Mental health protective factors among flourishing Canadian women university student-athletes. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pankow, Kurtis; McHugh, Tara-Leigh F.; Mosewich, Amber D.; Holt, Nicholas L.
• Is Part Of: Psychology of sport and exercise. Volume 52(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: Qualitative research -- Dual career -- Interpretative phenomenological analysis -- Longitudinal -- Well-being -- High performance sport; Sports -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Exercise -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Sports -- Periodicals; Exercise -- Periodicals; Societies, Medical -- Periodicals; Psychology; Sports; Exercise; Societies, Medical; Sports -- Aspect psychologique -- Périodiques; Exercice -- Aspect psychologique -- Périodiques; 613.71019
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101847
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1469-0292

Abstract

Abstract: Mental health is an important resource for student-athletes. Flourishing (Keyes, 2002) may be a useful concept for examining aspects of mental health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate mental health protective factors among flourishing Canadian university student-athletes over the course of their sport season. Initially, 36 Canadian student-athletes completed the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (Keyes, 2009) and Sport Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (Foster & Chow, 2019). Based on the results from the questionnaires, six women athletes who were identified as flourishing at global and sport levels then participated in the study. Data were generated through individual pre- and post-season semi-structured interviews, and in-season weekly written diaries. Analysis followed guidelines outlined by Smith et al. (2009) for interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results are presented over three stages of the seasons (pre-, in-, and post-season). In the pre-season, participants invested in their flourishing by making positive connections and planning their schedule. In-season, participants discussed facing challenges and tried to maintain flourishing by managing their commitments, communicating with coaches, and looking for positives . In the post-season, the participants attempted to re-invest in their flourishing by reflecting on their season and taking a break from sport . It appeared that the athletes were able to identify potential challenges to their flourishing in sport and use global resources to buffer the impact. These results reveal strategies that may help promote and protect mental health among student-athletes. Highlights: Flourishing student-athletes use a range of mental health protective factors. In the pre-season, participants used protective factors to promote flourishing. In-season, participants' attention turned from promoting to maintaining flourishing. In the post-season, participants used protective factors to re-invest in their flourishing.