The Effectiveness of a Psychological Counseling Program in Emotional Intelligence for Developing Complex Skill Performance under Competitive Pressure among Handball Players

Abstract

The present research aims to reveal the effectiveness of a psychological counseling program based on developing emotional intelligence in regulating complex skill performance and improving its accuracy under competitive pressure among handball players. Emotional intelligence represents an optimal state of performance characterized by full engagement, high attentional focus, a sense of control, and fluidity in motor execution. The researcher adopted the experimental approach using a pre-test/post-test equivalent groups design (experimental and control), as it perfectly aligns with the nature of the research problem in revealing the effectiveness of the psychological counseling intervention. The research sample consisted of (20) handball players, who were randomly assigned into two equal groups. The emotional intelligence scale and the complex skill performance test under competitive pressure were used as the main measurement tools, where performance situations were designed to simulate actual competition conditions in terms of time constraints and stressful stimuli. The program was implemented over a period of (6) weeks, with (2) sessions per week. The results revealed statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test in favor of the experimental group regarding the level of emotional intelligence and the accuracy of skill performance under competitive pressure; furthermore, it outperformed the control group in the post-test, indicating the effectiveness of the psychological counseling program in improving the regulation of skill performance and maintaining its accuracy in stressful situations. These findings support the theoretical proposition that emotional intelligence acts as a psychological regulatory mechanism contributing to performance stability and mitigating the impact of competitive pressures