Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing and specific state anxiety in female gymnasts

Forty-two female gymnasts ages 10-16 participated in a study to determine the effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) on state anxiety. Each subject identified excessive anxiety on a gymnastics element resulting from a fall, injury, observed fall, or debilitating repetitive thought process. Subjects were divided into random treatment and control groups. The treatment groups received up to 3 sessions of EMDR. Both process and outcome measures were analyzed using the Subjective Units of Disturbance scale, Validity of Cognitions scale, Sport Competition Anxiety Test, and Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory-2. EMDR was found effective in reducing cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and increasing self-confidence on the targeted element. Comparison over time from pretest to follow-up revealed no significant differences in trait anxiety for either the control or experimental group. Treatment effects of reduced cognitive anxiety, reduced somatic anxiety, and increased validity of positive cognitions were maintained for 90-days following EMDR treatment. Results indicated four processesing patterns facilitating trauma resolution: methodological, transitional object, unfinished business, and insight oriented processing. Recommendations for future research include the use of EMDR with physiological measures of state anxiety, and the replication of the four distinct processing styles found in this research.

Dissertation/Thesis

English

Arnold, A. (2004). Eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing and specific state anxiety in female gymnasts. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 65(2-B), 1020