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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04108689

Internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Training for Elite Ice Hockey Players

The aim of this study is to investigate whether an internet-based psychological training program will enhance performance and affect mental health related factors in elite ice hockey players. The psychological training program is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a modern form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and is delivered over the internet (hence called "I-ACT"). Elite players in Sweden will be invited before the 2019/2020 season. I-ACT will start for enrolled participants during the first week of October 2019 (30th September- 2nd October depending on the schedule of the particular league; approximately 5 games have then been played in the leagues eligible for participation). I-ACT consists of seven weekly modules/chapters with ACT content and participants also have a psychological trainer in the program that they can contact via a chat function on the web platform. Participants will have completed I-ACT the 17th of November 2019. When I-ACT starts in October, other eligible players will have the opportunity to leave their notice of interest for participation in the study and to take part of I-ACT in a later stage of the season. This concurrent "waiting list" is not a waiting list control group in any sense. It only gives further eligible players the opportunity to enroll in the study for a consecutive start of the psychological training program. I-ACT will start for this second group of players during the last week in november (25th November 2019), and finish I-ACT the 12th January 2020. These two consecutive groups of I-ACT participants will be considered the experimental group. However, due to the length of the ice hockey season the second group will only have follow-up measurements at 1 month for female players (the women's league ends in February 2020) and 2 months for male players (the men's leagues ends in March 2020). Official statistics will be collected from the leagues and enrolled participants will be compared to non-participant players in the leagues to compare the effectiveness of I-ACT on ice hockey performance. Only within-group comparisons will be made for secondary outcome measures.

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Key information

Conditions

Performance Enhancement Behavior Mental Health Performance Anxiety Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being

Age range

15 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet

Stockholm, Stockholm County, 11364, Sweden

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Playing ice hockey on elite level in any of the following leagues: Svenska damhockeyligan (SDHL, the Swedish premier ice hockey league for women), Svenska hockeyligan (SHL, the Swedish premier ice hockey league for men), Hockeyallsvenskan (the Swedish second highest league in ice hockey for men).

Exclusion criteria

  • Players currently participating in any other individual psychological training program.

Treatment and study plan

I-ACT

Behavioral

An internet-based behavioral psychotherapy intervention to enhance athletic performance in elite ice hockey players.

Primary outcomes

  1. Objective ice hockey performance data: goals

    Time frame: Pre (aggr. to a single score from 5 games pre),during(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals until end of interv),post(aggr. to a single score from 5 games post), followup(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals up to 4-16 weeks = season ends)

    Scored goals by a player. Data is always aggregated from a 5 game interval into a single score. The statistics will be collected by the official statistic systems for eligible leagues, which in turn will be used in the study.

  2. Objective ice hockey performance data: assists

    Time frame: Pre (aggr. to a single score from 5 games pre),during(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals until end of interv),post(aggr. to a single score from 5 games post), followup(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals up to 4-16 weeks = season ends)

    Made assists by a player. Data is always aggregated from a 5 game interval into a single score. The statistics will be collected by the official statistic systems for eligible leagues, which in turn will be used in the study.

  3. Objective ice hockey performance data: total points

    Time frame: Pre (aggr. to a single score from 5 games pre),during(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals until end of interv),post(aggr. to a single score from 5 games post), followup(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals up to 4-16 weeks = season ends)

    Total points by a player (number of goals + assists). Data is always aggregated from a 5 game interval into a single score. The statistics will be collected by the official statistic systems for eligible leagues, which in turn will be used in the study.

  4. Objective ice hockey performance data: +/- statistics

    Time frame: Pre (aggr. to a single score from 5 games pre),during(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals until end of interv),post(aggr. to a single score from 5 games post), followup(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals up to 4-16 weeks = season ends)

    +/- statistics for a player (number of goals scored and conceded by a team while a certain player is on the ice) . Data is always aggregated from a 5 game interval into a single score. The statistics will be collected by the official statistic systems for eligible leagues, which in turn will be used in the study.

  5. Objective ice hockey performance data: saving percent (only for goalkeepers)

    Time frame: Pre (aggr. to a single score from 5 games pre),during(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals until end of interv),post(aggr. to a single score from 5 games post), followup(aggr. to single scores from 5 game intervals up to 4-16 weeks = season ends)

    Saving percent (only for goalkeepers). Data is always aggregated from a 5 game interval into a single score. The statistics will be collected by the official statistic systems for eligible leagues, which in turn will be used in the study.

Secondary outcomes

  1. The Values, Acceptance and Mindfulness Scale for Ice Hockey (VAMS)

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, during(every week for the 7 week interv), post-intervention, and follow up at every 4th week until end of season (up to 4-16 weeks depending on the participants league and if the player is enrolled in the first or second start of I-ACT)

    Measures behavioral and psychological flexibility in ice hockey. 11 items. Total range is 11-77. A high value represent a better outcome. Three subscales; Acceptance (5 items, points range 1-35); Values (3 items, points range 1-21); Mindfulness (3 items, points range 1-21). The subscale scores are summed for total score.

  2. Subjective performance

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, during(every week for the 7 week interv), post-intervention, and follow up at every 4th week until end of season (up to 4-16 weeks depending on the participants league and if the player is enrolled in the first or second start of I-ACT)

    Players subjective rating of performance. This is a single-item measure developed for this study asking players to rate their own hockey performance during the last week on a scale of 1-10 (1 = extremely poor, 10 = extremely good).

  3. Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ)

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, during intervention (at week 4), post-intervention, and follow up at every 4th week until end of season (up to 4-16 weeks depending on the participants league and if the player is enrolled in the first or second start of I-ACT)

    Measures quality of life. 12 items. Total range is 0-96. A higher value is the better outcome.

  4. Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, during intervention (at week 4), post-intervention, and follow up at every 4th week until end of season (up to 4-16 weeks depending on the participants league and if the player is enrolled in the first or second start of I-ACT)

    Measures sleep impairment and quality

  5. General Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale

    Time frame: Pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow up at every 4th week until end of season (up to 4-16 weeks depending on the participants league and if the player is enrolled in the first or second start of I-ACT)

    Measures generalised anxiety. 7 items. Total range is 0-21. A low value is the better outcome.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Karolinska Institutet

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Internet-based Acceptance and Commitment Training for Elite Ice Hockey Players: an Open-trial

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Sep 30, 2019
Registry last updated
Mar 25, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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