Emotion in Motion: Evaluating Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Adolescent Student-Athletes

High school student-athletes, given their competitive nature and heightened responsibilities, experience numerous stressors. Research identifies the negative consequences of unaddressed chronic stress. Given the increased pressure on this population and negative effects of chronic stress, finding ways to help high school student-athletes effectively cope with stressful stimuli during the developmentally and neurobiologically sensitive time of adolescence is of crucial importance. This thesis sought to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in high school student athletes through a review of literature including both general high school adolescents and college-level athletes. Upon review of literature and relevant studies, it became apparent that the utilization of mindfulness intervention in this population is beneficial across several key life domains. Social workers---particularly school social workers--- have an ethical obligation to investigate and respond to the psychosocial factors negatively impacting development and learning. This work seeks to inform future school social workers, teachers, and athletics coaches of the effectiveness of implementing such mindfulness interventions to decrease stress levels in adolescent student-athletes.