Home⇛PAPSCU Excellent Academic Research Link (PEARL) Bulletin ⇛vol. 3 no. 3 (2023)

Development and Usability Testing of the Matikas Mobile App for Table Tennis Student-Athletes

Maridette Joyce Maranan | Arnulfo V. Lopez

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Table tennis student-athletes need to develop and maintain mental skills to help them sustain competition demands. However, there is a dearth of evidence-based contemporary programs in the Philippines that can address this pressing need. This study addressed the gap by developing and testing the usability of a mobile mental health application – MATIKAS (Making table tennis Athletes mentally Tough, with a high athletic Identity, Knack for team communication, and Adopt Self-compassion). This program was designed not only to enhance performance skills but also to address other mental skills that will promote psychological well-being. To determine its usability, nine (9) table tennis athletes from a member school of a collegiate athletic association evaluated the mobile app. While it is in its early stage of development, it was rated as a “good” App. It is functional and promotes positive emotions. The study offers new insights into the practice of sports psychology in the country



References:

  1. Anthony, D. (2017). D. A behavioral approach to mental toughness development in Australian Football.  [Doctoral dissertation, University of Western Australia, Australia]. 
  2. Dallmann, P., Bach, C., Zipser, H., Thomann,P.A., Herpertz, S.C. (2016).  Evaluation of a stress prevention program for young high-performance athletes. Mental Health & Prevention, 4(1), 75–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2016.04.001
  3. Doherty, S., Hannigan, B., & Campbell, M.J. (2016). The experience of depression during the careers of elite male athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(1069), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01069
  4. Faber, I. R., Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden, M. W., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Oosterveld, F. G. (2015). The Dutch motor skills assessment as tool for talent development in table tennis: A reproducibility and validity study.  Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(11), 1149–1158.  https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.986503
  5. Gabunilas, J. M. (2013). Mental toughness and sport competition anxiety on improving the sport performance of FEU athletes and cheer dancers [Unpublished master’s thesis].  Far Eastern University.
  6. Gerber, M., Brand, S., Feldmeth, A. K., Lang, C., Elliot, C., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U (2013). Adolescents with high mental toughness adapt better to perceived stress: A longitudinal study with Swiss vocational students.  Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 808–814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.12.003
  7. Golby, J., & Wood, P. (2016). The effects of psychological skills training on mental toughness and psychological well-being of student-athletes. Psychology, 7, 901-913. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2016.76092
  8. Gurel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT Analysis: A theoretical review. The Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), 994-1006. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2017.1832
  9. Julien, H. (2012). Content Analysis. In L.M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (pp. 1-5). SAGE Publications, Inc
  10. Kondric, M., Zagatto, A. M., & Sekulic, D. (2013). The physiological demands of table tennis: A review. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 12(3), 362–370.
  11. Lim, T.-H., Jang, C.-Y., O’Sullivan, D., & Oh, H., (2018). Applications of psychological skills training for Paralympic table tennis athletes. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, 14(3), 367-374. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.1836198.099
  12. Liu, Y.-C., Wang, M.-Y., & Hsu, C.-Y. (2017).  Competition field perceptions of table-tennis athletes and their performance. Journal of Human Kinetics, 61, 241-247. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2017-0123
  13. Mansec, Y. L., Pageaux, B., Nordez, A., Dorel, S., & Jubeau, M. (2018) Mental fatigue alters the speed and the accuracy of the ball in table tennis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(23), 2751-2759. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2017.1418647
  14. Maranan, M. J., & Lopez, A. (2020). Exploring the link between athletic identity, self-compassion, communication, and mental toughness of table tennis student-athletes. International Journal of Racket Sports Science, 3(1), 1-9.
  15. Maranan, M. J., & Lopez, A. (2021). Development of the MATIKAS Mobile App to enhance table tennis athletes’ mental skills [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Santo Tomas.
  16. Miçooğullari, B. O., & Ekmekçi, R. (2017). Evaluation of a Psychological Skill Training   Program on Mental Toughness and Psychological Wellbeing for Professional Soccer Players. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 5(12), 2312-2319.
  17. Neff, R., & Carlson, E. (2016). Technology in practice: A case study. In J. G. Cremades & L. S. Tashman (Eds.), Global practices and training in applied sport, exercise, and performance psychology: A case study approach (pp. 171-180). Routledge.
  18. Nixdorf, I., Frank, R., Hautzinger, M., & Beckmann, J. (2013). Prevalence of depressive symptoms and correlating variables among German elite athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 7(1), 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.7.4.313
  19. Pattison, S. (2011). The development and implementation of a mental toughness training programme for young cricketers [Master's thesis, Rhodes University]. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145054795.pdf
  20. Pereira, A., Marins, F., Rodrigues, B., Portela, F., Santos, M. F., Machadoa, J., Abelha, A. (2015). Improving quality of medical service with mobile health software. Procedia Computer Science, 63, 292-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.08.346
  21. Rice, S., Purcell, R., De Silva, S., Mawren, D., McGorry, P., & Parker, A. (2016). The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports Medicine, 46(1), 1333–1353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0492-2
  22. Sarfo-Frimpong, J., Oduro, G., Forson, P. K., & Bonney, J. (2017). Emerging mobile health (mHealth) in KATH ED: Assessing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats among healthcare workers. Prehospital and disaster medicine, 32, S38.
  23. Slavin, R. E. (2017). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Pearson.
  24. Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., Kavanagh, D. J., & Wilson, H. (2016). Development and validation of the user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS). JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2016, 4(2), e72. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.5849
  25. Tandoc-Juan, V. (2016). Mental toughness and sport motivation of scholar athletes: Bases for a psychological skills training (PST) program [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Santo Tomas.
  26. Trinidad-Aquino, K. (2008). Demographic characteristics and mental toughness of the Philippine athletes: Basis for a proposed mental toughness enhancement program [Unpublished master’s thesis].  University of Santo Tomas.
  27. Vealey, R. (2012).  Mental skills training in sport. In G. Tenenbaum & R. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of Sport Psychology (3rd ed., pp. 287–309).  John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118270011.ch13
  28. Williams, S. (2014). Repertory grids: Employability as viewed by those involved in recruitment. SAGE Publications, Ltd.
  29. Willoughby, J., Brickman, J., Niu, Z., & Liu, S. (2016). Focus groups and experiments for health message development: Creating a text message program for college women about alcohol and hook-ups contributors. SAGE Publications Ltd
  30. Woolfolk, A. (2017). Educational psychology (14th ed.). Pearson Education
  31. Yilmaz, T., Top, E., Çelenk, Ç., Akil, M., & Kara, E. (2015).  Evaluating the self-confidence levels of teams and individual athletes at the age of 14-16 according to several variables.  Ethno Med, 9(2), 203-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/09735070.2015.11905436

Zagatto, A. M., Papoti, M., & Gobatto, C. A. (2008). Validity of critical frequency test for measuring table tennis aerobic endurance through specific protocol. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 7(4), 461–466. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3761906/

  1. Anthony, D. (2017). D. A behavioral approach to mental toughness development in Australian Football.  [Doctoral dissertation, University of Western Australia, Australia]. 
  2. Dallmann, P., Bach, C., Zipser, H., Thomann,P.A., Herpertz, S.C. (2016).  Evaluation of a stress prevention program for young high-performance athletes. Mental Health & Prevention, 4(1), 75–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2016.04.001
  3. Doherty, S., Hannigan, B., & Campbell, M.J. (2016). The experience of depression during the careers of elite male athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7(1069), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01069
  4. Faber, I. R., Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden, M. W., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., & Oosterveld, F. G. (2015). The Dutch motor skills assessment as tool for talent development in table tennis: A reproducibility and validity study.  Journal of Sports Sciences, 33(11), 1149–1158.  https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.986503
  5. Gabunilas, J. M. (2013). Mental toughness and sport competition anxiety on improving the sport performance of FEU athletes and cheer dancers [Unpublished master’s thesis].  Far Eastern University.
  6. Gerber, M., Brand, S., Feldmeth, A. K., Lang, C., Elliot, C., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U (2013). Adolescents with high mental toughness adapt better to perceived stress: A longitudinal study with Swiss vocational students.  Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 808–814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.12.003
  7. Golby, J., & Wood, P. (2016). The effects of psychological skills training on mental toughness and psychological well-being of student-athletes. Psychology, 7, 901-913. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2016.76092
  8. Gurel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT Analysis: A theoretical review. The Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), 994-1006. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2017.1832
  9. Julien, H. (2012). Content Analysis. In L.M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (pp. 1-5). SAGE Publications, Inc
  10. Kondric, M., Zagatto, A. M., & Sekulic, D. (2013). The physiological demands of table tennis: A review. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 12(3), 362–370.
  11. Lim, T.-H., Jang, C.-Y., O’Sullivan, D., & Oh, H., (2018). Applications of psychological skills training for Paralympic table tennis athletes. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, 14(3), 367-374. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.1836198.099
  12. Liu, Y.-C., Wang, M.-Y., & Hsu, C.-Y. (2017).  Competition field perceptions of table-tennis athletes and their performance. Journal of Human Kinetics, 61, 241-247. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2017-0123
  13. Mansec, Y. L., Pageaux, B., Nordez, A., Dorel, S., & Jubeau, M. (2018) Mental fatigue alters the speed and the accuracy of the ball in table tennis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(23), 2751-2759. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2017.1418647
  14. Maranan, M. J., & Lopez, A. (2020). Exploring the link between athletic identity, self-compassion, communication, and mental toughness of table tennis student-athletes. International Journal of Racket Sports Science, 3(1), 1-9.
  15. Maranan, M. J., & Lopez, A. (2021). Development of the MATIKAS Mobile App to enhance table tennis athletes’ mental skills [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Santo Tomas.
  16. Miçooğullari, B. O., & Ekmekçi, R. (2017). Evaluation of a Psychological Skill Training   Program on Mental Toughness and Psychological Wellbeing for Professional Soccer Players. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 5(12), 2312-2319.
  17. Neff, R., & Carlson, E. (2016). Technology in practice: A case study. In J. G. Cremades & L. S. Tashman (Eds.), Global practices and training in applied sport, exercise, and performance psychology: A case study approach (pp. 171-180). Routledge.
  18. Nixdorf, I., Frank, R., Hautzinger, M., & Beckmann, J. (2013). Prevalence of depressive symptoms and correlating variables among German elite athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 7(1), 313-326. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.7.4.313
  19. Pattison, S. (2011). The development and implementation of a mental toughness training programme for young cricketers [Master's thesis, Rhodes University]. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145054795.pdf
  20. Pereira, A., Marins, F., Rodrigues, B., Portela, F., Santos, M. F., Machadoa, J., Abelha, A. (2015). Improving quality of medical service with mobile health software. Procedia Computer Science, 63, 292-299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.08.346
  21. Rice, S., Purcell, R., De Silva, S., Mawren, D., McGorry, P., & Parker, A. (2016). The mental health of elite athletes: A narrative systematic review. Sports Medicine, 46(1), 1333–1353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0492-2
  22. Sarfo-Frimpong, J., Oduro, G., Forson, P. K., & Bonney, J. (2017). Emerging mobile health (mHealth) in KATH ED: Assessing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats among healthcare workers. Prehospital and disaster medicine, 32, S38.
  23. Slavin, R. E. (2017). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Pearson.
  24. Stoyanov, S. R., Hides, L., Kavanagh, D. J., & Wilson, H. (2016). Development and validation of the user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS). JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2016, 4(2), e72. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.5849
  25. Tandoc-Juan, V. (2016). Mental toughness and sport motivation of scholar athletes: Bases for a psychological skills training (PST) program [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Santo Tomas.
  26. Trinidad-Aquino, K. (2008). Demographic characteristics and mental toughness of the Philippine athletes: Basis for a proposed mental toughness enhancement program [Unpublished master’s thesis].  University of Santo Tomas.
  27. Vealey, R. (2012).  Mental skills training in sport. In G. Tenenbaum & R. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of Sport Psychology (3rd ed., pp. 287–309).  John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118270011.ch13
  28. Williams, S. (2014). Repertory grids: Employability as viewed by those involved in recruitment. SAGE Publications, Ltd.
  29. Willoughby, J., Brickman, J., Niu, Z., & Liu, S. (2016). Focus groups and experiments for health message development: Creating a text message program for college women about alcohol and hook-ups contributors. SAGE Publications Ltd
  30. Woolfolk, A. (2017). Educational psychology (14th ed.). Pearson Education
  31. Yilmaz, T., Top, E., Çelenk, Ç., Akil, M., & Kara, E. (2015).  Evaluating the self-confidence levels of teams and individual athletes at the age of 14-16 according to several variables.  Ethno Med, 9(2), 203-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/09735070.2015.11905436
  32. Zagatto, A. M., Papoti, M., & Gobatto, C. A. (2008). Validity of critical frequency test for measuring table tennis aerobic endurance through specific protocol. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 7(4), 461–466. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3761906/

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