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Life Skills Training for Anxiety and Football Performance in Adolescent Players
Sponsor: Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj
Summary
This randomized behavioral study will evaluate whether an eight-week life skills training program will reduce cognitive sport anxiety and improve football performance in non-elite adolescent football players in China. A total of 160 players aged 14 to 17 years from 16 teams will be allocated individually within team-by-gender strata to either a life skills training group or a usual-training control group. The intervention will include 16 small-group sessions delivered twice per week for 45-60 minutes. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, immediately after the eight-week intervention, and four weeks later. The primary psychological outcome will be cognitive anxiety derived from the Worry and Concentration Disruption subscales of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2. The primary performance outcome will be a baseline-referenced Football Performance Index derived from passing accuracy, shooting accuracy, dribbling time, and agility time. The study hypothesis is that life skills training will reduce cognitive anxiety and improve football performance, and that greater reduction in cognitive anxiety immediately after the intervention will be associated with better football performance at follow-up.
Official title: Life Skills Training and Athletic Performance of Non-Elite Adolescent Football Players: The Mediating Role of Reduced Cognitive Anxiety
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
14 Years - 17 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
160
Start Date
2026-08-20
Completion Date
2026-12-20
Last Updated
2026-08-19
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Life Skills Training Program
An eight-week behavioral life skills program delivered in 16 small-group sessions (2 sessions/week; 45-60 minutes/session; approximately 8-10 players/group). The program will include goal setting, self-management, emotional regulation, problem solving, decision making, communication, teamwork, time management, coping with mistakes, and transfer of skills beyond sport. Attendance will be recorded. Per-protocol adherence will be defined as attendance at ≥80% of sessions (at least 13 of 16 sessions).