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

University of Macau

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Athletic Performance; Mental Health

Treatments: Behavioral: Mindfulness-Acceptance-Insight-Commitment (MAIC) Program; Behavioral: Psychological Skills Training (PST) Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07342816

HE-1286-2025

Details and patient eligibility

About

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) .

Enrollment: 126 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

1. 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).
2. Presence of a musculoskeletal injury or chronic condition that prevents safe participation in physical assessments.
3. Significant prior experience with formal mindfulness or meditation practice, defined as having attended a course lasting one week or more.
4. Prior participation in systematic Psychological Skills Training (PST).
5. Inability to commit to the full 8-week intervention timeline.
6. Refusal to provide informed consent or declines to participate.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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126 participants in 3 patient groups

Mindfulness Intervention (MAIC) Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to this group receive an 8-week "Mindfulness-Acceptance-Insight-Commitment" (MAIC) program. The intervention is delivered in a "micro-dosing" format, consisting of 15-20 minute sessions conducted three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday) immediately before or after regular basketball training. The curriculum focuses on developing non-judgmental awareness, acceptance of internal states, and commitment to value-driven behavior to enhance psychological flexibility and performance.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Mindfulness-Acceptance-Insight-Commitment (MAIC) Program

Psychological Skills Training (PST) Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants assigned to this group receive an 8-week Psychological Skills Training (PST) program serving as an active control. To ensure structural equivalence with the experimental arm, sessions are also 15-20 minutes long and conducted three times per week. The training covers traditional sports psychology techniques, including goal setting, imagery, arousal regulation, and positive self-talk.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Psychological Skills Training (PST) Program

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in this group receive no additional psychological intervention during the 8-week study period. They simply maintain their standard university basketball team training routine. After the completion of all study assessments, they are offered the opportunity to receive the mindfulness training program.