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

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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.

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

Conditions
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Performance Enhancement, Performance Anxiety, Mental Health

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: I-ACT


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 15 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: I-ACT<br>I-ACT is short for Internet-Acceptance and Commitment Training | Behavioral: I-ACT<br>* An internet-based behavioral psychotherapy intervention to enhance athletic performance in elite ice hockey players.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Objective ice hockey performance data: goals | 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. | 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) | 
| Objective ice hockey performance data: assists | 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. | 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) | 
| Objective ice hockey performance data: total points | 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. | 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) | 
| Objective ice hockey performance data: +/- statistics | +/- 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. | 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) | 
| Objective ice hockey performance data: saving percent (only for goalkeepers) | 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. | 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) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Values, Acceptance and Mindfulness Scale for Ice Hockey (VAMS) | 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. | 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) | 
| Subjective performance | 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). | 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) | 
| Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ) | Measures quality of life. 12 items. Total range is 0-96. A higher value is the better outcome. | 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) | 
| Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) | Measures sleep impairment and quality | 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) | 
| General Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale | Measures generalised anxiety. 7 items. Total range is 0-21. A low value is the better outcome. | 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) | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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internet intervention, applied sport psychology, performance enhancement, acceptance and commitment training, elite ice hockey