Mental training generates positive effect on competitive anxiety of young swimmers?

Abstract

The aim of this research was to analyze the effect of mental training on the competitive anxiety of young swimmers. The sample consisted of 35 swimmers aged 15 - 17 years (M = 15.93; SD = 0.98), randomly divided into two groups: experimental group (EG, n = 17) and control group (CG, n = 18). The study lasted eight weeks. Both groups performed the same physical/technical training planning. CG watched advertisement videos while EG performed mental training. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2R) was administered to all athletes before the start of the season and the last week of the “taper” mesocycle. The findings revealed that the “cognitive anxiety” and “somatic anxiety” subscale scores attenuated from pre-test to post-test in EG (p = 0.01) and remained stable in CG (p = 0.15). The results showed that the “self-confidence” subscale score increased from pre-test to post-test in EG (p = 0.01) and remained stable in CG (p = 0.26). Significant difference was found in “cognitive anxiety” (p = 0.01), “somatic anxiety” (p = 0.01) and “self-confidence” (p = 0.01) subscales across EG and CG after 8 weeks. It was concluded that mental training was effective in reducing anxiety (cognitive and somatic) and increasing the self-confidence of young swimmers.