Reducing Competitive Anxiety Cheerleader Psychology

NCT03849170 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 113455
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 35
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Cheer leading is a rapidly growing international sport known for its acrobatic skills and dangerous stunts. The sport presents ample risk for physical trauma, and it is common for athletes to miss extensive time from cheer leading due to injury. The goal of this study is to the see whether the investigators can reduce injury risk among cheer leading athletes by teaching them stress-coping skills to help them relax and reduce their sport-related stress. There exists a link between high levels of stress and increased rates of injury among athletes. When individuals become stressed during athletic events such as competitions or strenuous training, symptoms including muscle tension and narrowed attention often accompany the stress response, increasing injury risk and reducing performance quality. In this study, half of Western University's coed cheer leading team will participate in a six-session stress management intervention to teach them relevant psychological stress-coping skills. Such skills include relaxation breathing techniques, visualization exercises, stoppage of negative thoughts, and development of self-efficacy statements. The other half of the team will receive a placebo "sport nutrition" program. The sessions of both the control program and the stress-management intervention will be administered over the most intensive period of the cheer leading season, from September to November of 2019. The investigators predict that the intervention group athletes will report less cheer leading time missed due to injury, report less sport-related stress, and make fewer errors at their cheer leading championship than their teammates in the placebo group. This is the first study to administer a psychological injury-prevention intervention to cheerleaders.

Conditions

Sports Injury; Stress Reaction; Performance Anxiety

Keywords

cheerleading; stress management; injury prevention; psychosocial factors; stress-injury; performance; coping skills; stress inoculation technique; competitive anxiety; psychological intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Injury Time

  The amount of cheerleading time participants must modify or miss due to injuries suffered due to cheerleading. This outcome will be self-reported by each participant throughout the time frame using an injury data sheet provided to them by the investigators.

  14 weeks

• Incidences of Injury

  The number of cheerleading injuries sustained by the participants during the study period. This outcome will be self-reported by each participant throughout the time frame using an injury data sheet provided to them by the investigators.

  14 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Sport Anxiety

  First at baseline, then again 14 weeks later.

• Stress Coping Resources

  First at baseline, then again 14 weeks later.

Study Arms (2)

Psychological Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Six session intervention, each session 20-25 minutes in length. Stress inoculation technique-based intervention. Participants will be taught stress coping skills and relaxation skills such as self-efficacy statements, imagery, relaxation breathing, relaxation scripts, thought stoppage, cognitive reframing, positive self-talk, goal setting, event planning, and preparing for competition

Behavioral: Stress Inoculation Technique

Health Intervention

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Six session intervention, each session 20-25 minutes in length. Participants will be taught relevant health and nutrition guidelines and practice using a food diary app (MyFitnessPal). Nutrition and health content will include such topics as reading Canadian food labels, vitamins and supplements, effects of alcohol on performance and recovery, vegetarian vs. omnivore diets, and hydration \& performance.

Other: Health Intervention

Interventions

Stress Inoculation Technique BEHAVIORAL

Teaches athletes to use cognitive-behavioral techniques to reduce their stress response during sporting events.

Psychological Intervention

Health Intervention OTHER

Will provide basic dietary and lifestyle guidelines that athletes should follow in their daily lives to maintain their health

Health Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 17 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants must be active members of Western University's coed cheerleading team for the 2019 competitive season (August-November 2019)
• Participants must be on Western University's coed cheerleading team during the 2019 PCA College National Championships
• Participants must have no experience with psychological stress-management interventions aimed at reducing competitive sport anxiety, in particular, no previous experience with Stress Inoculation Technique therapy.

You may not qualify if:

• Not being an active member of Western University's coed cheerleading team for the beginning of the 2019 competitive season (September 2019), whether due to injury or absence from the team.
• Not being an active member of Western University's coed cheerleading team during the 2019 PCA College National Championships
• Previous experience with psychological stress-management interventions aimed at reducing competitive sport anxiety in a cheerleading context, in particular, previous experience with Stress Inoculation Technique therapy.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Western University, Canada: lead

Related Publications (8)

• Meichenbaum, D. H., & Deffenbacher, J. L. (1988). Stress Inoculation Training. The Counseling Psychologist, 16(1), 69-90.

  BACKGROUND

• Williams, J. M., & Andersen, M. B. (1998). Psychosocial Antecedents of Sport Injury: Review and Critique of the Stress and Injury Model. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 10, 5-25.

  BACKGROUND

• Smith, R. E., Schutz, R. W., Smoll, F. L., & Ptacek, J. T. (1995). Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Sport-Specific Psychological Skills: The Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17, 379-398.

  BACKGROUND

• Smith, R. E., Smoll, F. L., Cumming, S. P., & Grossbard, J. R. (2006). Measurement of Multidimensional Sport Performance Anxiety in Children and Adults: The Sport Anxiety Scale-2. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28, 479-501.

  BACKGROUND

• Hardy I, McFaull S, Saint-Vil D. Neck and spine injuries in Canadian cheerleaders: An increasing trend. J Pediatr Surg. 2015 May;50(5):790-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2015.02.039. Epub 2015 Feb 19.

  PMID: 25783366 BACKGROUND

• Kucera, K. L., Thomas, L. C., Cantu, R. C. (2017). Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, Thirty-Fourth Annual Report, Fall 1982 - Spring 2016. Chapel Hill, NC.

  BACKGROUND

• Kolt GS, Hume PA, Smith P, Williams MM. Effects of a stress-management program on injury and stress of competitive gymnasts. Percept Mot Skills. 2004 Aug;99(1):195-207. doi: 10.2466/pms.99.1.195-207.

  PMID: 15446646 RESULT

• Maddison, R., & Prapavessis, H. (2005). A Psychological Approach to the Prediction and Prevention of Athletic Injury. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 27, 289- 310.

  RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Athletic Injuries; Fractures, Stress

Interventions

Play Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wounds and Injuries; Fractures, Bone

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Sensory Art Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Harry Prapavessis, Ph.D

  Western University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Harry Prapavessis, Ph.D

CONTACT

5196612111; Hprapave@uwo.ca

Alexander D Marchand, B.Sc

CONTACT

5196612111; amarcha7@uwo.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Independent, randomized groups, longitudinal study

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 14, 2019
• First Posted: February 21, 2019
• Study Start: August 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2019
• Study Completion: December 1, 2019
• Last Updated: March 7, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share