Meta-Analysis of Mindfulness Interventions for Athlete Anxiety Across 18 Trials

Eighteen controlled trials (N = 667) from seven databases were included in a meta-analysis examining mindfulness-based interventions for competitive anxiety in athletes. The analysis, authored by Kaiming Chen and last updated in May 2026, found a moderate overall effect favoring mindfulness interventions. The effect was moderated by control type, showing reductions against waitlist controls but near-zero effects against active comparators.

Use Cases

• Comparing intervention efficacy based on control type (waitlist vs. active) as described in the results
• Analyzing differential effects on cognitive versus somatic anxiety components highlighted in the findings
• Investigating the relationship between total intervention hours and effect size as a non-significant predictor mentioned in the description

Strengths

• Analysis includes 18 controlled trials with a total sample size of 667 athletes
• Reports specific effect sizes (g = -0.53 overall, -0.58 for cognitive anxiety, -0.41 for somatic anxiety) and confidence intervals
• Identifies a statistically significant moderator (control type, p = 0.005) and provides stratum-specific effect estimates

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• The active-control stratum contained only three comparisons, making that estimate preliminary as noted in the description
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of published controlled trials from seven databases.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-28 04:46:49