The benefits of planning recreational activities in the psychological development of high-level sports adolescents
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN14409093 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN14409093 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 2312152 |
- Submission date
- 26/03/2024
- Registration date
- 26/03/2024
- Last edited
- 26/03/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
A large number of teenagers participate in sports with the goal of becoming top-tier athletes by focusing on one sport early on. However, this early specialization in sports can bring about both physical and mental challenges for young athletes. They face immense pressure to perform at very high levels, and if they fall short of expectations, it can affect their self-confidence. Moreover, dedicating all their time and energy to sports leaves little room for other aspects of their personal growth. This intense focus on sports can lead to an identity solely centered around being an athlete, which can make them more vulnerable if their sports career ends unexpectedly. The rigorous training schedules they follow also give them little time to rest, which can increase the risk of mental health issues.
Our study aims to see how effective a program is for elite teenage athletes. We introduced a program called Organized Leisure-Time Activities (OLT3A) and compared it to a group of athletes who didn't participate in the program yet. We looked at their self-confidence and their feelings of happiness or sadness – all crucial factors in the mental well-being of teenagers. Additionally, we wanted to make sure that the athletes didn't see our program as something that disrupted their breaks or leisure time.
Who can participate?
Elite teenage athletes aged 13 -15 years
What does the study involve?
In this study, we're using a method called randomized controlled design, which means we've split the participants into two groups randomly. One group will receive the OLT3A program, while the other group will be put on a waiting list and won't receive the program immediately. The group sessions will happen once a week for seven weeks, and they'll last about 30 minutes each. These sessions will be led by a sports psychologist who's also a researcher. We're mainly interested in seeing how the participants' self-esteem and emotions change throughout the program, so we'll be checking in with them at the end of each week using a method called ambulatory assessment, which involves both qualitative and quantitative methods. We're also looking at whether the program disrupts their breaks or leisure time. We'll be doing these assessments every week.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Main benefits: feeling more pleasant emotional states and less unpleasant emotional states; preservation of self-esteem in stressfull environments. Main risks: alteration of break time leading to an increase in environmental stressors and reduction of recovery window, this risk is controlled by using the RESTQ-36-R-Sport subscale "disturbed breaks"
Where is the study run from?
Alliance Universitaire Bretagne (France)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
Seteber 2019 to March 2024
Who is funding the study?
Investigator initiated and funded
Who is the main contact?
Dr Phillippe Vacher, philippe.vacher@univ-brest.fr
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Faculté des Sciences du Sport et de l'Education
20, Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu
Brest
29238
France
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-2879-7846 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +33 665783455 |
| philippe.vacher@univ-brest.fr |
Study information
| Study design | Interventional randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Fitness/sport facility, Training facility/simulation, Other |
| Study type | Prevention, Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | No participant information sheet available |
| Scientific title | Organized leisure time activities for adolescent athletes: impact on physical self-esteem and emotional states |
| Study acronym | OLT3A |
| Study objectives | The primary objective of this study is to assess the effects of an Organized Leisure Time Activities protocol in promoting adolescent athletes key mental health variables (i.e., self-esteem and emotional states). We hypothesize that both active interventions are more effective than a waiting-list control condition in promoting self-esteem and functional emotional states. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 15/12/2023, Alliance Universitaire Bretagne Comité d'Ethique pour la Recherche (3 rue des Archives, 29238 BREST, Brest, 29238, France; +33 297017066; dg@aub.bzh), ref: 2312152 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Prevention of self-esteem and emotional states development in elite adolescent athletes. |
| Intervention | The presented trial uses a randomized controlled design with two groups, comparing OLT3A and a waiting list control condition. Group intervention will last seven weeks, one session per week (~30 minutes each), and will be administered by a sports psychologist researcher. The first step will consist of an individual interview with each athlete to (1) diagnose their schedule and identify break periods; (2) find individual preferential leisure activities (e.g., playing music, cooking, reading, social activities like a family meal or social event with friends, reading). The principal criterion will be that athletes should consider activities as a priori resourcing and pleasant. According to the OLTA literature, video games and watching television will be the only activities excluded from the possible choices. Complementary physical activities will be allowed if they are done in leisure and not competitively. The second step of the study will consist of 6-weeks of individualized guidance. During this period, athletes will complete questionnaires each Saturday morning (before the last training of the week) to monitor their emotional states and physical self-inventory and evaluate the impact of the OLT3A protocol on their break time perception. In addition, once per week (on Monday), a half-hour interview will be organized with the first author to plan the week (which activities, at what time, with whom, and how much time for each activity). Complementary, qualitative semi-directive interviews (30 minutes in addition to the previous conversation) will be conducted once a week with volunteered athletes from the global sample. These semi-directive interviews will aim to obtain qualitative evaluations of the protocol's benefits and risks for the seven volunteers. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Self-esteem (PSI6b) and emotional states (SEQ) were measured each week using psychometric questionnaires |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Disturbed breaks (specific subscale of the RESTQ36-R-Sport) were assessed each week using a psychometric tool 2. Qualitative interviews were done on a subpanel of the treatment group each week in order to explore their subjective feeling and behavioral transformation throughout the protocol. |
| Overall study start date | 01/09/2019 |
| Completion date | 31/03/2024 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer, Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 13 Years |
| Upper age limit | 15 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 25 |
| Total final enrolment | 25 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Elite adolescent athletes 2. Members of a high-level training organization 3. Engaged in an early sport specialization process |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Likely mental disorder 2. Less than 18 hours of athletic training per week 3. Less than 6 years of competitive training experience 4. Less than 2 years at a national performance level 4. Being younger than 13 years 6. Being older than 15 years |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/09/2019 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/12/2019 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- France
Study participating centre
All. de Ribeauvillé
Dijon
21000
France
Sponsor information
University/education
3 rue des Archives
Brest
29238
France
| Phone | +33 297017066 |
|---|---|
| dg@aub.bzh |
Funders
Funder type
Other
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/09/2024 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be available upon request from Philippe Vacher (philippe.vacher@univ-brest.fr) |
Editorial Notes
26/03/2024: Trial's existence confirmed by Alliance Universitaire Bretagne Comité d'Ethique pour la Recherche.
