Effectiveness of an Indigenous Life Skills Training Program on Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies and the Course of Interpersonal Relationships (Coach–Athlete–Parent) in Adolescent Football Players: A Pretest–Posttest Study with Follow-Up

Somaye  Wahabiyan; Rokhsareh Badami; Zohreh  Meshkati; Mahsa Sadat  Mousavi

Authors

Somaye Wahabiyan Ph.D Student, Department of Motor Behaviour and Sport Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5951-8355
Rokhsareh Badami Department of Motor Behaviour and Sport Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4507-0382
Zohreh Meshkati Department of Motor Behaviour and Sport Psychology, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7328-9357
Mahsa Sadat Mousavi Depatment of Midwifery, Community health research center, Isf.C., Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9953-0284

Keywords:

Life Skills, Cognitive Emotion Regulation, Coach–Athlete–Parent Relationship, Youth Football, Positive Youth Development

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of an indigenous life skills training program in improving cognitive emotion regulation strategies and the perceived course of interpersonal relationships within the coach–athlete–parent triad among adolescent football players.

Methods and Materials: This applied study employed a longitudinal quasi-experimental design with repeated measurements. The statistical population consisted of 14-year-old football players from a football academy, of whom data from 22 participants meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. The intervention comprised 12 twenty-minute life skills training sessions developed through a participatory action research approach and delivered immediately before technical and tactical football practices. Data were collected at multiple measurement points using the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and a questionnaire assessing positive and negative processes within coach–athlete–parent relationships. Statistical analyses were conducted using repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons to examine changes across the pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments.

Findings: Repeated-measures analysis revealed a statistically significant effect of time on all study outcomes (p < .001). Adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies increased significantly following the intervention, with an effect size of 81.8%, whereas maladaptive emotion regulation strategies decreased significantly, with an effect size of 83.9%. Negative processes within coach–athlete–parent relationships also showed a significant decline across measurement occasions, accounting for 60.5% of the observed variance, and this improvement remained stable during the follow-up period. Positive interpersonal relationship processes increased significantly from pretest to posttest and demonstrated an additional statistically significant improvement between the posttest and follow-up assessments, with an effect size of 72.4%. Overall, the inferential findings indicated both immediate and sustained intervention effects on emotional regulation and interpersonal relationship processes.

Conclusion: Integrating culturally adapted life skills training into routine football practice may provide an effective and sustainable approach to strengthening adaptive emotion regulation, reducing maladaptive cognitive responses, and improving the quality of coach–athlete–parent relationships among adolescent football players. The persistence and continued development of several outcomes during follow-up further support the incorporation of such programs into youth football development systems.

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