The effect of neurocognitive skills training based on the efficiency of mindfulness variables on behavioral, cognitive and sports emotion among adolescent athletes aged 10 to 17

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of training in neurocognitive skills based on the efficiency of mindfulness variables on behavioral, cognitive, and sports emotion among adolescent athletes aged 10 to 17. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the study was all adolescent athletes aged 10 to 17 in Tehran, and 30 eligible subjects voluntarily entered the study using a purposive sampling method. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups of 15: experimental and control. The experimental group received neurocognitive skills based on mindfulness, and no intervention was performed for the control group. The Sports Emotion Questionnaire (Jones et al., 2005), the Sports Self-Confidence Resources Questionnaire (Willie et al., 1998), and the Perceived Physical Fitness Questionnaire (Abadi, 1998) were used to collect data. Data analysis was performed using univariate analysis of covariance using SPSS statistical software. The significance level for all tests was set at 0.001. The results of the analysis of covariance showed that mindfulness-based neurocognitive skills training in the post-test significantly increased the mean scores of the behavioral efficiency subscales (p=0.001), cognitive efficiency (p=0.001), and sports emotion efficiency (p<0.001) in the experimental group compared to the control group. According to the results of the study, we conclude that mindfulness-based neurocognitive skills training improves behavioral and cognitive efficiency and sports emotion, and this training can be used as a suitable program to increase the efficiency of adolescent athletes aged 10 to 17 years in different sports situations.