Effects of body language training on mental health and performance in adolescent Ju Jutsu athletes.

Résumé

BACKGROUND: Competitive anxiety and psychological distress are prevalent in youth sports and can impair both mental health and performance. While psychological skills training is established, few interventions target athletes' body language to reduce anxiety and improve confidence and performance.AIMS: This study examined the effects of a 12-week body language training program on competitive anxiety, psychological well-being, nonverbal behavior, and athletic performance in adolescent Ju-Jutsu athletes.METHODS: Fourteen athletes (14-18 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention (INT) or control group. INT included posture-focused nonverbal behavior training with daily posture exercises, sparring-based practice, and coach feedback. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included the Wettkampfangst-Inventar-State, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, video-based body language ratings, and competition performance. Data were analysed using ANCOVAs and mixed ANOVAs.RESULTS: For performance anxiety, significant group effects at post-test emerged for cognitive anxiety ( = .005,  = .53) and somatic anxiety ( = .013,  = .44), accompanied by a significant time × group interaction for self-confidence ( = .01,  = .43). Regarding psychological distress, significant group effects favored INT for total DASS-21 scores ( = .004,  = .23), depression (