Life Skills Training for Anxiety and Football Performance in Adolescent Players

NCT07771972 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: TUS-LST-22FTYB009-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 320
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized behavioral study will evaluate whether an eight-week life skills training program will reduce cognitive sport anxiety and improve football performance in non-elite adolescent football players in China. A total of 160 players aged 14 to 17 years from 16 teams will be allocated individually within team-by-gender strata to either a life skills training group or a usual-training control group. The intervention will include 16 small-group sessions delivered twice per week for 45-60 minutes. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately after the eight-week intervention, and four weeks later. The primary psychological outcome will be cognitive anxiety derived from the Worry and Concentration Disruption subscales of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2. The primary performance outcome will be a baseline-referenced Football Performance Index derived from passing accuracy, shooting accuracy, dribbling time, and agility time. The study hypothesis is that life skills training will reduce cognitive anxiety and improve football performance, and that greater reduction in cognitive anxiety immediately after the intervention will be associated with better football performance at follow-up.

Conditions

Sport Anxiety; Athletic Performance

Keywords

adolescent athletes; football; soccer; life skills; cognitive anxiety; sport anxiety; athletic performance; psychological skills; youth sport; China

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Cognitive Anxiety Score

  Cognitive Anxiety will be calculated as the sum of the Worry and Concentration Disruption subscales of the 15-item Sport Anxiety Scale-2. Each subscale contains five items scored from 1 to 4; therefore the Cognitive Anxiety composite will range from 10 to 40, with lower scores indicating less cognitive sport anxiety. The primary analysis will evaluate differential change between groups over time.

  Baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention at 8 weeks (T1), and 4-week post-intervention follow-up (T2; approximately 12 weeks after baseline)

• Change in Baseline-Referenced Football Performance Index

  The Football Performance Index will combine passing accuracy, shooting accuracy, dribbling time, and agility time. Each component will be standardized using fixed baseline reference parameters; dribbling and agility time will be reverse-directed so higher standardized values represent better performance. The composite will be transformed to a T-score metric, with higher scores indicating better football performance.

  Baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention at 8 weeks (T1), and 4-week post-intervention follow-up (T2; approximately 12 weeks after baseline)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Worry Subscale Score

  Time frame: T0, T1 at 8 weeks, T2 at approximately 12 weeks.

• Concentration Disruption Subscale Score

  Time frame: T0, T1 at 8 weeks, T2 at approximately 12 weeks.

• Somatic Anxiety Subscale Score

  Time frame: T0, T1 at 8 weeks, T2 at approximately 12 weeks.

• Passing Accuracy

  ime frame: T0, T1 at 8 weeks, T2 at approximately 12 weeks.

Study Arms (2)

Life Skills Training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive a structured eight-week life skills training program consisting of 16 small-group sessions delivered twice weekly. Each session will last 45-60 minutes and will involve approximately 8-10 players. Training will address goal setting, self-management, emotional regulation, problem solving, decision making, communication, teamwork, time management, coping with mistakes, and transfer of skills beyond sport.

Behavioral: Life Skills Training Program

Usual Training Control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will continue their usual football training during the eight-week study intervention period and will not receive the structured life skills training program. Potential exposure to intervention content and concurrent psychological training will be monitored.

Interventions

Life Skills Training Program BEHAVIORAL

An eight-week behavioral life skills program delivered in 16 small-group sessions (2 sessions/week; 45-60 minutes/session; approximately 8-10 players/group). The program will include goal setting, self-management, emotional regulation, problem solving, decision making, communication, teamwork, time management, coping with mistakes, and transfer of skills beyond sport. Attendance will be recorded. Per-protocol adherence will be defined as attendance at ≥80% of sessions (at least 13 of 16 sessions).

Life Skills Training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 14 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Age 14 to 17 years at enrollment.
• Current membership in a non-elite/non-professional football team.
• At least one year of prior football participation.
• Regular participation in team football training.
• Ability and willingness to attend study assessments and, if allocated to the intervention, the life skills training sessions.
• Written informed consent from a parent or legal guardian and age-appropriate assent from the adolescent participant before study participation.

You may not qualify if:

• Current membership in a national football team.
• Current professional football contract.
• Current membership in a first-tier professional football academy.
• Any medical, musculoskeletal, or psychological condition that, in the judgment of the study team, would make participation in football-performance testing or the behavioral intervention unsafe or inappropriate.
• Inability to complete baseline assessment or comply with essential study procedures.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Islamic Azad University of Mashhad: collaborator
• Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj: lead

Study Sites (1)

Tianjin University of Sport, School of Sports Training

Tianjin, 301617, China

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Open-label behavioral intervention. Participants and intervention providers will know group assignment. Outcome-assessor masking will be reported only if it is actually implemented.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Model Details: Two-arm parallel study with 1:1 individual randomization within team-by-gender strata. Participants will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and at a 4-week post-intervention follow-up.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 9, 2026
• First Posted: August 19, 2026
• Study Start: April 11, 2026
• Primary Completion: July 15, 2026
• Study Completion: July 20, 2026
• Last Updated: September 24, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

CN (1)