A doctoral thesis was discussed at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences/ University of Baghdad, by the student Teeba Zaid Hikmat under the title “The Impact of Two Guidance Methods (Thought Stopping , Self-Talk) to Reduce Psychological Hesitation in Swimming Lessons Among Female Students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences” in the specialization of (Sports Psychology – Swimming). The discussion committee consisted of:
– Prof. Amer Saeed Jasim, Chairman
– Prof. Suha Ali Hussein, Member
– Prof. Wasan Jassim Mohammed, Member
– Prof. Ban Adnan Mohammed Ameen, Member
– Prof. Jinan Naji Zwain, Member
– Prof. Ali Sabhi Khalaf, Member and Supervisor
The research aimed to demonstrate the impact of the two guidance methods (Thought- stop , Self-Talk) in reducing psychological hesitation in swimming lessons among female students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. The research sheds light on the concept of psychological hesitation in swimming lessons and how to face it, providing a comprehensive theoretical framework that useful for the guidance process. This contributes to developing guidance programs that help eliminate or reduce psychological hesitation. Additionally, the current research provides a measure of psychological hesitation, aiding in the assessment and diagnosis of students for guidance purposes.
Furthermore, The current research aimed to develop a guidance program based on the methods of Thought-Stop and Self-Talk to reduce psychological hesitation in swimming lessons among female students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. To achieve the research objectives, two tools were developed: first, a measure of psychological hesitation in swimming lessons for female students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, which was applied to a sample of 209 students. This measure achieved two types of validity: face validity, by presenting it to experts, and construct validity, by correlating the items’ scores with the overall score of the measure and the domain scores with the overall domain score, as well as the overall score of the measure.
The research concluded with several findings and recommendations based on the results. It was found that there is a variation among female students in the level of psychological hesitation in swimming lessons. The researcher found that the guidance program based on the two methods (Thought-stop , Self-Talk) was effective and successful in reducing psychological hesitation among students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. Based on the research findings, the following recommendations were made:
– Utilize the measure developed by the researcher to detect psychological hesitation among female students of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in swimming lessons.
– Guidance counselors can use the guidance program developed by the researcher to build experimental guidance programs in the future.
– Swimming has numerous and varied benefits, with recent studies proving that practicing swimming has a positive impact on good health, well-being, and reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and psychological disorders.
