IJSEP, 2006, 2, 7-24 PST Program in Swimming

© 2006 West Virginia University

EFFECT OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS TRAINING

PROGRAM ON SWIMMING PERFORMANCE AND
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

MICHAEL SHEARD AND JIM GOLBY

University of Teesside

ABSTRACT
Research has shown that psychological skills training can be effective in enhancing
athletes’ performance and positively influencing cognitive and affective states (cf.
Williams & Krane, 2001). However, to date, little work has been conducted inves-
tigating such processes with adolescent high-performing swimmers. The present
study examined the effects of a 7-week psychological skills training (PST) program
on competitive swimming performance and positive psychological development.
Thirty-six national level swimmers (13 boys, 23 girls; M = 13.9 years old) followed
a PST program for 45 minutes per week. The intervention consisted of goal set-
ting, visualization, relaxation, concentration, and thought stopping. Performance
times were obtained from official meets. Participants completed seven inventories
measuring quality of performance, and six positive psychological attributes: mental
toughness, hardiness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and positive
affectivity. Findings demonstrated that there was a significant post-PST program
improvement in three separate swimming strokes, each over 200 m. Non-significant
improvements were shown in 10 other events. There was also an overall significant
improvement in participants’ post-intervention positive psychological profiles.
Keywords: psychological skills training (PST), swimmers, performance, positive
psychology

Success in swimming is the time required to propel the performer’s body over a given
distance adopting a particular stroke. Swimming performance is determined by the abil-
ity to generate propulsive force, while reducing the resistance to forward motion (Tous-
saint & Beek, 1992). Previous research has investigated potential anthropometric (e.g.,
Taylor, Stratton, Lees, & MacLaren, 2005), biomechanical (e.g., Nikodelis, Kollias, &
Hatzitaki, 2005), nutritional (e.g., O’Hara, Willis, King, & Cooke, 2004), and physi-
ological (e.g., Thompson, MacLaren, Lees, & Atkinson, 2004) determinants of swimming
faster. Yet despite evidence of the benefits of mental skills training on sport performance

Corresponding author: Michael Sheard, School of Social Sciences & Law, University of Teesside, Middles-
brough, TS1 3BA, England, E mail (m.sheard@tees.ac.uk), Tel. 00-44-1642-342359

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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

(e.g., Fournier, Calmels, Durand-Bush, & Salmela, 2005; Thelwell & Greenlees, 2003;
Thelwell, Greenlees, & Weston, 2005), to date, comparatively little attention has been
devoted to examining the efficacy of mental skills intervention on swimming performance
and positive psychological development, particularly with national-level adolescent
swimmers with international potential. This is somewhat surprising given that studies
have described physiological profile variables that are positively related to successful
swimming performance (Lavoie & Monpetit, 1986) in adolescent male (Klika & Thor-
land, 1994) and female (Leone, Lariviere, & Comtois, 2002) swimmers.
Swimming is a challenging sport that requires long hours of practice to attain pro-
ficiency and rigorous training to attain the needed strength and endurance (Kalinowski,
1985). Accordingly, swimmers face many challenges, such as intense training and com-
petition that is difficult to maintain during adolescence (Crocker & Isaak, 1997; Douil-
lard, 1994). The benefits of integrating mental skills training into youth sport programs
have been proposed by researchers in the areas of stress (e.g.,Hanton & Jones, 1999)
and the psychological characteristics of peak performance (e.g., Gould, Dieffenbach, &
Moffett, 2002). It should be noted that only a small increment in performance could lead
to significant gains in swimming success. Encouraging athletes to use psychological skills
during their formative years (cf. Bloom, 1985; Côté, 1999) may promote, for example,
better coping skills once they mature (Lane, Harwood, Terry, & Karageorghis, 2004).
Well-planned psychological skills training (PST) programs are an opportunity to
nurture positively young athletes’ personal development in competitive sport and to fa-
cilitate their growth in other areas of their life by generalizing the use of mental skills
(Tremayne & Tremayne, 2004). There has been an increased international awareness
of the usefulness of mental skills training for young people. For example, in the Swedish
and Australian school systems, Tremayne and Tremayne (2004) have identified suc-
cessful implementations of the teaching of goal setting, imagery, relaxation, and stress
management in order to improve physical fitness, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
In the last two decades, a variety of intervention techniques have been promoted
to help athletes develop mental skills to enhance their performance (Weinberg & Wil-
liams, 2001). Employing a combination of intervention techniques has been shown to
be particularly effective in, for example, tennis (Daw & Burton, 1994), cricket (Spittle &
Morris, 1997), and gymnastics (Kazemi, Khaberi, & Farokhi, 2003) performances. In
addition, though adolescents have participated in PST intervention research (Garza &
Feltz, 1998; Zhang, Ma, Orlick, & Zitzelsberger, 1992), in neither of these studies were
the participants operating at national level. Finally, the duration of interventions in the
literature ranges from several minutes (Theodorakis, 1996) to one year (Fournier et al.,
2005). However, other intervention research has demonstrated ameliorative effects after
several weeks (Shambrook & Bull, 1996; Thelwell, Maynard, & Graydon, 2002). Based
on this supporting evidence, it was decided to investigate the effects of a PST program
over a 7-week period with young, high-performing swimmers.
Despite calls for explicit rationales (Moran, 1996; Thelwell & Greenlees, 2001),
few published studies have provided any justification to suggest why certain skills were
selected for inclusion in intervention programs. As swimming is a ‘closed skill’ sport
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 PST Program in Swimming

requiring muscular power (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2004), the present study’s intervention
included those mental skills identified from similar sports where successful intervention
research has been conducted on young athletes. Empirical support for the value of
PST is recorded, for example, by Wanlin, Hrycaiko, Martin, and Mahon (1997), who
found that a goal setting package used on female speed skaters aged 12 to 17 years
resulted in an increase in laps and drills in training, while off-task distractive behaviors
decreased. Competitive racing times also improved. In an investigation into the effec-
tiveness of mental imagery and relaxation in young table tennis players, Zhang et al.
(1992) found greater improvement in the accuracy and technical quality of shots in
those participants exposed to the intervention. A package of relaxation, self-talk, goal
setting, focusing, and visualization resulted in a significant improvement in gymnastic
performance and psychological skill development in young female performers aged
11 to 13 years (Fournier et al., 2005). The intervention selected for the present study
consisted of five mental skills: goal setting, visualization, relaxation, concentration, and
thought stopping.
Goal setting has been advocated as “a highly consistent and a robust performance
enhancement strategy” (Burton & Naylor, 2002, p. 463). Research suggests that goal
setting is particularly effective in enhancing performance and positively affecting behav-
ior when focusing on a combination of outcome, performance, and process goals (Filby,
Maynard, & Graydon, 1999; Gould, 2001). Specifically, the advantages of adopting
a process orientation immediately before and during performance should be combined
with the motivational benefits of performance and outcome goals (Filby et al., 1999).
Such a strategy is likely to have significant advantages when a multiple goal strategy
compensates swimmers’ limited personal control in outcome goals with the opportu-
nity to exercise greater control over process and performance goals. This may allow a
swimmer to react more favorably to a situation where, for example, she or he swims a
personal best yet still loses to someone faster.
In light of the association between visualization and superior sport performance
(Defranceso & Burke, 1997; Fournier et al., 2005; Hall, 2001) this mental skill was
included in the present study’s PST package. Further, research has demonstrated the
positive effects of visualization on other outcome variables, including enhanced psycho-
logical attributes such as self-confidence (Garza & Feltz, 1998; Moritz, Hall, Martin, &
Vadocz, 1996), self-efficacy (Carboni, Burke, Joyner, Hardy, & Blom, 2002; Garza &
Feltz, 1998), and decreased anxiety (Vadocz, Hall, & Moritz, 1997).
There is evidence to suggest that, within cognitive-behavioral intervention programs,
visualization use is enhanced through relaxation training (Suedfeld & Bruno, 1990). For
example, if visualization is used as an intervention to manage stress, its effectiveness
may be enhanced if relaxation strategies are matched to the precise mode of the anxiety
response (Maynard, Warwick-Evans, & Smith, 1995). Combining relaxation and imag-
ery into one procedure should benefit the swimmer by requiring him or her to mentally
practice a specific situation under simulated competitive conditions. Mentally rehears-
ing, or reliving a competitive experience, should make it easier to deal with the demands
of actual competition (Cox, 2002).
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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

Peak sport performance literature also clearly indicates that successful athletes tend
to keep a more task-oriented focus of concentration and avoid pre-occupation with
thoughts about negative outcomes (Golby, Sheard, & Lavallee, 2003). For example,
sprinters who had been trained to use race plans that involved deliberately focusing
on task-relevant informational cues ran faster than those in control conditions (Mallett &
Hanrahan, 1997). Further, research has shown an association between athletes’ trained
ability to concentrate on bodily signals such as heartbeat, breathing, and kinesthetic
sensations and improved running (Masters & Ogles, 1998) and swimming (Couture,
Jerome, & Tihanyi, 1999) performance. Such research evidence suggests that concentra-
tion is a vital component of a mental skills intervention.
Finally, one particular technique of enhancing concentration is thought stopping:
the process of stopping a negative thought and replacing it with a positive one. This
technique has been alluded to in the sport literature for improving performance (Zins-
ser, Bunker, & Williams, 2001). Removing negative thoughts often makes it possible to
break the link that leads to negative feelings and behaviors. All distractions should be
kept at a minimum or eliminated, and only a select range of information is allowed into
the athlete’s awareness (Kimiecik & Jackson, 2002). Once a negative thought has been
displaced, the swimmer may then develop a narrow, non-distractible type of concentra-
tion, demonstrated by sport performers operating at the highest level (Nideffer, Sagal,
Lowry, & Bond, 2001).
Given the present sample’s inexperience of PST, it was determined that all partici-
pants should be uniformly exposed to all the skills in the package. Further, because the
aforementioned five mental skills have been described as ‘basic’ (Fournier et al., 2005),
each skill should be part of a PST program for young athletes (Taylor, 1995).
Adopting a cognitive-behavioral model (Cox, 2002), mental skills reflect areas
related to personal development and subjective well being as well as performance en-
hancement. A growing movement seeking to understand and facilitate such areas is posi-
tive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Reflecting this perspective, the
present study heeded increasing calls to build future research and program development
around the concept of psychological wellness (Cowen, 1991) and optimal functioning
(Linley & Joseph, 2004). Because the focus was on a positive psychological approach,
a broad range of measures was implemented. Positive psychology is a constellation of
personality styles (e.g., mental toughness, hardiness, dispositional optimism), positive
self-concept (e.g., self-esteem, self-efficacy), and positive emotions and moods (e.g.,
positive affectivity) (cf. Carr, 2004; Snyder & Lopez, 2005). Further, because research
has demonstrated positive relationships between superior sport performance and, for
example, mental toughness (e.g., Golby & Sheard, 2004), hardiness (e.g., Maddi &
Hess, 1992), self-esteem (e.g., Aidman & Bekerman, 2001), self-efficacy (e.g., McAuley
& Blissmer, 2002), dispositional optimism (e.g., Seligman, Nolen-Hoeksema, Thornton,
& Thornton, 1990), and positive affectivity (e.g., Crocker, 1997), these constructs were
included in the present study as measures of psychological development.
Greater precision in performance measurement is necessary in order to accurately
evaluate the effect of a psychological intervention on sport performance (Morrow, Jack-
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 PST Program in Swimming

son, Disch, & Mood, 2000). Certain outcome measures have been criticized for being
imprecise (e.g., win/lose) or for using performance measures that employ inter-indi-
vidual comparisons. Therefore, the present study employed intra- individual performance
measures that control for differences in ability by comparing an athlete’s current perfor-
mance to average or previous performance (Morrow et al., 2000).
Research suggests that it is not always valid to equate objective measures of per-
formance with success and failure (cf. Kimiecik, Allison, & Duda, 1986). Therefore, as
advocated by Frey, Laguna, and Ravizza (2003), in seeking to involve the swimmer in
evaluating success, subjective perceptions were utilized in addition to objective mea-
sures. Thus, there were two main aims to the present study. The primary aim was to
examine whether a 7-week mental skills intervention program had a significant positive
influence on competitive swimming performance. The second aim was to examine the ef-
fectiveness of the intervention on adolescent swimmers’ positive psychological profiles.

METHOD

PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-six swimmers (13 boys, 23 girls) ranging in age from 10 to 18 years (M = 13.9 yrs,
SD = 2.0) agreed to participate in the study. They were drawn from three separate clubs
and all competed at the national level (i.e., each participant represented his/her club at
national competitions open to performers from clubs across the United Kingdom). Initial
consultations revealed that this intervention program was the first exposure to psycho-
logical skills training for all 36 swimmers. Prior to inclusion into the study, all participants
were screened for acceptable health status. Each of the three clubs was confederated
to a larger municipal swimming association. It was known that these athletes trained an
equivalent amount of time per week. Analysis of training history records revealed at least
one 1-hour daily training session for each participant, in their respective club’s pool, at
the time of testing. As per coaching policy, at this stage of their swimming career, the
present study’s participants were competing across all competitive distances as part of
their developmental process. Further, all participants had attended North of England
and/or England age-group training camps within the 12 months preceding this study. All
swimmers had a minimum of at least 3 years’ involvement in training for competition. The
study took place in the final quarter of the swimmers’ competitive season. All participants
were naïve to the research hypotheses and all gave their consent to participate. Adher-
ing to pediatric ethical guidelines (Jago & Bailey, 2001), informed consent was obtained
from parents or guardians for those volunteers under age 18 years at the commencement
of the study. Confidentiality regarding individual information was assured.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES
A demographic questionnaire obtained descriptions of the participant sample, including
age, gender, favored swimming strokes and distances in order of preference, and swim-
ming achievements.
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Positive psychological development. Scores for each of the following seven scales
were calculated separately, in order to allow individual interpretation. To provide a
positive psychological mean percentage improvement score (Table 1), percentage dif-
ferences between scores at pre- and post-intervention were totaled and divided by the
number of scales. Totaling the participants’ scores and dividing by the sample size cal-
culated an overall mean percentage improvement score.
Perceptions of success. Developed by Ebbeck and Weiss (1988), the 7-item Self-
Perception of Quality of Performance Questionnaire (SPQPQ) was used to determine
the swimmers’ perceptions of the quality of their swimming performance during practice
and competition. Prior to intervention, participants were asked to rate their performance
over the previous 3 months and again immediately post-intervention. Based on a 5-point
Likert scale, possible scores range from a low of 7 to a desirable high of 35. The scale
has been shown to be internally consistent (cf. Frey et al., 2003).
Mental toughness. The Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI; Loehr, 1986) con-
tains 42 items which yield an overall mental toughness score, as well as seven 6-item
subscale scores: (a) self-confidence (i.e., knowing that one can perform well and be
successful), (b) negative energy control (i.e., handling emotions such as fear, anger,
anxiety, and frustration, and coping with externally-determined events), (c) attention
control (i.e., remaining fully focused on the task at hand), (d) visualization and imagery
control (i.e., thinking positively in pictures rather than words, and being able to control
the flow of mental pictures and images in positive and constructive directions), (e) moti-
vation (i.e., the ability to set meaningful goals and be willing to persevere with training
schedules and to endure the pain, discomfort, and self-sacrifice associated with forward
progress), (f) positive energy (i.e., the ability to become energized from such sources
as fun, joy, determination, positiveness, and team spirit), and (g) attitude control (i.e.,
reflecting a performer’s habits of thoughts, with particular emphasis on being unyield-
ing and showing obstinate insistence on finishing rather than conceding defeat) (Loehr,
1986). The PPI has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties when used on
athletes performing at a high level (Golby & Sheard, 2004; Golby et al., 2003).
Hardiness. The 18-item Personal Views Survey III-R (PVS III-R; Maddi & Khoshaba,
2001) provides an overall hardiness score, as well as three 6-item subscale scores: (a)
commitment (i.e., a tendency to involve oneself in whatever one is doing), (b) control
(i.e., a tendency to feel and act as if one is influential), and (c) challenge (i.e., a belief
that life is changeable and to view this as an opportunity rather than a threat) (Kobasa,
1979). Scores were recorded on a 4-point Likert scale anchored by ‘not at all true’ and
‘very true’. Studies have shown the PVS III-R to have acceptable psychometric properties
(cf. Maddi & Khoshaba, 2001).
Self-esteem. The 10-item Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965)
yields a score for global feeling of self-worth. It is rated on a 4-point Likert scale an-
chored by ‘strongly agree’ and ‘strongly disagree’. Possible scores range from a high of
40 to a desirable low of 10. Studies have found the RSES to have acceptable psycho-
metric properties (cf. M‰kikangas & Kinnunen, 2003).

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 PST Program in Swimming

Self-efficacy. The Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES; Schwarzer & Jerusalem,

1993) contains 10 items and rates on a 4-point Likert scale anchored by ‘not at all true’
and ‘exactly true’. Possible scores range from a low of 10 to a desirable high of 40. The
scale has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties (cf. Schwarzer & Jerusalem,
1993).
Dispositional optimism. The Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier & Carver, 1985) is
an 8-item self-report measure (plus four filler items). It is rated on a 5-point Likert scale
anchored by ‘I agree a lot’ and ‘I disagree a lot’. Possible scores range from a low of 0
to a desirable high of 32. Studies have shown the LOT to have acceptable psychometric
properties (cf. Iwanaga, Yokoyama, & Seiwa, 2004).
Positive and negative affectivity. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PA-
NAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) includes 20 items and is rated on a 5-point
Likert scale anchored by ‘very slightly or not at all’ and ‘extremely’. For the positive af-
fectivity scale, possible scores range from a low of 10 to a desirable high of 50. For the
negative affectivity scale, possible scores range from a high of 50 to a desirable low
of 10. The PANAS assesses dispositional affectivity and studies have shown it to have
acceptable psychometric properties (cf. Crocker, 1997).
Swimming performance. The PST program coincided with the final weeks of the
participants’ competitive season. Pre-, post-, and 1-month post-intervention best competi-
tive times served as the swimming performance dependent variables. Swimming perfor-
mance data were analyzed also as percentage improvements against each participant’s
best-recorded time (per event) at the commencement of the intervention. To be included
in the swimming performance analysis, participants had to have competed in at least two
separate meets during or within 1 month after exposure to the PST program. Swimming
performance data were obtained from six national competitions (i.e., open to swimmers
from clubs across the United Kingdom) that coincided with the PST program interven-
tion in which participants represented their respective clubs. Trained Amateur Swim-
ming Association officials, using recommended equipment and procedures, recorded all
measurements. The number of competitive swimming times available for consideration
during the intervention phase varied between participants depending on injury and
availability. To provide a swimming performance mean percentage improvement score
(Table 1), percentage differences between personal bests at pre- and post-intervention
were totaled and divided by the number of events included in the analysis. Totaling the
participants’ means and dividing by the sample size calculated an overall mean percent-
age improvement score.

E XPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND INTERVENTION PROCEDURES

The primary investigator administered the PST program, which was conducted on an
individual swimmer basis. As part of the arrangements for the research, access to per-
formers was granted on the understanding that all participants received PST. Seventeen
swimmers (wholly selected from one of the three participating clubs) of the total 36 par-
ticipants were initially allocated to receive the 7-week intervention. After this timeframe,

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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

Table 1. Details of the participants’ intervention outcomes

Intervention outcomes
Swimming
Competitive personal Positive psychological
Participant no. Gender† performance mean
bests (n) development mean (%)
(%)
1 F 5 1.05 20.02
2 F 1 3.23 11.33
3 F 6 0.30 20.11
4 F 2 0.45 1.22
5 F 1 0.38 32.56
6 F 1 4.35 57.89
7 F 0 3.80 8.94
8 M 1 2.40 8.89
9 M 0 - 16.39
10 M 6 1.12 2.72
11 M 6 2.11 12.83
12 F 1 0.10 11.39
13 M 2 1.35 30.94
14 M 1 6.20 34.28
15 F 1 2.60 22.94
16 F 3 3.08 29.61
17 F 0 1.30 24.89
18 F 6 0.75 78.28
19 F 4 1.91 13.72
20 M 11 2.96 20.11
21 M 7 0.80 4.98
22 M 1 1.40 23.44
23 M 3 0.84 6.78
24 M 0 - 0.38
25 F 0 2.47 22.94
26 F 7 3.69 37.78
27 F 5 2.02 10.44
28 F 2 0.55 15.33
29 F 1 0.62 24.44
30 F 5 0.48 16.56
31 F 1 0.75 30.06
32 F 0 - 3.22
33 F 3 0.18 4.78
34 M 11 1.75 1.83
35 M 7 1.13 26.06
36 F 5 2.60 4.50
Overall mean 3.22 0.53 15.88
SD 3.04 2.22 11.45

Note. † F = female; M = male.

Underline denotes outlier and removed from the analysis.
Hyphen denotes participant did not compete during experimental timeframe.
Italics denote decrement in either swimming performance or positive psychological development.

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the remaining 19 swimmers (all drawn from the two other clubs) were exposed to the
same intervention protocol. Swimming club officials provided baseline swimming perfor-
mance data on each of the participants.
The intervention began with an introductory meeting held in a group situation with
all participants present. The first 17 swimmers allocated to receive the PST program
completed a battery of questionnaires immediately prior to intervention and before their
daily evening training session (an identical battery was administered to the remaining
19 participants at the beginning of their exposure to the PST program and before their
daily evening training session). Questionnaires were administered in counterbalanced
order. These inventories measured scores in positive psychological constructs deemed
relevant, as previously stated, to successful sport performance. All participants proved to
be highly motivated and completed all questionnaires. The average completion time was
less than 25 minutes per testing session. Administration of the PST program followed,
and consisted of five sessions: one session each on goal setting, visualization, relaxation,
concentration, and thought stopping. Techniques and exercises for each of these skills
were adapted from Goldberg (1998). Each session lasted 45 minutes per week. Partici-
pants had the same appointment time each week at the end of one of their daily training
sessions. In order to design an intervention strategy response to the participants’ specific
needs, programs were individually scheduled. Participants in receipt of the intervention
were asked to keep a logbook to monitor their own feelings and progress. This served
as an introduction to the following week’s session and helped to build empathy and a
rapport between the primary investigator and participants. The intervention ended with
an individual debriefing. The same battery of positive psychological questionnaires,
administered in counterbalanced order, was completed post-intervention. Particularly
noteworthy is the fact that all participants attended all PST sessions. Performance in com-
petition was monitored throughout the study. To militate against the confounding effects
of pool length (e.g., the effect of turns; Lyttle, Blanksby, Elliott, & Lloyd, 1999), data were
collected from competitions held at 25-m pool venues, the standard size normally used
in competition at this level. Times were obtained from the official meet timekeepers.

DATA ANALYSES
Analysis of variance ideally would have been used to identify significant differences in
swimming performance and positive psychological development across the three inter-
vention phases (i.e., pre-, post-, 1-month post-intervention). However, not all data sets
were complete. Not all participants competed in each swimming stroke, at every dis-
tance, and in each experimental timeframe; for example, 10 of the 36 participants com-
peted in two or more 50 m butterfly competitions during the PST program intervention to
allow a meaningful comparison between pre- and post-intervention personal best times
(see Table 2). Thus, it was necessary to use paired sample t tests to determine the effect
of the intervention protocol on improvement in swimming performance and, similarly on
each of the positive psychological scales (Heiman, 2002). The squared point-biserial
correlation coefficient (r2pb) was calculated to estimate the effect size with each statistical

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difference (Heiman, 2002; Rosnow & Rosenthal, 2005). Alpha was set at .05. All statisti-
cal analyses were conducted using SPSS for Windows v13.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL).

R ESULTS

I NTERVENTION EFFECTS ON SWIMMING PERFORMANCE

Details of participants’ individual overall swimming performance are shown in Table 1.
A majority of swimmers (n = 23/36; 64%) improved their performance as measured
by their overall swimming performance mean (see Table 1). Ten swimmers recorded a
decrease in mean performance; three did not compete during the experimental phase.
Participants averaged over three competitive personal bests following exposure to the
intervention ( = 116), and a half percentage-point mean improvement (calculated by
totaling the participants’ improvements and dividing by the sample size) was reported
in competitive times (Table 1). Means[cmc2] and standard deviations of personal best
times at pre- and post-intervention of participants who competed in the same event in
both of these experimental phases are presented in Table 2. A significant (p < .05) mean
improvement (2.26 s) only in the 200 m freestyle was observed after participants com-
pleted the intervention. Swimmers demonstrated improvements, compared to baseline
data, in three events: 100 m breaststroke, 200 m backstroke, and 200 m freestyle.
Means and standard deviations of personal best times at pre- and 1-month post-in-
tervention of participants who competed in the same event in both of these intervention
phases are presented in Table 3. Significant (p < .05) mean improvements were record-
ed in the 200 m butterfly (2.82 s) and 200 m backstroke (3.53 s) only. Improvements in
these, and eight other events, were observed during the study’s 1-month post-intervention
follow-up period: 50 m butterfly, 50 m backstroke, 50 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 100
m breaststroke, 100 m freestyle, 200 m butterfly, 200 m backstroke, 200 m freestyle,
400 m freestyle.

I NTERVENTION EFFECTS ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Details of participants’ individual positive psychological development are shown in Table
1. A majority of swimmers (n = 34/36; 94%) improved their mean scores. It should be
noted that initial data exploration revealed Participants 6 and 18 to be outliers. Exclud-
ing their data, a 15.88% mean post-intervention improvement was recorded (18.78%
mean improvement when Participants’ 6 and 18 data are included). Subsequent analysis
of positive psychological development data excluded those of Participants 6 and 18.
Means and standard deviations of all variables at the cessation of the intervention are
presented in Table 4. Paired sample t tests showed that levels of all measured dependent
variables (with the exception of challenge) improved significantly between the pre- and
post-intervention measurements. Table 5 summarizes the number of participants who
changed their positive psychological construct scores.

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Table 2. Means and standard deviations of personal best times at

pre- and post-intervention of participants who competed in the same event
in both intervention phases.

Swimming
n Pre-intervention (s) Post-intervention (s)
stroke
Distance M SD M SD T r2pb
50 m Butterfly 10 33.39 2.65 33.59 2.70 -0.45 .02
Backstroke 13 35.23 2.15 35.67 2.67 -1.24 .12
Breaststroke 12 39.54 2.66 40.11 2.83 -1.83 .23
Freestyle 21 29.60 1.92 29.90 2.00 -1.51 .11
100 m Butterfly 14 72.16 6.60 71.97 6.21 0.34 .01
Backstroke 14 71.55 5.10 72.75 5.33 -1.83 .20
Breaststroke 12 81.84 6.89 81.58 4.68 0.29 .00
Freestyle 25 64.32 3.91 64.42 3.86 -0.28 .00
200 m Backstroke 8 158.75 5.93 157.86 9.57 0.53 .04
Breaststroke 5 181.61 8.65 182.61 12.94 -0.42 .04
Freestyle 8 137.27 11.98 135.01 10.73 2.40* .45
400 m Freestyle 6 296.37 11.42 298.79 14.69 -0.59 .07
Note. 0* p < .05.

Table 3. Means and standard deviations of personal best times at

pre- and 1-month post-intervention of participants who competed in the
same event in both intervention phases.

Swimming 1-month post-

n Pre-intervention (s)
stroke intervention (s)
Distance M SD M SD t r2pb
50 m Butterfly 7 32.09 2.11 31.89 1.95 0.96 .13
Backstroke 7 32.61 1.26 32.58 1.17 0.10 .00
Breaststroke 6 37.30 2.98 37.81 2.71 -1.09 .19
Freestyle 8 28.31 1.90 28.18 2.20 0.60 .05
100 m Butterfly 6 67.71 4.30 67.45 5.25 0.36 .03
Backstroke 5 69.22 4.04 70.31 5.72 -0.84 .15
Breaststroke 4 85.19 6.22 81.87 4.26 3.07 .76
Freestyle 11 63.63 3.89 63.23 4.37 1.07 .10
200 m Butterfly 7 152.02 12.23 149.20 11.69 2.75* .56
Backstroke 7 153.98 9.18 150.45 9.83 2.75* .56
Freestyle 12 136.51 7.56 135.70 8.97 0.85 .06
400 m Freestyle 7 283.05 16.72 276.60 15.99 2.03 .41
Note. 0* p < .05.

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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

Table 4. Means and standard deviations of perceptions of success and the positive
psychological constructs at pre- and post-intervention

Pre-intervention Post-intervention
Dependent variables M SD M SD t r2pb
Perceptions of success 26.76 3.52 29.79 3.61 5.48** .48
Self-confidence 22.29 4.94 25.18 4.45 5.71** .49
Negative energy control 19.97 3.85 23.18 4.52 5.56** .48
Attention control 20.26 4.37 22.97 4.07 3.70** .29
Visualization/imagery control 19.41 4.31 22.91 5.26 3.94** .32
Motivation 23.41 4.02 25.47 3.81 4.21** .34
Positive energy 21.94 4.41 24.24 4.55 3.95** .32
Attitude control 22.62 4.00 24.71 4.31 4.01** .33
Total mental toughness 149.91 23.96 168.65 26.64 5.48** .48
Commitment 15.06 2.83 17.09 2.29 3.99** .33
Control 8.79 2.91 9.50 2.87 1.98* .11
Challenge 11.82 2.08 12.38 1.99 1.65 .08
Total hardiness 35.68 6.28 38.97 5.84 3.71** .29
Self-esteem 18.68 4.58 16.12 4.66 3.83** .31
Self-efficacy 30.62 4.86 34.68 4.84 5.28** .46
Dispositional optimism 21.12 5.46 24.09 6.16 3.02** .22
Positive affect 40.03 4.75 43.15 5.66 3.81** .31
Negative affect 20.47 6.65 17.26 6.96 3.15** .23
Note. * p < .05. ** p < .01.

SOCIAL VALIDATION
The individual’s perception of the value of the PST program was determined by post-
intervention informal feedback. Following procedures outlined by Wolf (1978), partici-
pants’ data were analyzed by noting emerging themes. Using this process, participants
were asked to consider and subsequently write, in their own words, the extent to which
the intervention was important to them, if the procedures were acceptable, and if they
were satisfied with the results (Hrycaiko & Martin, 1996; Wolf, 1978). Social validation
reports were returned within 1 week of administration.
In the present study, participants gave the feedback directly to the primary inves-
tigator, who administered the program. Social validation feedback indicated that all
36 participants perceived themselves to have improved in their training performance.
Similarly, all 33 swimmers who competed during or 1 month after the PST program
intervention confirmed positive appraisals of their competitive swimming performance.
Furthermore, they unanimously indicated their satisfaction with the content and delivery
of the intervention. In some cases the participants expressed that they felt the training
had a positive effect on them; for example: “The sessions were exceptionally good,”
(Participant 14); “I have really enjoyed the sessions,” (Participant 17); “I have learnt a lot
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 PST Program in Swimming

Table 5. Number of swimmers whose positive psychological construct scores changed

Number of swimmers Number of swimmers

Positive psychological constructs
whose scores increased whose scores decreased
Perceptions of success 28 4
Self-confidence 27 5
Negative energy control 29 6
Attention control 24 8
Visualization/imagery control 27 7
Motivation 25 8
Positive energy 26 5
Attitude control 28 6
Total mental toughness 28 8
Commitment 25 8
Control 21 10
Challenge 19 12
Total hardiness 26 8
Self-esteem 27 7
Self-efficacy 28 2
Dispositional optimism 26 5
Positive affect 27 6
Negative affect 22 10

over the last few weeks. I will always remember what you have said to me,” (Participant
21). Other statements were more specific and indicated that they had improved in spe-
cific aspects of the PST program. For example, it was expressed that they had become
better at goal setting: “It has made me think positively towards my short-term goals and,
hopefully, achieve them,” (Participant 4); “I have set goals for my life, such as getting
on the World Class Program and competing at the Olympics,” (Participant 35). They
also expressed that they were able to visualize performing well as a result of the train-
ing: “I found the imagery techniques especially useful,” (Participant 5); “I thought the
imagery techniques were very helpful, and I will continue to use them,” (Participant 10).
Some statements indicated that improved visualization made it possible to relax more.
For example, Participant 33 indicated: “I relax more and use the imagery techniques
you taught me to relax and to focus on my race.” Participant 36 stated: “I have enjoyed
doing the imagery. I liked this because I was going to places in my mind that I hadn’t
been to before and I felt really relaxed when I was doing it.” Several participants also
cited an improvement in concentration skills. For example, Participant 9 indicated: “I
feel more focused and more confident.” Participant 11 stated: “The sessions have helped
me to focus more at training and also to relax. Recent distractions that used to bother
me are now a thing of the past.” Several participants reported the ameliorative effects
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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

of adopting thought stopping techniques. For example: “I am now much less nervous.
Negative thoughts no longer creep in. Thanks to these sessions I am more confident,”
(Participant 20), and “Turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts has certainly
helped,” (Participant 8).
Several swimmers (Participants 8, 9, 22, 25, 28, in particular) expressed how the
skills learned in the PST program had benefited other areas of their lives (e.g., school,
college, relationships). All participants reported the intervention as useful and that they
would continue to practice the skills contained within the intervention for competitive
performance and life in general, suggesting that they perceived that the mental skills
learned had a positive effect on their swimming ability and positive psychological de-
velopment.

DISCUSSION
The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of a mental skills intervention
program on (a) competitive swimming performance and (b) the positive psychological
development of national-level adolescent swimmers. There was a statistically significant
improvement in three 200 m events. The durability of swimming performance improve-
ments was demonstrated 1 month after the cessation of the intervention, indicating that
the treatment effect had some longevity. Furthermore, there were significant improve-
ments in 17 of the 18 positive psychological measures.
Gains were seen in 10 separate swimming events, three of which were statistically
significant. It is worth noting, however, that small performance increments often result
in important competitive gains at the level of national competition. Two points emerged
from the analysis of competitive swimming performance. First, the results suggest that
the freestyle stroke appeared particularly responsive to the effect of the intervention, as
measured by the fact that there were mean improvements only in this stroke at all dis-
tances (i.e., 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m). This may be explained by the freestyle being
the least technically complex stroke (Toussaint & Beek, 1992), requiring a lower level
of cognitive demand (Schmidt & Wrisberg, 2004). That is, experiencing less cognitive
interference from complex technique recall, and devoting more effort to the learnt mental
skills, may facilitate success in this stroke.
Second, the three events with statistically significant improvements were at 200 m,
and all 10 events where substantial 1-month post-intervention improvements were ob-
served are classified as sprints (i.e., ≤ 200 m). However, that no significant improvements
were observed in either the 50 m or 100 m events is of particular interest. Future research
may need to concentrate on the potential differential effects of PST on the various energy
systems that underpin swimming over different distances. Further, for a good performance
in swimming events, the effectiveness of the turns is essential (Lyttle et al., 1999). How-
ever, the longer the event, the more significant the turns become. This may explain why
significant improvements in performance were not observed in the 400 m events. In short
course swimming (i.e., 25 m), the turns have more of an influence (Lyttle et al., 1999). In
the same way, the slower the swimming speed (from breaststroke to freestyle), the more
influential are the turns. It is, therefore, important to consider that technique (e.g., the
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 PST Program in Swimming

execution of complex turns) may have contributed to non-significant improvements in the

longer distances. This may represent an interesting topic for further research.
Follow-up testing of competitive swimming performance data (1-month post-interven-
tion) suggested that participants continued to demonstrate the effectiveness of the mental
skills acquired from the intervention and manifest them in continued improvements (cf.
Murphy, 2005) in national-level competition. The increase in performance corresponded
to changes that were clearly indicated by the swimmers in their social validation reports.
It is posited that this improvement can at least be partially attributed to the PST program.
Because the swimmers’ statements made it abundantly clear that they felt performance
increments were positively related to the PST package, the findings of this study support
previous research (Daw & Burton, 1994; Fournier et al., 2005; Kazemi et al., 2003;
Spittle & Morris, 1997) that found that adoption of a similar combination of mental skills
positively influenced performance. Further, as indicated by several of the participants’
social validation statements, this PST program appeared to facilitate personal growth in
other areas of their lives (Tremayne & Tremayne, 2004).
It is interesting to examine potential links between improvement in swimming per-
formance and improvements in the underlying psychological constructs that might help
explain such amelioration. For example, it is notable that participants recorded a signifi-
cantly higher post-intervention mean score in perceptions of success. This was expected,
given the improvements in swimming times and positive psychological development.
Indeed, with the exception of the hardiness subscale challenge, participants significantly
improved on all measured positive psychological variables.
This particular subscale of the hardiness construct reflects a belief that life is change-
able and that one should view this as an opportunity rather than as a threat (Kobasa,
1979). Further exposure to the intervention may have helped the participants to view po-
tentially difficult situations, such as swimming competitions, as opportunities for personal
and sporting growth. One explanation for the absence of significant improvements may
be that these performers demonstrated high initial scores, thus presenting only a small
potential for improvement at this age. Alternatively, these results may reflect that some
participants had difficulty adjusting to the increased demands placed on them as they
push toward achieving a higher level of competition (e.g., international level). If this were
so, participants may be viewing this transition as threatening rather than as a positive
opportunity (Maddi, Khoshaba, Persico, Lu, Harvey, & Bleecker, 2002).
Also noteworthy was that the highest increments in positive psychological develop-
ment were recorded on the following measures of mental toughness: self-confidence,
negative energy control, attention control, and visualization and imagery control. One
reason for the significant increase in the mean post-intervention self-confidence score of
the present study’s participants may be their successful adoption and implementation of
visualization techniques (cf. Garza & Feltz, 1998). The formation of successful goal setting
strategies as a result of the intervention may also be a contributory factor (Burton, 1988),
particularly as participants frequently cited this in their social validation responses.
Performers and coaches place importance on negative energy control (Jones, Han-
ton, & Connaughton, 2002). The ability to remain in psychological control following
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 M. Sheard, J. Golby

unexpected, uncontrollable events has consistently distinguished athletes performing at

the highest levels (Côté, 2001). A number of participants indicated in their social reports
that, as a result in particular of the thought stopping techniques taught them in the PST
program, they had learnt to control negative feelings and, in some cases, convert them
into positive ones.
When considering attention control, this study’s results demonstrate that participants
benefited from exposure to concentration-enhancing skills training. Possessing a narrow
focus of attention, particularly in the face of competition-specific distractions, has been
reported as an essential psychological characteristic in Olympic champions (Gould et
al., 2002). In particular, quick relaxation (a technique utilized in the present study’s
PST program), when practiced to proficiency, can be particularly effective in allowing
sport performers to regain composure and attention control in high-pressure situations
(Ravizza, 2001).
Additionally, the significant mean increase in visualization and imagery control
corresponds with the widely recognized viewpoint that this skill is a contributor to supe-
rior sport performance (Gould et al., 2002; Spittle & Morris, 1997; Williams & Krane,
2001). Further, as previously identified, increased use of visualization skills may have
contributed to increased levels of other positive psychological measures and thus to
performance. Recent research supports the suggestion that goal setting may have con-
tributed to the significant increase in self-efficacy. For example, the results of the present
study add support to the findings of research using a similarly aged sample (cf. Mamas-
sis & Doganis, 2004) that found that young athletes between 12 to 14 years of age had
a rather vague impression of what they can accomplish, and having attainable goals
facilitated awareness of their capabilities. Further, this study’s participants’ significant
rise in positive affect was accompanied by a similar statistically significant fall in nega-
tive affect. The present study’s results suggest that a rise in positive emotions or moods
is matched by a concomitant fall in negative or less desirable equivalents (Robazza,
Bortoli, Nocini, Moser, & Arslan, 2000).
Several of the present study’s participants’ post-intervention scores in control, chal-
lenge, and negative affect decreased (see Table 5). These subscales may have been
particularly sensitive to a relatively young sample, whose ages may suggest insufficient
exposure to character-forming events.
A limitation of the present study was that, due to swimmer unavailability caused
by injury, illness, familial, or schooling commitments, not all participants competed in
all strokes at all distances. The comparatively small sample in several of the swimming
events (see Table 3) in the present study increases the likelihood of Type II error (Cohen,
1988) and may have been too small for minimal meaningful differences to be revealed
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). A clearer picture might arise should a complete data set be
available. However, because injury is a ‘real world’ factor, it could be posited that this
situation, and the subsequent challenges, contributed to the study’s ecological validity.
Future research may consider a longer post-intervention timeframe than the 1- month
period used in the present study to test the PST program’s effective longevity.

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The present combination of positive psychological measures has not previously been
used in creating a sport-specific psychological profile, nor has it been used in an inter-
vention study. Future work with this sample would need to consider the relative success
of each of the PST program components on the individual; in particular, performance
profiling (cf. Butler, 2000) would help shape and focus the nature of future interventions.
While findings show links between components of positive psychology and improved
swimming times, future studies might concentrate also on how other relevant constructs
contributing to this movement (e.g., emotional intelligence, happiness, hope; cf. Carr,
2004; Snyder & Lopez, 2005) might interact with the present constructs in the ameliora-
tion of sport performance. Replication of similar intervention research is needed in swim-
ming, and other sports, to enhance the external validity of the present study’s results.
In conclusion, this PST program targeted the improvement of competitive perfor-
mance and positive psychological development of adolescent high-performing swim-
mers. The encouraging findings of the present study suggest that adolescent athletes, in
addition to developing better coping skills, as identified earlier (cf. Lane et al., 2004),
benefit also from exposure to PST in terms of their sport performance. The positive psy-
chological development observed in this study’s sample lends credence to the suggestion
to integrate PST into youth sport programs proposed by Hanton & Jones, (1999). Based
on the findings of this study, it is suggested that the present PST program contributed to
improvement to both swimming performance and positive psychological functioning.

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