Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chairperson

Angela Clarke, PhD

Committee Member

Paula Boulware-Brown, PsyD

Committee Member

Rachel Daltry, PsyD

Abstract

The role of mental health in athletes’ well-being and performance has been a popular and pervasive topic in recent years. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel CBT-based mental skills program for nineteen high school girls’ soccer players (M = 16.3; SD = 1.5). The evidence-based 8-session Coping with Stress course was adapted for athletes and delivered to one in-person and two virtual groups. A pre-post design with no control group was used and differences between pre- and post- measures were examined using the Wilcoxon signed-ranked test. The Short Grit Scale-Sport, Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-26, and Coping Self-Efficacy Scale were used to assess somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, self-confidence, grit, and coping efficacy. The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 was also used to assess participant satisfaction with the group. Results showed a non-significant decrease in cognitive anxiety, and somatic anxiety, all with small or small-to-medium effect sizes. At post-test, there was a non-significant increase in grit and coping efficacy, also with small to small-to-medium effect sizes, and a statistically significant increase in self-confidence, with a medium effect size. Participants reported a high degree of satisfaction with the intervention. Overall, the adapted Coping with Stress course appears to be a promising tool for promoting mental skills for adolescent girls’ soccer players, however, more research is needed.

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