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Collegiate Athletes' Expectations and Experiences with Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement
Erin G Mistretta1, Carol R Glass1, Claire A Spears2
1The Catholic University of America.
Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology
|October 2, 2018
Summary
Collegiate athletes found mindful sport performance enhancement (MSPE) training beneficial, reporting expected psychological and performance improvements. Athletes
Area of Science:
- Sport Psychology
- Mindfulness Interventions
- Qualitative Research Methods
Background:
- Growing interest in mindfulness training for athletes.
- Limited research on athletes' qualitative experiences with mindfulness programs.
- Need to understand athlete expectations and perceived benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore collegiate athletes' qualitative experiences with mindful sport performance enhancement (MSPE) training.
- To identify athletes' initial expectations and perceived benefits from MSPE.
- To gather athlete feedback for improving future mindfulness programs.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study involving 45 mixed-sport collegiate athletes.
- Pre-training survey on expectations and post-training open-ended questions on experiences.
- Thematic coding of athlete responses with high inter-rater reliability.
Main Results:
- Athletes expected psychological benefits (e.g., relaxation, emotion regulation, mental toughness) and performance improvements.
- Overall, MSPE was perceived positively, with participants reporting benefits aligning with their expectations.
- Athletes provided constructive feedback and recommendations for future MSPE programs.
Conclusions:
- Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) is a valuable intervention for collegiate athletes.
- Athletes' expectations appear to correlate with experienced benefits.
- Qualitative insights are crucial for refining mindfulness training in sports.
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