Youth Athletes’ Self-Esteem: The Impact of Integrated Psychological Skills Training

Abstract

Purpose: Study on the effect of psychological skills training on self-esteem (SE) in young athletes. Method: 10 swimmers and 35 volleyball players, split into an intervention group (25) and a control group (18). The intervention entailed a 3-week psychological skills training program covering arousal management, breathing, relaxation, mental imagery, and self-talk. Multilevel growth curve analyses evaluated SE changes. Results: The intervention group showed significant improvements in multiple SE dimensions—physical self-worth, fitness, athletic competence, strength, and body attractiveness but not general SE. Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence of a multimodal psychological skills training’s effectiveness in enhancing young athletes’ domain-specific SE. It highlights the role of domain-specific SE in young athletes’ well-being. Future research should examine psychological and physiological correlations and assess the long-term SE development in adolescent athletes.