Effects of Personalized Mental Imagery Training on Anger Expression and Resilience in Adolescent Rugby Players: A Controlled Study

Background: Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by heightened emotional reactivity and increased exposure to stress, particularly in high-contact sports such as rugby. Maladaptive anger expression can negatively affect young athletes’ psychological well-being, behavior, and performance. Mental imagery may support emotional regulation by enabling athletes to rehearse adaptive cognitive and emotional responses. This study examined the effectiveness of a personalized mental imagery training program on imagery ability, resilience, and anger expression in adolescent rugby players and investigated whether resilience mediated the relationship between mental imagery and anger expression. Methods: A total of 120 male adolescent rugby players (mean age = 16.9 ± 2.01 years) were assigned to an experimental group (n = 62) or a time-matched educational control group (n = 58). Results: Mixed-design analyses of variance revealed significant Group × Time interactions for imagery ability, resilience, and anger expression, with medium-to-large effect sizes. Compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated greater improvements in imagery vividness and resilience, along with a significant reduction in maladaptive anger expression. Mediation analyses showed that resilience significantly mediated the relationship between mental imagery and anger expression, with full mediation for static imagery and partial mediation for dynamic imagery. Conclusions: Personalized mental imagery training effectively enhances emotional regulation in adolescent rugby players, primarily by strengthening resilience. Imagery-based interventions represent a feasible and effective approach to promoting adaptive emotional regulation and psychological well-being in high-contact youth sports.