Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41323909›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025

Readiness for competition across sports and genders: a study on psychological skills intervention.

Stefan Alecu, Gheorghe Adrian Onea

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Stefan AlecuDepartment of Physical Education and Special Motricity, Transilvania University, Brașov, Romania.
Gheorghe Adrian OneaDepartment of Physical Education and Special Motricity, Transilvania University, Brașov, Romania.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Psychological readiness is essential for athletic performance, particularly under competitive pressure. While physical training remains critical, growing evidence supports the role of psychological interventions in enhancing motivation and managing pre-competition anxiety. This study, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), evaluates the effects of a structured 4-week psychological program on athletes' motivation and anxiety levels. Materials and methods: A total of 512 athletes (210 individual-sport, 302 team-sport; 280 women, 232 men) completed the Sport Motivation Scale-II (SMS-II) and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) before and after a 4-week intervention. The program included goal-setting, visualization, mindfulness, and team cohesion sessions, delivered by certified sport psychologists and applied by coaches. Data were analyzed using mixed ANOVAs, t-tests, Bonferroni correction, and effect size estimates (Cohen's Results: Post-intervention results showed substantial improvement in intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation, alongside decreases in introjected and external regulation and amotivation ( Conclusion: A brief psychological intervention can significantly improve motivational regulation and competitive readiness across diverse athlete groups. These findings highlight the value of integrating mental skills training into routine sport preparation and support the implementation of scalable, evidence-based psychological programs.

Indexed as

competitive anxietymental skills trainingpsychological interventionreadiness for competitionsport motivation

Identifiers

PMID41323909
PMCPMC12660255

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.