The Effects of a Psychological Skills Training Program on Swimming Performance: Self-efficacy and Psychological Skill Use as Mediators

Psychological skills training (PST) programs are becoming more prevalent for athletes of all levels of competition in an effort to gain an edge over their competitors (Birrer & Morgan, 2010). Despite the prevalence of PST programs, evidence of the efficacy of such programs lacks sound empirical and theoretical foundations and does not account for specific demands of different sports. This study aimed to address these gaps in the literature by using random assignment and waitlist control conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week group-based PST program on swimming performance among 76 high-level adolescent swimmers. The study also examined two mediators -- psychological strategy use and self-efficacy toward swimming -- on the relationship between the PST intervention and performance. Contrary to the hypothesis that the experimental group would show a greater improvement in performance compared with the control group, results showed that there was no main effect of the intervention on performance. However, significant relationships were found between the intervention and psychological strategy use (t (74) = 4.64, p <.0001) and self-efficacy (t (74) = 3.27, p <.0005), with those in the intervention group showing significantly larger increases than the control group in both strategy use and self-efficacy over the course of the study. These findings build upon previous studies that show a correlational relationship between PST programs and strategy use and self-efficacy to show the direct impact that such an intervention can have on these outcomes. Perceptions of success, the impact of the number of intervention sessions attended, and participant satisfaction with the intervention were also assessed.

Author

• Garvin, Michelle Szydlo

Language

• en

Keyword

• Self-efficacy
• Swimming Performance
• Psychological Strategy Use
• Psychological Skills Training Program
• PST intervention

Date created

• 2014

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Psychology

Degree

• Ph.D.

Advisor

• Rohrbeck, Cynthia A

Committee Member(s)

• Visek, Amanda
• Dodge, Tonya
• Sigelman, Carol
• Wirtz, Philip

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/f7623c66q