The Perceived Effects of Psychological Skills Training on Anaerobic Performance of College Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the perceived effects of psychological skills training (PST) on anxiety and anaerobic performance in college-aged students. Fifty-five college students (44 females, 11 males) volunteered to complete an online survey instrument. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling methods to answer questions built through a Qualtrics online survey. The questionnaire was split into two sections. The first section asked participants to identify psychological skills, their familiarity with them, and their frequency of use. The second section consisted of categorizing each skill so participants could mark the extent to which it influences their training goal. Data analysis showed males were more familiar with five out of six psychological skills when compared to females. This is result is likely due to males showing higher stress levels during training and performance compared to females. The findings of this study confirm the importance of mental health education and PST in college students.