Document Type : Research Paper I Open Access I Released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license

Authors

Department of Motor behavior and sport psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University ,Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to compare The effect of mindfulness and PETTLEP imagery on competitive state anxiety and the performance of jumping equestrian athletes

Methods: In this semi-experimental research, which was carried out with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group, 30 professional adult equestrians (age range 22 to 40 years old) from Hamadan and Zanjan provinces were selected to participate in the study and were randomly assigned according to the matching methods to three groups: mental imagery, mindfulness practice, and control. In the pre-test and post-test stages, the participants first completed the Persian version of the Competitive Anxiety Inventory-2, and then their jumping performance was measured in a simulated competition by the jury. The intervention phase was carried out over six weeks in one session lasting 90 minutes when the training groups did the desired interventions. Data were analyzed using dependent t-tests, univariate (ANCOVA), and multivariate (MANCOVA) analyses of covariance with Bonferroni's post hoc test.

Results: The study's findings revealed that mindfulness training has a significant impact on sports performance (p=0.025), physical anxiety (p=0.030), cognitive anxiety (p=0.015), and self-confidence (p=0.0001). Also, imagery training has a significant effect on sports performance (p = 0.039), physical anxiety (p = 0.016), cognitive anxiety (p = 0.033), and self-confidence (p = 0.033). Other results indicated that there is no significant difference between the effect of mindfulness training and mental imagery on the anxiety, self-confidence, and performance of equestrian athletes in the field of jumping (p<0.05).

Keywords