An evaluation of an anxiety control and team cohesion intervention for a collegiate gymnastics team

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an anxiety control and cohesion enhancement intervention with a collegiate women's gymnastics team. Fourteen athletes and four coaches received the intervention, while a control team consisting of 14 athletes and two coaches received no intervention. The Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) and Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) were administered six times and the Gymnast Assessment Questionnaire (GAQ)/Coach Assessment Questionnaire (CAQ) was administered three times throughout the precompetitive and competitive seasons. Both statistical and qualitative analyses were performed to provide a complete evaluation. One-way ANOVAs were performed to examine the differences between the control and intervention teams' anxiety, cohesion, and participation levels throughout the investigation. t-tests also were conducted to examine the intervention team patterns. Finally, qualitative analyses of team meetings and program evaluations were conducted. Statistical tests revealed that (a) for the intervention team, cognitive and somatic anxiety were higher at the end of the preseason than a mid season meet, (b) cohesion was greater for the intervention team than for the control team during preseason and for the first meet, while the control team perceived greater cohesion at the last meet than did the intervention team and (c) the intervention athletes who chose to participate in the program evaluated the program more favorably that those who chose limited participation. The qualitative analyses revealed that the cohesion components were more helpful to the entire team, while individual components were helpful to some athletes and not others. Future directions for research and intervention programs are discussed.