Paul Wylleman

Paul Wylleman
Vrije Universiteit Brussel | VUB · Sport Psychology and Mental Support

Doctor of Psychology

About

172
Publications
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Publications

Publications (172)
Article
A dual career (DC) entails the combination of elite sport with a second career in education or work. Engaging in a DC has considerable short and long-term benefits for elite athletes. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that DC engagement can also be highly demanding and pose a challenge for athletes’ mental health. As such, dual career development env...
Article
Full-text available
There is growing recognition of the demands and health challenges experienced by esports athletes. The purpose of this perspective paper is to draw specific attention to the mental health of competitive gamers and spur on both future research and applied initiatives focussing on this important but under-addressed topic. We will briefly discuss the...
Article
Elite sport can be challenging for both athletes and those working closely with them. While some research has focused on the demands experienced by support staff members (SSMs), little attention has been paid to the resources they use to face these demands. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigates the job resources of SSMs in elite spo...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Mental health problems are a main contributor to the global burden of disease in children and young people within urban environments. In response, the potential of both school- and sport-based mental health promotion interventions has been advocated. However, there exists limited insights into how sport-based interventions can be integ...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Mental health problems are a main contributor to the global burden of disease in children and young people within urban environments. In response, the potential of both school- and sport-based mental health promotion interventions has been advocated. However, there exists limited insights into how sport-based interventions can be integra...
Article
There has been a long-standing discourse about science-driven practice, and related, the scientist practitioner, spanning more than 40 years. The International Society of Sport Psychology is devoting considerable attention to scientist practitioners within the recently established International Society of Sport Psychology Registry (ISSP-R) and Supe...
Chapter
Full-text available
Interest in the value of sport as a vehicle for promoting positive developmental outcomes for children and young athletes has been longstanding in youth sport psychology research. However, there has been a more evident surge in research over the past 20 years that lies adjacent to more global, public health and well-being concerns over the integrit...
Article
The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic scoping review of the research focussing on student-athletes' mental health (MH). More specifically, we aimed to describe and synthesise: (a) the study and sample characteristics of the dual career (DC) and MH research literature, (b) the types of MH outcomes examined in student-athlete populati...
Preprint
Full-text available
This study describes three phases to investigate athletes' competencies (i.e., skills, attitudes, knowledge) required and used for optimizing their employability in, and across three specific career phases (i.e., active, retirement and new career phase; B-WISER, 2018). Phase 1 describes the development of an instrument, the Athlete Competency Quest...
Article
Resilience has gradually gained attention in sport psychology. However, there remains a lack of knowledge on how this psychological characteristic can be developed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pressure training intervention for resilience. In order to develop resilient qualities, the central feature of this i...
Article
In recent years, a number of international and national organizations have started to optimize their coach development programs to align with current trends and specific circumstances. In Japan, the Japan Sport Council (JSC) has acknowledged the importance of developing “intelligent” athletes with enhanced competency to self-regulate their analyses...
Article
Full-text available
There have been growing discussions across international societies since 2017 focused on athlete wellness and athlete care. The human condition of high-performance athletes requires life balance, holistic personhood, and a functional athletic career with the support of integrative resources from sport organisations. During two successive Internatio...
Article
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This paper describes two studies aimed at developing and initially validating an instrument that measures athletes’ competencies required to optimize their employability across three career phases (i.e., active, retirement and new career phase; B-WISER, 2018). Study 1 describes the development of the Athlete Competency Questionnaire for Employabili...
Article
Coaching in elite sports can be a highly volatile and stressful profession. Nevertheless, limited knowledge is available on how coach stressors impact elite-level coaches’ mental health. The present study therefore aimed to assess the self-perceived impact of coach stressors on coaches’ mental health, in terms of psychological and social well-being...
Article
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Talentontwikkeling in sport wordt doorgaans voorgesteld als een lineair traject. In de realiteit vertonen talenten vaak echter een veel grilliger ontwikkelingspatroon, gekenmerkt door de nodige tegenslagen of negatieve ervaringen. Denk maar aan verlies tijdens belangrijke competities, langdurige prestatiedips, blessures, gemiste selecties, interper...
Article
OBJECTIVES: The primary objectives of the study were to (i) establish the 12-month incidence and comorbidity of symptoms of mental health disorders (distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, alcohol misuse, disordered eating) among Dutch former elite athletes and (ii) explore the potential relationship with the stressors involuntary retireme...
Article
Full-text available
Our aim in this invited commentary is to stimulate discussion among sport psychology researchers and practitioners regarding the unique developmental challenges and possibilities that Olympic and Paralympic athletes are undergoing during their final – extended year of the Tokyo 2020 quadrenium. We begin the commentary with COVID-19 pandemic (C-19)...
Research Proposal
This new project phase was recommended by the government of the Brussels Capital Region. During the 9th phase, we will provide online workshops focusing on enhancing athletes' dual career competencies. More info here: https://spmb.research.vub.be/en/new-project-elite-sport-and-higher-education-in-the-brussels-capital-region
Technical Report
This report describes the results of the first evaluation phase (May 2020) where we investigated 37 Flemish elite student-athletes' satisfaction about different aspects of life (e.g. sport, studies, social life, mental health, physical health, well-being, rest...) and the impact of corona on these life aspects. Report submitted to the Flemish spo...
Research Proposal
Project submitted to the European Commission for the Erasmus+ Sport collaborative partnership 2020 call
Article
Research question. The last decade has seen an increase in empirical research associated with dual careers in sport, with a particular focus on understanding and developing individual characteristics which are important to ensure success in sports and education or a vocation. More recent work has, however, also identified the importance of environm...
Article
Perceptions of incompatibility of sport and motherhood still exist within both sport and family Slovene cultures. For many female athletes starting a family means an end of their athletic careers. However, some women decide to pursue their athletic life after they become mothers. While recent media interest in mother-athletes has increased signific...
Article
Full-text available
Objective This study explored the association between concussion or musculoskeletal injuries, and the onset of mental health symptoms (MHS) in male professional rugby players over a 12-month period. Methods Observational prospective cohort study with three measurements over a follow-up period of 12 months. At baseline, 573 participants provided in...
Article
Although athletes’ transition from secondary to higher education (HE) has been subject of research before, no empirical data are available on the reasons leading to the decision to initiate the combination of elite sport and HE. Therefore, the study’s main objective was to gain insight in the factors taken into consideration by athletes when decidi...
Presentation
Full-text available
One of the main challenges athletes face is combining elite sport with other pursuits such as education and/or work. While research on the dual career ‘education and sport’ pathway has intensified during the past decade (Stambulova & Wylleman, 2018), research on the dual career ‘work and sport’ and transition into a new professional career is lacki...
Presentation
Full-text available
One of the main challenges athletes face is combining elite sport with other pursuits such as education and/or work. While research on the dual career ‘education and sport’ pathway has intensified during the past decade (Stambulova & Wylleman, 2018), research on the dual career ‘work and sport’ and transition into a new professional career is lacki...
Article
Full-text available
The paper presents the Swedish data on university student-athletes’ dual career (DC) competences and coping, from the European project “Gold in Education and Elite Sport” (GEES). A cross-sectional quantitative design was implemented with the objectives to explore: (a) the student-athletes’ perceived need to develop DC competences in order to succes...
Article
While research on applied sport psychology (ASP) has generally focused on the development and professional practice of its practitioners, less attention has been paid to the role of organizations. The aim of this article consisted of reflecting on the role of organizations on the development of ASP practitioners and the quality of their services. U...
Article
Full-text available
In elite sports, a case is increasingly made for the structural inclusion of what we label as planned disruptions. These are structured and deliberate training activities whereby athletes are exposed to increased and/or changing demands under controlled circumstances. Despite the growing body of evidence in support of planned disruptions (Sarkar &...
Article
While dual career support providers (DCSPs) are important (European Commission, 2012 European Commission. (2012). EU guidelines on dual Careers of athletes: Recommended policy Actions in support of dual Careers in high-performance sport. Brussels: Author. [Google Scholar]), little is known on their competencies required to support student-athletes...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This toolbox was designed to assist career practitioners in their work with active and former elite athletes. The ten tools in this toolbox aim at optimizing athletes’ transition from elite sport to the job market by increasing athletes’ awareness about their competencies and enhancing the matching process with employers. The tools in this toolbox...
Article
The purpose of the present study is to identify the within-career challenges top-level gymnasts experience during the initiation, development and mastery stage of athletic development in training sessions, competition, and in daily life. In-depth interviews are used to explore the perceived challenges of 16 talented and elite gymnasts (M = 16.5 yea...
Article
Full-text available
Although resilience in sports has become a growing topic of research, little is known about how this capacity should be fostered or developed. Furthermore, as strategies to develop resilience are generally formulated in function of sport psychologists, less attention has been paid to coaches, who might play an important role in developing and susta...
Article
Objectives (a) To provide a state-of-the-art critical review of European dual career (DC) research (2015–2018, English language), (b) to position the current DC (psychological) research within the athlete career sport psychology discourse and within the European DC discourse, and (c) to identify research gaps and future challenges. These objectives...
Article
Athletes’ sufficient competencies (i.e. knowledge, skills, attitudes, and experiences; Hunter, 2004) have been suggested to facilitate coping with their demanding dual “study and elite sport” career (DC) pathway. However, no valid and reliable instrument is available to date examining athletes’ importance awarded to or possession of these DC compet...
Article
There is still only limited research available on whether the psychological characteristics and skills which facilitate successful progress throughout various stages of talent development, are the same as those contributing to elite performance. The purpose of the current study is therefore to identify the psychological characteristics and skills r...
Presentation
Full-text available
Dual career = a successful combination of education, training or work with sport that enable an individual to reach his or her full potential in life (Wylleman et al., 1999)
Poster
Full-text available
Mit dem Ziel die Duale Karriere von aktiven (A) und ehemaligen (BV, B) Spitzenssportler_innen (Abb.1) zu optimieren, startete das europäische Projekt "Be a Winner In Elite Sports and Employment before and after Athletic Retirement" (B-WISER) im Januar 2017. Der erste von fünf Projektabschnitten (WP1) beschäftigt sich mit athletenspezifischen Förder...
Article
Full-text available
The primary aims were to determine the 12-month incidence (and comorbidity) of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD) among male professional rugby players and to explore their association with potential stressors. A secondary aim was to explore the view of male professional rugby players about the consequences of symptoms of CMD and related med...
Article
Although dual career (DC) support is important, there is a lack of research on the competencies professional dual career support providers (DCSPs) themselves require to manage specific job challenges. Therefore, current research, that was part of the Gold in Education and Elite Sport (GEES) project, aims at: (1) examining how well DCSPs managed spe...
Article
Research question: In order to gain a better understanding of the key decision factors that lead some athletes to use doping and others to stay clean, this study used the Push Pull Anti-push Anti-pull framework and the Holistic Athletic Career model as theoretical frameworks in order to capture the complex nature of this decision process. Research...
Article
The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of symptoms of common mental disorders among professional rugby players across countries. A cross-sectional analysis of the baseline questionnaires from an ongoing prospective cohort study was conducted. Nine national players’ associations and three rugby unions distributed questionnaires based o...
Article
Objective: Scientific knowledge about symptoms of common mental disorders in elite sports is scarce. Consequently, the objectives of the study were to (i) establish the 12-month incidence of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD; distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, adverse alcohol use, eating disorders) among Dutch elite athletes an...
Presentation
Although the need for quality and competent dual career support is clear and emphasized in the EU Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (2012), previous research has mainly focused on the structural and organizational aspects of dual career support. Therefore, the GEES project aimed at identifying the competences that are important for dual career...
Presentation
The aim of this study was to explore student-athletes’ perceptions of the importance, possession and need to develop different dual career (DC) competences. 3247 15-to-25-year-old student-athletes completed the GEES survey (mean age 18.6 ± 2.5 yrs; 46% female; 76% pupils and 24% students) using a 5-point scale with a predefined list of 38 DC compet...
Presentation
GOLD IN EDUCATION AND ELITE SPORT : WHICH COMPETENCES DO STUDENT-ATHLETES REQUIRE IN COPING WITH CHALLENGING DUAL CAREER SCENARIOS? [1213]DE BRANDT, K.1, WYLLEMAN, P.1, DEFRUYT,S.1, TAELMAN, K.21: VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL, 2: SPORTVLAANDEREN - BELGIUMIntroductionRecently,an increasing body of literature has researched the competences talented and...
Article
Full-text available
In order to assess athletes’ competencies required for a successful combination of elite sport and education, the perceptions of 107 Flemish elite student-athletes of the importance, possession, and need to develop four dual career competencies (DC management, DCM; Career Planning, CPL; Emotional Awareness, EMA; Social Intelligence and Adaptability...
Book
Full-text available
https://kics.sport.vlaanderen/topsport/Documents/170301_GEES_Handbook_for_dual_career_support_providers.pdf
Conference Paper
Background In the past years, symptoms of common mental disorders have been exponentially under study among professional i.e. elite athletes. Two recent cross-sectional studies among Australian and French elite Olympic athletes have showed a prevalence of symptoms of common mental disorders in the range of 17 to 45%. Objective To determine the pre...
Chapter
As the topic of career transitions established itself into a well-established domain of sport psychology, the focus of research evolved from psychological factors influencing athletic retirement to the current developmental and holistic perspective on transitions faced by talented and elite athletes. This chapter opens with a brief overview of spor...
Technical Report
Beloftevolle atleten en topsporters die hun sport met hoger onderwijs combineren ervaren uitdagingen op het sportieve, academische, sociale, psychologische en het financiële domein (De Brandt, Wylleman & Van Rossem, 2015). Om deze ‘topsportstudenten’ maximaal te steunen en te begeleiden doorheen de combinatie studie en topsport heeft de Vrije Unive...
Article
The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and comorbidity of symptoms of common mental disorders (distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, eating disorders, adverse alcohol use) among current and former Dutch elite athletes, and to explore the inference between potential risk indicators (severe injury, surgery, life events, sport...
Presentation
Introduction. Elite athletes face challenges in different domains (i.e. athletic, psychological, social, academic and financial) during their dual ‘elite sport and study’ career (DC)°. To cope with these challenges, athletes require a set of competences in order to optimize their preparation for, and development throughout their DC°°.
Book
Sport and Exercise Psychology Research: From Theory to Practice provides a comprehensive summary of new research in sport and exercise psychology from worldwide researchers. Encompassing theory, research, and applications, the book is split into several themed sections. Section 1 discusses basic antecedents to performance including fitness, practic...
Article
Applied sport psychology (ASP) service delivery rests on adequate training in ASP. To enhance future quality of ASP, attention should be drawn to education in the field. We examined programmes and courses that lead to ASP expertise in Europe and explored the possibility and objectives of a network of educators in ASP. Data were collected through a...