.457Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/78423 A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context Coetzee, Nicoleen ryantehini@gmail.com Du Toit, Peet J. Tehini, Ryan Carl Anthony UCTD Mini Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2020. Stress and anxiety are innate aspects of athletic competition, and often result in inhibited performance, and ultimately contribute to an unfavourable competition outcome. In order to perform optimally at high levels of competition, athletes need not only physical training, but mental training as well. However, in South Africa, professional intervention is not always available to these athletes in times of need, and in-game intervention is impossible. Thus efficient and practical psychological performance enhancement techniques demands elements of autonomy. Existing psychological skills training typically relies on consistent professional instruction, and subsequently lacks practicality in the South African context. The purpose of this study is to design a novel stress and anxiety reduction programme for athletes, and to evaluate the effect of the programme in an athletic context. The programme was designed with the intention of promoting autonomous use of the skills, and is comprised of coherent breathing, mindfulness, and visualisation techniques. A quantitative methodological framework was adopted for the study. The quantitative data was collected using the Mindful Acceptance Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Mental Skills Inventory (MSI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT), and the State-Trait Personality Inventory Form Y (STPI-Y). The sample consisted of 97 participants, spanning over 30 sporting disciplines. 30 participants did not complete the stress and anxiety reduction programme, while 67 did, creating a faux control group of 30 participants. The data was collected pre- and post-intervention to determine the effect of the novel stress and anxiety reduction programme. Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-test results for participants’ dispositional mindfulness, perceived stress, competition anxiety, and state anxiety (p<0.05). The novel stress and anxiety reduction programme has proven effective at reducing stress and anxiety in an athletic context, to some extent. Recommendations are that the programme be used by athletes as an autonomous method of stress and anxiety reduction. Key Terms: Stress reduction, anxiety reduction, athletic competition, athlete, mindfulness, coherent breathing, visualisation, sport psychology, autonomous performance enhancement Psychology MA (Research Psychology) Unrestricted 2021-02-11T08:41:31Z 2021-02-11T08:41:31Z 2021-04 2020-10 Mini Dissertation * A2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/78423 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title_full A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title_fullStr A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title_full_unstemmed A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title_short A Psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
title_sort psychological study of the effect of a stress and anxiety reduction programme in an athletic context
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/78423