Date

6-17-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Stacey Gaines

Keywords

emotional intelligence, competitive anxiety, youth soccer, adolescent athletes, sport psychology, emotional regulation, coping skills, self-confidence, randomized controlled trial, intervention

Disciplines

Psychology | Sports Studies

Abstract

Competitive anxiety is a significant challenge for adolescent soccer players, contributing to psychological distress and early sport withdrawal, and approximately 70% of youth athletes quit organized sport by age 14. Emotional intelligence, the capacity to recognize, understand, and regulate emotions, represents a promising and trainable intervention target, yet few studies have examined structured EI programs with youth soccer populations using rigorous experimental designs that include a parallel control group. This quantitative intervention study examined the effect of an emotional intelligence intervention on competitive anxiety among youth soccer players, including whether individual emotional profiles and gender moderated outcomes.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted (N=59)with competitive youth soccer players ages 11-17, measuring emotional intelligence, competitive anxiety, and coping skills at baseline and post-intervention in intervention (n=29) and control (n=30) groups. The intervention group received six sessions designed to develop emotional intelligence.

There were significant gains in self-confidence. Athletes with stronger pre-existing coping skills derived the greatest anxiety-related benefit from the intervention. Gender did not moderate intervention outcomes, suggesting the program was similarly effective for male and female athletes. These findings offer practitioners a scalable, evidence-informed model for integrating emotional intelligence training into youth sport environments to support athlete wellbeing and sustained participation.

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