A crossover study exploring the effects of Relationship-Orientated Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (ROPDMS) on group functioning among U20 national development volleyball squads

In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a single Relationship-Orientated Personal-Disclosure Mutual-Sharing (ROPDMS) session on markers of group functioning among volleyball athletes and staff from the U20 male (n = 16) and female (n = 15) national development squads of the same nation. During each session, participants shared relationship-orientated information with their respective squad. Social identity dimensions (ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, and ingroup affect), social identity content (national identity, and friendship identity content), and psychological safety were quantitatively measured across four development training days and separated into four independent time points (i.e., baseline, ROPDMS or on-court training, and a two-week follow-up). Qualitative social validation data were collected after ROPDMS. The project spanned seven weeks, with each development day occurring every two-three weeks. Using a non-randomised crossover design, ROPDMS exposure alternated with on-court training on the second and third development training day to ensure squad parity. Compared to the opposing squad’s on-court training perceptions, quantitative data revealed significant increases in ingroup ties, cognitive centrality, and national identity content for the male squad after ROPDMS while psychological safety was significantly higher for both squads after ROPDMS. Qualitative data indicated that the athletes and staff believed ROPDMS benefited the functioning of each squad. Consequently, sharing personal experiences through ROPDMS can enhance perceptions of psychological safety and social identity facets among young athletes and staff within a national development pathway.