Su Ning, Si Gangyan, Liang Wei, Bu Danran, Jiang Xiaobo
Physical Education School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
Sport Psychology Centre, Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Front Psychol. 2024 May 27;15:1401763. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1401763. eCollection 2024.
This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a specifically designed mindfulness-acceptance-insight-commitment (MAIC) training program on relevant psychological factors (i.e., mindfulness, acceptance, performance-related satisfaction) as well as sport training performance for elite adolescent athletes from Hong Kong. And it also aimed to explore the athletes' real experiences (i.e., receptiveness and perceptions) of completing the MAIC program.
The mixed-method was used in this study, including a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and a qualitative exploration. The RCT employed a 2 (groups) x 3 (data collection points) design involving 40 elite adolescent athletes from the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). These athletes were randomly assigned to either the MAIC training group (MT; = 20, = 15.65) or the control group (CG; = 20, = 15.85) to further test the effectiveness of the MAIC intervention on mindfulness, acceptance, performance-related satisfaction, and sport training performance. Subsequent to the RCT, the qualitative exploration was used to explore the athletes' real experiences towards the MAIC program. In the qualitative exploration, all athletes who participated in the MAIC program were invited to participate in voluntary semi-structured interviews. Of these, 14 athletes chose to take part in the interviews. The RCT employed a 2×3 mixed-design ANOVA, while thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative exploration.
The results revealed that the MAIC training program significantly enhanced athletes' mindfulness, acceptance, satisfaction with performance, and sport training performance. However, these effects diminished at the follow-up assessment compared to post-training. Notably, the acceptance level of MT athletes did not significantly differ from CG athletes at the follow-up assessment. Additionally, the qualitative analysis identified four key dimensions: (a) Attitude towards MAIC training, (b) Reflection on the MAIC learning process, (c) Outcomes of MAIC training, and (d) Recommendations for future MAIC training. Overall, the qualitative findings complemented and reinforced the quantitative results, offering deeper insights into athletes' experiences and valuable suggestions for further enhancing the MAIC program.
The findings suggested that the specifically designed MAIC training program in this study effectively enhanced sport training performance and various psychological factors among elite adolescent athletes from Hong Kong. Nevertheless, further investigations are still required to comprehensively evaluate and further develop the MAIC training program.
本研究旨在检验一项专门设计的正念 - 接纳 - 洞察 - 承诺（MAIC）训练计划对香港精英青少年运动员相关心理因素（即正念、接纳、与表现相关的满意度）以及运动训练表现的有效性。同时，本研究还旨在探索运动员完成MAIC计划的真实体验（即接受程度和看法）。
本研究采用混合方法，包括随机对照试验（RCT）和定性探索。RCT采用2（组）×3（数据收集点）设计，涉及40名来自香港体育学院（HKSI）的精英青少年运动员。这些运动员被随机分配到MAIC训练组（MT；n = 20，M = 15.65）或对照组（CG；n = 20，M = 15.85），以进一步测试MAIC干预对正念、接纳、与表现相关的满意度和运动训练表现的有效性。在RCT之后，采用定性探索来探究运动员对MAIC计划的真实体验。在定性探索中，所有参与MAIC计划的运动员都被邀请参加自愿的半结构化访谈。其中，14名运动员选择参加访谈。RCT采用2×3混合设计方差分析，而定性探索则采用主题分析。
结果显示，MAIC训练计划显著提高了运动员的正念、接纳、对表现的满意度和运动训练表现。然而，与训练后相比，这些效果在随访评估时有所减弱。值得注意的是，在随访评估时，MT组运动员的接纳水平与CG组运动员没有显著差异。此外，定性分析确定了四个关键维度：（a）对MAIC训练的态度，（b）对MAIC学习过程的反思，（c）MAIC训练的结果，以及（d）对未来MAIC训练的建议。总体而言，定性研究结果补充并强化了定量结果，为运动员的体验提供了更深入的见解，并为进一步改进MAIC计划提供了有价值的建议。
研究结果表明，本研究中专门设计的MAIC训练计划有效地提高了香港精英青少年运动员的运动训练表现和各种心理因素。然而，仍需要进一步的研究来全面评估并进一步完善MAIC训练计划。
