Cristina Rolo & Daniel Gould

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of an intervention programme in fostering hope (Snyder, 1994), athletic and academic performance in university student-athletes participating in a mandatory structured study.
Design: A two-group (hope facilitation intervention vs. no intervention control) pre- vs. post-test design was employed. Between pre-test and post-test the intervention group was exposed to a six-week (12 session) intervention to foster hope.
Method: Division I NCAA-member institution University varsity athletic team members were administered measures on the key dependent variables (dispositional and state hope, academic and athletic domain hope, and perceived athletic and academic performance). Using stratified random sampling, 44 student-athletes were selected. Intervention and control groups were each composed of 22 student-athletes (nine female, 13 male; 10 female, 12 male, respectively), with a mean age of 19 years.
Results: Repeated measures ANOVA results showed that the intervention programme participants did not differ significantly from the control participants at Time 1 on hope (dispositional, state, athletic and academic), athletic and academic performance. However, after taking part in the six-week hope building programme the intervention group student-athletes’ state hope total scores significantly increased.
Conclusions: The study hypothesis was partially supported; the intervention programme was effective in fostering university student-athletes’ state hope. Support was not found for the effectiveness of the intervention programme in fostering dispositional hope, academic and athletic domain hope or perceptions of athletic and academic performance.

Keywords: Hope theory, student-athletes hope development, academic and athletic performance enhancement, coaching.

Full article: Volume 2, Issue 1 pages 44 - 61