Role of Mild Intensity Continuous Training in Managing Aggression and Anxiety among Adolescents

Abstract

The current study was conducted to investigate the impact of eight-week training of Mild Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) on the levels of anxiety and hostility among adolescents. Forty adolescents from the DPS, Township, Lahore, with ages ranging from 10 to 14 years, were enrolled in a single-group pre-test and post-test experimental design. Purposive sampling technique was employed for selecting the participants who underwent testing for anxiety and aggressiveness prior to the intervention and after it. While the level of anxiety was assessed with Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, Second Edition (MASC-2), aggressiveness was measured through Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). Eight weeks of aerobics classes were conducted at the schools as the intervention. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis via Cronbach's alpha, the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality, paired-samples t-tests, and Cohen's dz effect sizes were computed for the analysis of data. Reliability (alpha) of research measures varied from.856 to.891 reflecting high internal consistency. There was a decrease in the mean value of aggressiveness between pre-test and post-test from 74.38 (SD = 18.99) to 65.58 (SD = 18.45). Also, the mean level of anxiety was reduced from 41.82 (SD = 10.41) to 35.27 (SD = 9.36). Results of paired-samples t-tests showed a statistically significant reduction in anxiety (t (39) = 8.66, p <.001) and aggressiveness (t (39) = 8.27, p <.001). Large paired effect sizes were found for aggressiveness (dz = 1.19) and anxiety (dz = 1.00). The results suggest that school-based MICT training may be useful in promoting adolescents' psychological well-being. The absence of a control group in the study suggests that findings should be interpreted as pre-test to post-test changes related to the intervention rather than causal relationships.