The effect of EFT exercises on stress of Imam Ali Officer University students while attending shooting field

The EFT technique is one of the most effective tools for better concentration and stress relief. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of EFT exercises on stress of Imam Ali Officer University students while attending shooting field. For this purpose, 30 student-athletes of Imam Ali University participated in this study and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. In the pre-test phase, students completed the Stress-Anxiety-Depression Inventory (DASS-21). The experimental group practiced EFT for 8 weeks and the control group did not perform any specific exercise during this period. After 8 weeks of EFT training, both groups again completed the Stress-Anxiety-Depression Inventory (DASS-21). Analysis of research results was performed using descriptive statistics (percentage frequency, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Shapiro-Wilk test, dependent and independent t-test) with SPSS software version 24. The results showed that the experimental group had a significant difference in stress scores after eight weeks of training compared to the control group (P <0.05). In general, it can be concluded that EFT exercises have a significant positive effect on the stress of Imam Ali University students while attending the shooting field and these exercises can be used to reduce stress while attending the shooting field.
 
Long Abstract
Introduction
Competitive sports, especially at high professional levels, put a lot of stress on athletes. The method of liberating the mind, also known as EFT, is a universal tool for health and can have effective results in physical and emotional issues as well as functional problems. Military-related jobs are among the most stressful jobs. Since the possible and unexpected risks, which cause job stress, exist in military jobs more than other jobs and activities, the military experience more job stress than normal people. Although there have been many studies on job stress in the general public, there have been fewer studies on military jobs. On the other hand, different organizations, due to the type of their work structures, have stressors appropriate to their activities that they should seek to identify, improve, eliminate or reduce. Therefore, to prevent the negative effects of stress, training EFT technique is necessary to moderate the negative effects of stress and subsequently improve students' athletic performance. According to the mentioned contents, will practicing the EFT technique have an effect on reducing the stress of Imam Ali Officer University students while on the field?
Research Tools
A total of 30 students of Imam Ali University were selected by convenience sampling. Samples were randomly divided into two groups of exercise (n = 15) and control group (n = 15). Exercise group (EFT exercises) were intervened. To collect demographic information, a form containing questions related to personal information, consent form and full explanation of the research was used, and to measure the amount of stress, the short form of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (Lovibond, 1995) was used. The subjects in the exercise group practiced the EFT technique for 8 weeks. Data after being collected, were entered into SPSS 24 software and descriptive statistics were used to calculate the mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage frequency. Then Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check the normality of data distribution. For each of the hypotheses, correlated t-test was used to determine the extent of intra-group changes from pretest to posttest, and independent t-test was used to determine the effect of independent variable (EFT) on dependent variable (stress). Also, the significance level was considered 0.05.
Research Findings
The results showed that the experimental group had a significant difference in stress scores after eight weeks of training compared to the control group (P <0.05). In general, it can be concluded that EFT exercises have a significant positive effect on the stress of Imam Ali University students while attending the shooting range and these exercises can be used to reduce stress while in the shooting range.
Conclusion
In general, professional athletes are largely on the same level in terms of physical fitness, and the main and determining reason for the difference in the results and performance of athletes is determined by their mental and psychological fitness. Accordingly, the EFT training method is very much worth considering in this case. Therefore, according to the results of previous research and the results of the present study, it can be concluded that practicing EFT technique reduces stress while in the shooting range.
reference
-     Awkins, Taffy Z. (2020), “The Perceptions of Coaches, Athletic Trainers and Rehabilitation Professionals Concerning the Use of Mental Imagery Practice to Counter the Psychological Effects of Injury in Sport”. H.Ashford University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2020. 27741535.
-     Besharat, M.A., Ghahremani, M.H. (2016), “Predicting sport achievement in contact and noncontact sports in terms of sport stress coping styles”. Journal of Exercise Psychology, 1 92): 107 -115.
-     Gary Archer, R. (2018), “How to beat workplace stress”. New Scientist, 238 (3177): 3177: 16-17.
-     Jafarzadeh Baghan. Ab., peeri. M., Azarbayjani, M.A. (2020), “The Effect of 4 Weeks of Voluntary Training on Depression-Like Behavior Induced by Childhood Stress and Oxidative Stress in Rats”. Sports Life Sciences, 11 (1): 63 -81. [In Persian].
-     Kim, K.J., Chung, J.W., Park, S., & Shin, J.T. (2009), “
-     Mosavi, F., Nowzari, V., Alam. S., Zarghami, M. (2019), “The Relationship between Stress and Job Burnout on Mental Health of Staffs in Tehran Province’s Sport and Youth”. Journal of the School of Medicine, 61 (6): 1638 -1648. [In Persian].
-     Naji, A., Rahimian Boogar, I., Talepasand, S. (2018), “Effectiveness of Cognitive Readiness Training on Decision Making Skill and Shooting Performance with Moderating Effect of Competitive State Anxiety”. Journal ofPolice Medicine, 7(1):7-12. [In Persian].
-     Pensgaard, A. M., Ivarsson, A., Nilstad, A., Solstad, B. E., Steffen, K. (2018), “Psychosocial stress factors, including the relationship with the coach, and their influence on acute and overuse injury risk in elite female football players”. BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 4(1).
-    Stapleton, P., Crighton, G., Sabot, D., O'Neill, H. M. (2020). “Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial”. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.