A Brief Writing Intervention Assists Athletes to Cope With Performance Failures

Significant performance failures by athletes can have detrimental psychological effects, potentially leading to maladaptive coping mechanisms, performance anxiety, and psychological distress. The current study investigated if a brief writing intervention could combat the negative impact of recalled performance failures in a sample of competitive athletes. Initially, the athletes recalled an instance of a significant performance failure. Next, an Intervention group completed an expressive writing task based on the principles of cognitive restructuring and reframing, and a Control group completed a neutral writing task. The results indicated that both groups showed improvements in the outcome measures from pre-test to post-test. However, the magnitude of the reduced self-critical rumination behaviors, increased positive affect, and reduced negative affect was greater in the Intervention group than in the Control group. The current study highlights how an expressive writing task can combat negative rumination thoughts and affective reactions. Such brief interventions could be used by athletes during a break in a game or immediately following a game to address performance failures as they happen.