Impact of Mindfulness on Athletic Performance and Functional Movement in Collegiate Athletes

Official title

Exploring the Impact of Mindfulness on Athletic Performance and Functional Movement in Collegiate Athletes

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness training program on sports performance and mental health in university basketball players. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does the mindfulness program improve basketball skills, body movement control, and psychological health? 2. Does the program's effectiveness differ between male and female athletes? 3. Is there an association between athletes' current psychological states and their athletic performance before training? Researchers will compare a mindfulness group to a psychological skills training group and a standard control group to see if the mindfulness program leads to significantly greater improvements in performance and well-being. Participants will: 1. Complete surveys about their mental health and stress. 2. Perform physical fitness tests, such as jumping, running, and strength exercises. 3. Perform basketball skill tests, including shooting, dribbling, and passing. 4. Play in standardized 5-on-5 basketball games that are video-recorded for analysis . 5. Attend 15-to-20-minute training sessions 3 times a week for 8 weeks (if assigned to a training group) .

Interventions

• Behavioral Mindfulness-Acceptance-Insight-Commitment (MAIC) Program
  Participants undergo an 8-week mindfulness training program based on the MAIC model developed by Si, Zhang, \& Su (2019) . The program is adapted from the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach, incorporating an "Insight" component tailored for Asian culture . The intervention aims to reduce experiential avoidance and enhance psychological flexibility . It is delivered in a "micro-dosing" format consisting of three 15-20 minute sessions per week, integrated directly into regular basket
• Behavioral Psychological Skills Training (PST) Program
  Participants undergo an 8-week systematic psychological skills training program serving as an active control. To ensure structural equivalence with the experimental arm, the dosage is matched at three sessions per week, each lasting 15-20 minutes. The curriculum covers traditional sports psychology techniques for self-regulation, including arousal regulation, goal setting, imagery (visualization), attentional control, cognitive restructuring (positive self-talk), and pre-performance routines.

Primary outcome measures

• Stationary Free-throw Accuracy [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• 1-Minute Shooting Test [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Stationary 2-Point Shooting Accuracy [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Stationary 3-Point Shooting Accuracy [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• "I" Dribble Test [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Control Dribble Test [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• CODAT with Ball [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Linear Sprints with Dribbling [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Wall Passing Test [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• In-Game Performance Statistics [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]

Secondary outcome measures (12)

• Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Athlete Mindfulness Questionnaire (AMQ) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-being (18-item) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Muscular Strength [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Power [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Lane Agility Drill, LAD [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Linear Sprints [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Sport-Specific Endurance [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]
• Sit and Reach Test [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of intervention at 8 weeks, and a 3 months follow up]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Participants must be active university basketball athletes enrolled at the University of Macau, City University of Macau, or Macau University of Science and Technology .
• Participants must be 18 years of age or older.
• Participants must not have a current musculoskeletal injury or chronic condition that prevents participation in high-intensity physical assessments
• Participants must not have significant prior experience with formal mindfulness or meditation practice.
• Participants must not have received prior systematic Psychological Skills Training (PST) courses.
• Participants must be able to commit to the 8-week intervention and assessment schedule.

Exclusion criteria

• Individuals who do not meet the specific inclusion criteria (e.g., not a current university basketball athlete at the specified universities, or under 18 years old).
• Presence of a musculoskeletal injury or chronic condition that prevents safe participation in physical assessments.
• Significant prior experience with formal mindfulness or meditation practice, defined as having attended a course lasting one week or more.
• Prior participation in systematic Psychological Skills Training (PST).
• Inability to commit to the full 8-week intervention timeline.
• Refusal to provide informed consent or declines to participate.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Prevention

Study locations

Macau · 2 centers

• UM Sports Complex (N8) , Avenida da Universidade Taipa, Macau, China — Macao
• University of Macau — Macao

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07342816 · HE-1286-2025

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗