The Effectiveness of Stress Management Training through Spiritual Therapy Content on Sports Anxiety: a Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background. Due to the periodic nature and rapid activities of badminton, in addition to paying attention to technical and tactical skills, special attention should also be given to psychological skills, which play a significant role in the performance of badminton players. In this regard, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of stress management training through the content of spiritual therapy on sports anxiety of the females from Mazandaran who were invited to the selection camp of the country's adult badminton championship. Methods. This quasi-experimental research was conducted in three phases of pretest, posttest and follow-up. Considering the purpose of the study, 10 people were selected from the statistical population, and then they were randomly and equally assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group participated in a stress management training program which was implemented through 8 group sessions held once a week. Both groups completed the anxiety questionnaire in in three stages: baseline, after training and follow-up. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results. The results of covariance analysis showed that the stress management training program with the content of spiritual therapy had a significant effect on reducing sports anxiety of the females playing badminton in both stages of post-test and the related follow-up 45 days later. Conclusion. Stress management based on spiritual therapy can be one of the effective approaches in reducing the symptoms of sports anxiety along with other medication interventions. The findings of this study confirm the acceptability of the theoretical issues presented in this basin.