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A grounded theory of psychological resilience in Olympic champions
David Fletcher
*
, Mustafa Sarkar
School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
article info
Article history:
Available online 19 April 2012
Keywords:
Challenge appraisal
Elite sport
Excellence
Meta-cognition
Optimal performance
Stress process
abstract
Objective: Although it is well-established that the ability to manage stress is a prerequisite of sporting
excellence, the construct of psychological resilience has yet to be systematically examined in athletic
performers. The study reported here sought to explore and explain the relationship between psycho-
logical resilience and optimal sport performance.
Design and method: Twelve Olympic champions (8 men and 4 women) from a range of sports were
interviewed regarding their experiences of withstanding pressure during their sporting careers. A
grounded theory approach was employed throughout the data collection and analysis, and interview
transcripts were analyzed using open, axial and selective coding. Methodological rigor was established
by incorporating various verication strategies into the research process, and the resultant grounded
theory was also judged using the quality criteria of t, work, relevance, and modiability.
Results and conclusions: Results indicate that numerous psychological factors (relating to a positive
personality, motivation, condence, focus, and perceived social support) protect the worlds best athletes
from the potential negative effect of stressors by inuencing their challenge appraisal and meta-
cognitions. These processes promote facilitative responses that precede optimal sport performance.
The emergent theory provides sport psychologists, coaches and national sport organizations with an
understanding of the role of resilience in athleteslives and the attainment of optimal sport performance.
Ó2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Winning an Olympic gold medal is universally recognized as the
pinnacle of sporting achievement and arguably the most
demanding challenge an athlete can pursue. This is, in part, due to
the unique scale of the Olympic Games which occurs only once
every four years. It is the magnitude and infrequency of the event,
combined with the globalization of the sport industry, which
ensures worldwide fascination and interest in the athletesperfor-
mances. However, this intense scrutiny brings with it enormous
pressure and only those who can manage the stress that accom-
panies sport at this level will be successful. In view of these obser-
vations, sport psychology researchers have investigated and
identied the numerous demands eor stressors eencountered by
Olympic athletes (see, e.g., Fletcher & Hanton, 2003; Gould, Jackson,
& Finch, 1993; Scanlan, Stein, & Ravizza, 1991), including those
associated with competitive performance (e.g., preparation, expec-
tations, and opponents), the sport organization within which the
athletes operate (e.g., nances, selection, and ofcials), and personal
nonsportinglife events (e.g., family responsibilities, moving
house, and serious illness). Why is it that some sport performers are
able to withstand eor even thrive on esuch pressure in the
Olympic environment and attain peak performances, whereas
others succumb to these demands and under-perform? It is the
study of psychological resilience that aims to address this question.
Over the past quarter of a century, numerous denitions of
resilience have been proposed in the psychology research literature
based on alternative conceptualizations of resilience as a process or
a trait (Fletcher & Sarkar, in press; Jacelon, 1997). To illustrate,
psychological resilience has been dened as a dynamic process
encompassing positive adaptation within the context of signicant
adversity(Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000, p. 543) and the
positive role of individual differences in peoples response to stress
and adversity(Rutter, 1987, p. 316). The process conceptualization
of resilience recognizes that it is a capacity that develops over time
in the context of personeenvironment interactions (Egeland,
Carlson, & Stroufe, 1993). When resilience is conceived as a trait, it
has been suggested that it represents a constellation of character-
istics that enable individuals to adapt to the circumstances they
encounter (Connor & Davidson, 2003). In relation to the trait
conceptualization, these characteristics or individual differences,
which are more commonly referred to as protective factors in the
resilience literature, have been examined extensively by scholars
seeking to identify the qualities of resilient individuals (see, for
a review, Luthar, 2006; Masten & Reed, 2002; Rutter, 2000). In terms
of the extant research in this area, studies have been conducted
with high-risk children (see, for a review, Condly, 2006) and, more
*Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 15 0922 3271; fax: þ44 15 0922 6301.
E-mail address: D.Fletcher@lboro.ac.uk (D. Fletcher).
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport
1469-0292/$ esee front matter Ó2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.04.007
Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678
recently, with adults, families and communities that have been
exposed to potentially stressful circumstances, such as the death of
a close family member (Mancini & Bonanno, 2009), terrorism
(Bonanno, Galea, Bucciarelli, & Vlahov, 2007), serious illness (Denz-
Penhey & Murdoch, 2008), and natural disaster (Goodman & West-
Olatunji, 2008). Thus, resilience research has predominantly
focused on individuals who are required elargely through no
choice of their own eto react to potentially traumatic events in
their lives. Accordingly, theories of resilience have typically been
based on clinical populations (e.g., Denz-Penhey & Murdoch, 2008;
Mancini & Bonanno, 2009). However, due to the contextual speci-
city of resilience (Luthar et al., 2000), the ndings of this work are
not easily applicable to high achievers who actively seek to engage
with challenging situations that present opportunities for them to
raise their performance level, as opposed to clinical populations
who have essentially been forcedto exhibit resilience qualities in
order to maintain functioning.
A burgeoning body of evidence points to the importance of
managing stress in attaining the highest levels of sport perfor-
mance (Gould & Maynard, 2009; Hardy, Jones, & Gould,1996; Krane
& Williams, 2006). For example, in a study examining the psycho-
logical characteristics of Olympic gold medalists, Gould,
Dieffenbach, and Moffett (2002) identied two overall categories
linked to resilience: the overall handling of pressure and adversity
(i.e., the capacity to deal with routine stressors of training and
competition), and the psychological characteristics to overcome
(i.e., the capacity to deal with potentially more extreme stressors,
such as long-term illness). More specically, they found that
champions possessed certain psychological qualities, such as
condence, the ability to focus, a hard-work ethic, and optimism,
which enabled them to manage a variety of different stressors,
ranging from ongoing daily demands to major life events.
Although it is well-established that the ability to manage stressis
a prerequisite of sporting excellence, it is only in recent years that
there has been an attempt to specically investigate the construct of
psychological resilience in athletic performers (see Galli & Vealey,
2008; Gucciardi, Jackson, Coulter, & Mallett, 2011; Martin-Kruum,
Sarazzin, Peterson, & Framose, 2003; Mummery, Schoeld, &
Perry, 2004; Schinke, Peterson, & Couture, 2004). In one of the few
sport-related resilience studies, Galli and Vealey (2008) interviewed
college and professional athletesabout their perceptions and
experiences of resilience, using Richardson (2002) and colleagues
(1990) resiliency model as a guiding theoretical framework. The
model postulates that when individuals have insufcient resilient
qualities to buffer them against stressors and adversities, they
reintegratein one of four ways: dysfunctionally, maladaptively,
homeostatically, or resiliently. Galli and Vealey found that adversity
(e.g., injury, performance slump, and the transition to college),
sociocultural inuences (e.g., social support and cultural factors),
and personal resources (e.g., determination, competitiveness, and
a love of sport) were factors at the center of the resilience process
(agitation), which consequently led to positive outcomes (e.g.,
learning, perspective, and gained motivation to help others).
Although there has been some support for Richardsons model in
relation to health promotion (e.g., Walker,1996), it is not without its
limitations including the linear stage framework evident within its
structure, the absence of meta-cognitive and -emotive processes,
and its bias toward coping-orientated processes (cf. Fletcher &
Sarkar, in press). These drawbacks are of particular concern since
the resiliency model (Richardson et al., 1990) served to drive and
direct .[our] study(Galli & Vealey, 2008, p. 321).
In recognizing the limitations of such approaches to conducting
qualitative research, researchers within sport psychology have
recently begun to use grounded theory to investigate the factors
associated with sporting success (see Holt & Dunn, 2004a) and
athletic expertise (see Weissensteiner, Abernethy, & Farrow, 2009).
In both studies, resilience emerged as an important theme for the
development of high levels of achievement in soccer and cricket
respectively. Interestingly, in their discussion of the psychosocial
competencies associated with soccer success, Holt and Dunn
(2004a) observed that resilience has yet to be extensively investi-
gated in an athletic context, despite the construct being related to
high levels of sporting achievement. The need to explore the
precursors of athletic excellence in greater detail was highlighted
by Gould and Maynard (2009) who recently urged that more
studies .should examine .the factors shown to be associated
with successful Olympic performance in more depth(p. 1396). The
purpose of this study was, therefore, to explore and explain the
relationship between psychological resilience and optimal sport
performance. In order to meet this objective, a grounded theory
approach was employed, whereby the research question was used
to point to the area of inquiry, and the emergent data was used to
develop an explanatory theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss &
Corbin, 1998). This approach allows for elucidation of the
construct of resilience free from the constraints of a preconceived
model.
Method
Methodological congruence
Based on the work of Morse (1999), Holt and Tamminen (2010b)
recently suggested that qualitative studies should display meth-
odological congruence(p. 419); that is, consistency should be
evident throughout a scholars research question, philosophical
orientation, and theoretical perspective (cf. Mayan, 2009). When
a research question ventures into an area where a satisfactory, pre-
existing theory has not been developed to explain certain
phenomena within specic contextual conditions, a particularly
insightful approach is grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).
This approach is well-suited to this study since the relationship
between psychological resilience and optimal sport performance
has yet to be systematically examined. It has been suggested that
the specic type of grounded theory utilized by scholars should
match with their philosophical perspective to ensure that the core
basis of their research is methodologically coherent (Holt &
Tamminen, 2010b). With this in mind, Strauss and Corbins
variant of grounded theory was employed in this study since its
associated principles and procedures are consistent with the
researcherspredominately post-positivist beliefs (cf. Weed, 2009).
Participants
Participants were initially recruited for this study using purpo-
sive sampling; that is, the experiences of the most appropriate
persons for the research question being addressed were sought. A
sample of Olympic gold medalists was selected since they have
been shown to possess certain psychological characteristics that
enable them to withstand stressors and that set them apart from
less successful athletes (Gould et al., 2002; Gould & Maynard, 2009;
Hardy et al., 1996; Krane & Williams, 2006). As the theory began to
emerge, participants were selected using theoretical sampling to
ensure that the data was driven by the evolving theoretical
concepts and to provide an opportunity for identifying general
patterns and variations in the data (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss
& Corbin, 1998). To illustrate, in the initial stages of data collection
and analysis, older male champions predominantly competing in
individual sports tended to be recruited. However, as data collec-
tion and analysis progressed, female Olympic gold medalists and
younger champions from team sports were increasingly recruited,
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678670
thus allowing the researchers to elucidate similarities and differ-
ences in the emerging categories.
The nal sample consisted of 12 Olympic champions (8 men and
4 women) who won their medals spanning four different decades:
one in the 1960s, one in the 1970s, ve in the 1980s and ve in the
2000s. The participants ranged in age from 33 to 70 years old
(M¼47.50, SD ¼10.44), had collectively won 13 Olympic gold
medals, and had an average of 7 years of senior international
experience. An equal number of gold medalists were theoretically
selected from individual and team sports with the sample repre-
senting a wide range of sports: gure skating, pentathlon, hockey,
athletics, rowing, cycling, modern pentathlon, curling, and sailing.
In addition, the participants represented four nations and cultures:
seven were from England, two were from Scotland, two were from
Ireland, and one was from New Zealand. Athletes with different
characteristics relating to their gender, age, experience, sport, and
culture were sampled to capture and represent a range of
resilience-related experiences.
Data collection and analysis
Following institutional ethics approval, potential participants
were contacted by email. This correspondence informed them of
the purpose of the study, what it entailed for participants, and
invited them to participate in an interview. Those who expressed
an interest in sharing their sport journeys were emailed to arrange
a mutually convenient time and location to meet. All of the
participants provided informed consent prior to the start of data
collection. Life story interviews (Atkinson, 1998, 2002) were con-
ducted to explore the participantsexperiences of withstanding
pressure during their lives. This type of interview is dened as the
essence of what has happened to a person [and] it can cover the
time from birth to the present or before and beyond(Atkinson,
1998, p. 8). In the present study, the life stories specically
focused on the participantssporting career.
In order to fully understand the participantsstories and facili-
tate the interview process, an interview guide was developed. This
guide did not represent a rigid document, but rather a exible
evolutionary set of questions (cf. Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss &
Corbin, 1998). All of the interviews involved asking a series of open-
ended questions and adopted a conversational tone. The interview
included questions such as could you describe me to an event that
was important on your journey to becoming an Olympic cham-
pion?,looking back, what did you think at the time?, and what
personal characteristics do you think helped you to withstand the
demands associated with that event? Questions were developed
from the emerging data and the ongoing analysis inuenced the
subsequent questions that were asked, with the direction of later
interviews becoming driven by the emerging theory (Corbin &
Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Specically, later questions
delved into participantsperception of timing and luck, the proac-
tive aspects of their personality, and the precise nature of social
support, as these concepts inuenced what was to emerge as the
core category of challenge appraisal and meta-cognitions. For
example, participants were asked in what way was being in the
right place at the right timeimportant to you?,how did you seek
out opportunities in the environment?and who provided you
with support during demanding periods in your sporting career?
In order to allow potential theoretical links and relationships to
develop, specic questions were constructed such as how did your
thoughts affect the way you responded to the situation?and how
do you think your responses affected your performance?The
interviews, which ranged in duration from 66 to 98 minutes, were
digitally recorded in their entirety and were transcribed verbatim,
yielding 264 pages of single spaced text.
Strauss and Corbin (1998) described the process of data collec-
tion and analysis in grounded theory as intertwined and recursive.
Thus, the analysis of the data from one interview often informed
the direction of the next. While it was impossible to transcribe and
code each interview before commencing the next interview, the
interaction of data collection and analysis was planned for, espe-
cially during busy interviewing periods, by listening to the audio-
les of participants and by making notes about important
concepts that emerged (Holt & Tamminen, 2010b). In later quieter
periods, the formal analysistook place. Specically, each transcript
was read one or more times to develop a sense of the overall
context of the data. The focus then shifted to open coding, which
involved identifying concepts within the text and developing
categories that represented the meaning of these segments in
terms of their properties and dimensions (Corbin & Strauss, 2008;
Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The categories created in open coding
were rened to form more precise explanations of the
resilienceeperformance relationship in the process of axial coding
(Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Throughout these
processes, incidents and anecdotes were compared for similarities,
variations and differences within and across interviews. Moreover,
incidents were compared to incidents, incidents to developing
concepts, concepts to concepts, and once the analysis developed
beyond these stages, relationships were compared to relationships.
This approach is known as the constant comparative method and is
one of the core elements of grounded theory (Holt & Tamminen,
2010a; Weed, 2009). Throughout data collection and analysis,
memos were written summarizing theoretical understandings,
interpretations and connections as they became evident
throughout the research process (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss &
Corbin, 1998). Thus, the memos served as both an analytical tool
and as a record of ideas, insights and questions as the theory
evolved. These notes guided selective coding, whereby categories
were integrated and arranged to form a larger theoretical frame-
work that helped to explain the relationships between the cate-
gories (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). In
accordance with the grounded theory criterion of theoretical
saturation (Corbin & Strauss, 2008; Holt & Tamminen, 2010a;
Strauss & Corbin, 1998; Weed, 2009), data collection and analysis
were discontinued when the categories upon which the theory was
built were no longer producing new insights (cf. Morse, 1995). To
evaluate the credibility of the coding we reviewed and discussed all
the codes, categories and the resultant model. Although there were
some disagreements about particular categorizations, agreement
was reached through a process of critical and constructive debate.
In order to establish methodological rigor, we sought to main-
tain objectivity and recognize bias throughout the research process.
This was realized by periodically checking assumptions with
incoming data and by following the core research procedures (e.g.,
making comparisons) associated with grounded theory (Weed,
2009). Furthermore, a possible version of the grounded theory
was outlined during the planning stages to help the researchers
think theoretically, rather than descriptively, from the start of the
study (Holt & Tamminen, 2010b). In addition to incorporating these
verication strategies into the research process (cf. Morse, Barrett,
Mayan, Olson, & Spiers, 2002), the resultant grounded theory was
judged through a post hoc evaluation of research outcome using
the quality criteria .intended for grounded theory, namely t,
work, relevance and modiability(Weed, 2009, p. 509). In accor-
dance with the Straussian realist ontology, the concepts and theory
generated were perceived to closely tthe multifaceted
phenomenon of psychological resilience, to worksince they offer
an analytical explanation of the relationship between resilience
and optimal sport performance, to be relevantto aspiring athletes
aiming to compete at Olympic level, and to be amenable to
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678 671
modicationto accommodate new insights gleaned through
future research.
Results and discussion
The results derived from the data collection and analysis
represent the collated interview responses from all 12 Olympic
champions pertaining to the relationship between psychological
resilience and optimal sport performance. The ndings indicate
that numerous psychological factors (relating to a positive
personality, motivation, condence, focus, and perceived social
support) protect the worlds best athletes from the potential
negative effect of stressors by inuencing their challenge appraisal
and meta-cognitions. These processes promote facilitative
responses that precede optimal sport performance. Fig. 1 depicts
a schematic representation of these emergent concepts and illus-
trates their interrelationships in the form of a grounded theory
model.
Psychological resilience
All of the participants described prolonged periods of time in
their sporting careers during which they were required to with-
stand the pressures they encountered. This supports the conception
of resilience as a dynamic process encompassing positive adap-
tation within the context of signicant adversity(Luthar et al.,
2000, p. 543). In the grounded theory model, psychological resil-
ience is therefore represented as an overarching concept that
encapsulates stressors, cognitive appraisal and meta-cognitions,
psychological factors (positive personality, motivation, con-
dence, focus, perceived social support), and facilitative responses.
Drawing directly from the experiences of the participants, these
concepts are described and discussed forthwith to enable the
reader to gain a deeper insight into the complexity of the
resilienceeperformance relationship.
Stressors
Olympic champions encountered a wide range of stressors in
their sporting career which varied considerably in their frequency,
intensity and duration, and were classied under three main
categories: competitive (e.g., loss of form), organizational (e.g.,
sport politics), and personal (e.g., family). Interestingly, and
importantly in the context of resilience in Olympic sport, the nature
of the organizational demands experienced by the worlds best
athletes appear to be inuenced by the specic era in which they
were competing. To illustrate, the political environment seemed to
be a more pertinent stressor for those athletes who won their gold
medal prior to 1990, whereas concerns about publically-sourced
funding appear to have a greater relevance for champions since
this time. Thus, these ndings support the assertion that psycho-
logical resilience should be conceived in relation to the specic
context in which the construct manifests (cf. Luthar et al., 2000);
that is, it is important to identify and understand the distinct
stressors that performers encounter and the particular period of
time when they are competing. Furthermore, the ndings also
demonstrate that resilience is required in response to a wide
variety of different stressors, ranging from ongoing daily demands
(e.g., balancing work and training) to major life events (e.g., the
death of a close family member).
Although the Olympic champions encountered various
demands, a number of them mentioned how stressors seemed to
appear in the right place at the right time,as the following quote
illustrates:
I dont know if there is going to be a theme where timing and
luck have been in the right place, but Im a great believer in it .I
wasnt selected for the original trip .and on the Thursday night
before they [the team] were leaving, I was called up because an
individuals wife had gone into labor .[and I was told] be at
[the airport] the next day: were playing [country] on the
Saturday.
It is important to emphasize that exposure to stressors was an
essential feature of the stresseresilienceeperformance relation-
ship in Olympic champions. Indeed, most of the participants argued
that if they had not experienced certain types of stressors at specic
times, including highly demanding adversities such as parental
divorce, serious illness, and career-threatening injuries, theywould
not have won their gold medals.
Fig. 1. A grounded theory of psychological resilience and optimal sport performance.
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678672
Challenge appraisal and meta-cognitions
The core component of this grounded theory was based on the
positive evaluation and meta-cognition of stressors. Regarding
challenge appraisal, the worlds best athletes tended to perceive
stressors as opportunities for growth, development and mastery,
particularly at the peak of their sporting careers. The following
quote demonstrates how one performer appraised training during
unsociable hours in a challenging manner and how this conse-
quently resulted in a positive behavioral response:
I remember one of my coaches saying to me what was I doing
over Christmas and I said Oh, Ill be training twice on Christmas
Day .I know [opponents name] wont be training on
Christmas Day twice and that will give me the edge.It was
more the mental side of things because I knew that Id be doing
something that he wasnt doing.
Challenge appraisal occurs when an event or situation is consid-
ered to be relevant to ones goals and when an individual evaluates
the demands he or she is confronted with as within his or her
available resources (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). In this study, Olympic
champions believedthat stressors provided themwith opportunities
to develop a psychological and competitive edgeover their peers
and opposition. To illustrate, not being selected for a major interna-
tional competition was frequently cited as ultimately a source of
increased effort, and competition losses were viewed as learning
opportunitiesfor subsequent performances. These ndings highlight
the importance of eliteathletesappraisals (see, e.g.,Dugdale, Eklund,
& Gordon, 2002; Holt & Dunn,20 04b)and suggest that the process of
challenge appraisal is a pivotal factor in explaining the relationship
between psychological resilience and optimal sport performance.
In addition to appraising stressors as challenging, Olympic gold
medalists withstood the demands they encountered by evaluating
their own thoughts (as opposed to the environment) ea process
that is referred to in the literature as meta-cognition. For example,
one champion reected on his thoughts before his Olympic nal:
Ive never ever been more nervous than before the .nal. And
one of the things I used [was] visualization .Isaw.one of the
.co-favorites take a start and he appeared to y round the rst
bend. And so my heart hit my throat. Then I thought, oh my God,
Ive got to run faster than that?And I recognized how unhelpful
that negative thought was so .I just thought get a gripand I
thought when have you felt really powerful and owing?
The term meta-cognition was originally coined by Flavell (1979)
who described it as an individuals knowledge of, and control over,
his or her cognitions. In the present study, this concept is conceived
in three slightly different ways depending on the stage of the gold
medalistssporting journeys: rstly, Olympic champions were self-
aware of their goals when they were confronted with specic
situations (i.e., meta-cognitive knowledge) especially in the initial
phase of their lives. Secondly, as the previous quote illustrated, the
worlds best athletes used specic psychological strategies (i.e.,
goal-setting, imagery, self-talk, relaxation and activation) to control
their cognitions and images (i.e., meta-cognitive skills) during the
pinnacle of their careers. Thirdly, toward the latter stages of their
sporting journeys, they accepted that their experience had the
potential to have a facilitative or debilitative inuence on their
sport performance (i.e., meta-cognitive experience).
Psychological factors
According to the Olympic champions, an integral aspect of the
stresseresilienceeperformance relationship was their ability to
utilize and optimize a constellation of characteristics to withstand
the stressors they encountered. This supports the trait conception
of resilience and Rutters (1987) view that psychological resilience
is the positive role of individual differences in peoples response to
stress and adversity(p. 316). In the grounded theory model, ve
main families of psychological factors (i.e., positive personality,
motivation, condence, focus, perceived social support) are repre-
sented together with their inuence on challenge appraisal and
meta-cognitions.
Positive personality
Olympic gold medalists possessed numerous positive person-
ality characteristics, such as openness to new experiences, consci-
entiousness, innovative, extraverted, emotionally stable, optimistic,
and proactive, which inuence the mechanisms of challenge
appraisal and meta-cognition. The following quote illustrates how
one champion evaluated missing out on selection for a major
international competition in a positive manner, due to his opti-
mistic and proactive nature:
There were four of us challenging for these nal two places .
and I got told I was on the reserve list. And at the time it was
devastating but its one of those things; if you dont take a ticket
in the rafe, youre never going to win a prize. So you have to
take the ticket .thats part of life and it just makes you think
well, what can I do differently to make sure I do get success?
Personality traits have been dened as the relatively enduring
patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that reect the
tendency to respond in certain ways under certain circumstances
(Roberts, 2009, p. 140). In the present study, gold medalists
appeared to be proactive in their sporting careers; that is, they had
the ability to identify opportunities in the environment and act on
them to bring about meaningful change (Bateman & Crant, 1993).
To the best of our knowledge, there is only one study (viz. Baker,
Côté, & Deakin, 2005) in the sport psychology literature to have
recognized this personality characteristic in athletes. This work
found that expert triathletes were more proactive in their approach
with a greater emphasis on thoughts related to their performance,
whereas non-experts reported more passive thoughts unrelated to
performance.
Motivation
Olympic champions had multiple motives for competing at the
highest level. In the initial stages of their sporting lives, reasons
included passion for the sport, achieving incremental approach
goals, and social recognition. As their careers progressed, motives
included being the best that you can be, demonstrating compe-
tence, and proving their worth to others. Particularly important in
the context of psychological resilience, the worlds best athletes
recognized that they actively chose to engage with challenging
situations, such as balancing work and sport, as the following quote
highlights:
We all worked. But in terms of the build up to the Olympics, we
didnt bat an eyelid in doing it .it was ourchoice to do it. Idont
like the word sacrice .. Sacrice to me is about last resort and
theres no alternative ethats rubbish. We made a choice to do
that and I think that choice in what we did we highly valued and
I think that inspired us, motivated us to perform on the pitch
and as a group.
High levels of motivation are consistently reported as a required
psychological attribute for elite sport performance (Treasure,
Lemyre, Kuczka, & Standage, 2007). In the present study, the
motives of Olympic champions were both self-determining and
non-self-determining. However, in support of previous research
investigating the motivation of elite performers (Mallett &
Hanrahan, 2004), resilient athletes appear to be able to internalize
and integrate more self-determined forms of extrinsic motivation.
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678 673
As the previous quote illustrated, Olympic gold medalists
consciously valued and judged external demands as important and
therefore chose to perform in challenging sport environments (i.e.,
identied regulation). This process of internalization and integra-
tion of regulations and values is central to self-determination theory
(Ryan & Deci, 2000) and appears to be an important psychological
asset that inuences challenge appraisal and meta-cognitions.
Condence
Condence was deemed to be a particularly important factor
underpinning the stresseresilienceeperformance relationship in
Olympic champions. Various sources of condence were salient to
the worlds best athletes, including multifaceted preparation, expe-
rience, self-awareness, visualization, coaching and teammates (see
also Hays, Maynard, Thomas, & Bawden, 2007). The following quote
illustrates how condence originating from the team positively
affected a gold medalists appraisal and meta-cognition of stressors:
We were playing against [country] in our last game .and I
looked at my opposite number and I thought Im going to give
you a hard time today kid.Now if I had that internal thought
18 months ago, I would have thought I was being schizophrenic
or something, because if youre going to lose to anybody its
[country], but I just felt that I had such belief and such con-
dence in .my teams ability.
In an athletic context, condence is described as the degree of
certainty one possesses about their ability to be successful in sport
(Vealey,1986). The majority of champions had extremely high levels
of self-condence especially at the peak of their careers, with one
Olympic gold medalist asserting if you dont believe that you will
win, youll never win. Youve got to have that single-minded belief in
your ability. Self-condence has been identied repeatedly as
a positive inuence on athletic performance (see Woodman & Hardy,
2003). Importantly, however, some of the participants in this study
suggested that they possessed reduced levels of self-condence,
particularly toward the end of their sporting lives, but were still
able to attain optimal sport performance. Thus, these ndings call
into question the widely accepted positive linear relationship
between self-condence and performance (cf. Woodman, Akehurst,
Hardy, & Beattie, 2010). This study suggests that champions with
lower levels of self-condence may have had higher levels of con-
dence originating from external sources, such as teammates. Or, put
another way, perceived esteem support (i.e., others bolstering
a persons sense of competence) from teammates may have buffered
the potential detrimental effect of lower levels of self-condence
and subsequently beneted their sport performance.
Focus
The ability to focus was an important aspect of resilience for the
worlds best athletes. Specically, they were able to focus on them-
selves, not be distracted by others, focus on the process rather than
the outcomes of events, and were able to switch their sport focus on
and off to suit the demands they faced. One Olympic champion
recalled how his single-minded focus on himself and the team
resulted in him being almost unaware of the stressors around him:
Its funny, in a way I was kind of oblivious to pressures because I
think in some ways you just go so into yourself .well, itsahugely
selsh thing isnt it? Youre concentrating on yourself and this
group of ve people and youre living in each others pockets.
The present study found that the majority of gold medalists who
won their gold medal prior to publically-sourced funding had
worked part-time while competing which, interestingly, helped
them learn how to switch their sport focus on and off. This
appeared to subsequently minimize the risk of injury, a major
stressor perceived to negatively inuence sport performance in
Olympic athletes (Greenleaf, Gould, & Dieffenbach, 2001). Indeed,
one gold medalist suggested that athletes nowadays, because
theyre full-time, very often get injured because theyre [training
and competing] too muchand thus, she advised aspiring Olympic
athletes to either do some voluntary work or some part-time
work, so that they have a distraction from their sport. The ability
to switch ones focus appears to be an important factor for with-
standing the pressure associated with sport at the highest levels.
Perceived social support
Olympic champions perceived that high quality social support
was available to them, including support from family, coaches,
teammates and support staff. Athletes competing in individual
sports who won their gold medal prior to 1990 predominantly
identied support from family and coaches, whereas champions
participating in team sports since this time seemed to recognize the
support from all four types of social agents. According to one gold
medalist, his parents helped to protect him from the pressures of
elite sport by giving him the opportunity to air his grievances:
Ive got injured, Ive not got selected, all those sort of things
where its not gone right .But .they [ones parents] talk it
through with you. My mum especially would talk it through and
say What are you going to do about it?They didnt judge me
and say, Youre doing this wrongor youre doing that right,
they just provided me with the support that you need and
a sounding board to express myself.
This study found that the perception of available support from
a variety of social agents was a factor that underpinned the
stresseresilienceeperformance relationship. This nding, taken
together with those of previous investigations (e.g., Freeman &
Rees, 2009, 2010), demonstrate the stress-buffering effects of
perceived social support and suggest that it is an important aspect
of resilience in elite sport. In the present study, trust and respect
formed the basis of perceived support for the various social agents
particularly during the latter stages of athletescareers when such
relationships had been established.
Facilitative responses
The processes of challenge appraisal and meta-cognitions
promoted facilitative responses in Olympic gold medalists. The
following quote illustrates how a hockey players cognitive reac-
tions led to positive behavioral responses:
There was a [cup] I just missed out on .and that was the rst
time I thought to myself I dont want to do this again .I dont
want to miss out on these eventsand started training harder
and working harder.
Taking action, following the evaluation of an event, was an
important feature of facilitative responses for the majority of
Olympic champions, as this quote from a cyclist suggests:
Initially, training was just something to get out of the way. And
then gradually Id do training and Id think, Am I getting the
most out of this? Am I exploiting the session?And, you know, if
I did take a bad lift in the gym Id think, I could have done that
better. Thats a missed opportunity. What have I got to do to be
better?So I had an obsession on getting everything right rather
than just waiting for the day of the nal and then hoping. It was
about getting everything right before the nal so I had all the
tools ready for when I was racing.
The salutary value of participantsconstructive cognitive reac-
tions appears to be rmly embedded in taking personal responsi-
bility for ones thoughts, feelings and actions. Indeed, one champion
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678674
remarked that Irmly believe that greater responsibility can only
lead to enhanced performance. Responses included facilitative
interpretations of emotions, effective decision making, reection,
and increased task engagement. It has been suggested that facili-
tative responses, such as increased effort and commitment to
decisions, aid performance in world class athletes, particularly
when condence is high (Hays, Thomas, Maynard, & Bawden,
2009). The ndings of this study indicate that several
psychological-related phenomena (relating to a positive person-
ality, motivation, condence, focus, and perceived social support)
are all relevant for promoting facilitative responses in athletes
which underpin optimal sport performance.
Optimal sport performance
The participants in this study described optimal sport perfor-
mance as fullling their athletic potential rather than becoming an
Olympic champion. Interestingly, some of these athletes pointed
out that their gold medal performance was not their best in their
career and that they exhibited facilitative responses to achieve their
full potential in subsequent competitions. Hence, whilst becoming
more resilient appears to lead to better performance, it would be an
oversimplication to suggest that in winning an Olympic gold an
athlete had reached a point of being resilient. One champion
described how positive behavioral responses led to the realization
of his potential after a poor start to the season:
I remember .that early 99 season being difcult and thinking
of stopping [sport], just because I hadnt won anything. I was
winning something big every year, 94, 95, 96, 97 and then [in]
98 [I] didnt win anything .. But .its just a question of
training and time and putting the effort in. And .[being]
condent .that I had the talent and that I hadnt yet reached
my full potential. So if I wasnt winning it was because I hadnt
reached my full potential.
The following quote illustrates an athletes viewpoint on her
gold medal performance in the 2000 Olympic Games and her
subsequent accomplishment at the World Championships:
This may come as a bit of a shock but I didnt have a great
competition in Sydney. I was consistent in terms of my perfor-
mance but it wasnt a great performance. Following on from
Sydney, I carried on competing and I won the World Champi-
onships the following summer in 2001. So I ended up retiring as
reigning World and Olympic Champion. But as I said, my
performance in Sydney wasnt that good. I look back on my
World Championship performance in 2001 and it is actually the
performance that I am proudest of in terms of it being a better
all-round performance. In Sydney, I started the run in eighth
place. I was 49 seconds behind the leader and I ran my way
through to win. At the World Championships in 2001, I started
the run in second place and it was a breeze. I didnt even have to
run that hard. So I won the gold medal in Sydney but the
performance that I am actually proudest of was the World
Championships in 2001.
General discussion
This study developed a grounded theory of psychological resil-
ience in Olympic champions to explore and explain the relationship
between this construct and optimal sport performance. When
comparing the current ndings to existing theories of psychological
resilience, it is possible to identify a number of common features. To
illustrate, the grounded theory presented heresupports elements of
both process and trait conceptualizations of resilience (cf. Fletcher &
Sarkar, in press). More specically, it appears that a complete
understanding of psychological resilience in Olympic champions
will only be obtained if it is studied within the context of the stress
process. Furthermore, the emergent theory recognizes that, within
the process itself, the interaction of a range of psychological factors
determines whether an individual demonstrates resilience in
response to the stressors he or she encounters. Interestingly, in
terms of specic explanatory potential, the emphasis placed on
different factors often varies across theories. For example, the
conceptual model of medical student well-being (Dunn, Iglewicz, &
Moutier, 2008) highlights personality and temperament factors as
being fundamental to resilience, whereas the conceptual model for
community and youth resiliency (Brennan, 2008) places upmost
importance on social support. Rather than focusing on or giving
precedence to any single psychological attribute, the grounded
theory presented in this study suggests that numerous psycholog-
ical factors (relating to a positive personality, motivation, con-
dence, focus, and perceived social support) interact to inuence the
stresseresilienceeperformance relationship. Hence, resilience is
conceptualized as the interactive inuence of psychological char-
acteristics within the context of the stress process (cf. Fletcher &
Sarkar, in press). Building on this perspective, psychological resil-
ience is dened as the role of mental processes and behavior in
promoting personal assets and protecting an individual from the
potential negative effect of stressors.
In contrast to the majority of existing theories, including the
conceptual model of sport resilience (Galli & Vealey, 2008), the
present ndings emphasize that the inuence of psychological
factors should be conceived in relation to the specic stressors
encountered and context in which they arise. Since high achievers
actively seek to engage with challenging situations that present
opportunities for them to raise their performance level, we believe
that research and practice in this area should pay careful attentionto
the matching of psychological factors with the environmental
demands. Another important consideration of the grounded theory
presented here is that sport psychology researchers need to distin-
guish between different levels of cognitiveprocessing in performers
response to stress. More specically, whilst challenge appraisals
appear to be a central feature of the stresseresilienceeperformance
relationship, it is important to note that Olympic champions also
appear to engage with higher level, meta-cognitive processes that
involve reecting on ones initial reaction to stressors. This appears
to be particularly salient in highly demanding performance envi-
ronments, where an athlete may initially appraise a stressor in
a negative manner, but further evaluates the resultant emotion as
having the potentialto facilitate performance (cf. Fletcher & Fletcher,
2005; Fletcher, Hanton, & Mellalieu, 2006; Fletcher & Scott, 2010),
and thereby maintain resilience in stressful situations.
When interpreting the ndings of a grounded theory study, it is
important to recognize some of the methodological strengths and
limitations of the approach. A major strength of this study was the
supra-elite nature of the participants who displayed a wide range of
characteristics relating to their gender, age, experience, sport, and
culture. Indeed, Simonton (1999) remarked that the study of
notable athletes(p. 426) greatly enriches psychological science
because of their signicance and distinctiveness. In the sport
psychology literatureonly one study (published in a two-part series)
has sampled more Olympic champions (viz. Jackson, Dover, &
Mayocchi, 1998; Jackson, Mayocchi, & Dover, 1998). Further, to the
best of our knowledge, no research has presented a theoretical
model, grounded in original data, that attempts to explain (rather
than describe) psychological-related phenomena in Olympic
champions. In terms of resilience itself, this is the rst study to
illustrate and discuss the specic role of psychological factors in the
stresseresilienceeperformance relationship. Notwithstanding
D. Fletcher, M. Sarkar / Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) 669e678 675
these strengths, it is worth noting that the retrospective nature of
the study may have compromised the accuracy of the data. Specif-
ically, it is possible that the participants may have experienced
fadedperceptions of their resilience during stressful periods in
their Olympic experience. To help improve the accuracy of the
recalled information, various techniques were employed (see
Thomsen & Brinkmann, 2009). These included allowing time for the
recall and reassuring the participant that such delays and silences
were normal, using typical content categories of specic memories
to derive concrete cues (i.e., ongoing activity, location, persons), and
employing relevant extended timeline and landmark events as
contextual cues to aid the recall of older memories. Furthermore,
although memory decay is an issue with all retrospective research
designs, it is worth noting that these fading effects are lessoned
regarding momentous events(Pillemer, 2001, p. 123), such as
winning an Olympic gold medal. In terms of the design of the model,
a potential limitation concerns the validity of the linear stage
framework evident within its structure. Sport psychologistsinves-
tigating the stresseresilienceeperformance relationship should
familiarize themselves with developments in cognitive neurosci-
ence (Curtis & Cicchetti, 2003; Feder, Nestler, & Charney, 2009;
Masten & Obradovi
c, 2006), which indicate that parallel, multiple
processes may offer a more ecologically valid conceptualization of
psychological resilience in comparison to sequential, unitary
approaches.
The ndings reported here suggest that psychological resilience
in elite sport is likely to be a fruitful avenue for researchers to
explore. It will, however, be difcult to advance our understanding
of this area without a valid and reliable assessment instrument.
There exists an urgent need to develop a sport-specic measure of
resilience, since current measures, such as the Connor and David-
son Resilience Scale (Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007; Connor &
Davidson, 2003), only consider generic resilient qualities and not
how these attributes come to the fore in specic contexts (cf.
Gucciardi et al., 2011). The grounded theory developed in this study
provides a framework for better understanding Olympic cham-
pionsdevelopmental journeys, their signicant life events and
adversities, and how they acquired the skills to manage the
stressors in their lives. Retrospective interview techniques, such as
life stories (Atkinson, 1998, 2002), are likely to be an appropriate
methodological approach for addressing this research question.
Life-span based research, investigating relationships between
resilience, stress and performance from a longitudinal and holistic
perspective, is also warranted and would enable comparisons
between young talented athletes and adult elite athletes (cf.
Wylleman & Reints, 2010). Future research with Olympic gold
medalists should also consider the perceptions of signicant others
surrounding these athletes, such as coaches, parents, partners, and
members of the organizing committee (cf. Holt & Tamminen,
2010b). For example, scholars should further explore the inu-
ence of affective ties (e.g., trust and respect) between key social
agents on athletesresilience. Although the theory presented in this
study represents a substantive explanation of data that was
collected in a specicgroup of participants (cf. Strauss & Corbin,
1998), the theory is open to extension and can be tested and
modied to accommodate new insights. For instance, sport
psychology researchers should further investigate the three major
components of meta-cognition (viz. meta-cognitive knowledge,
skills and experience) since they appear to be crucial, yet largely
untapped, factors in resilience in sport.
In terms of the praxis of this study, there are a number of
practical implications of the ndings and model presented. The
grounded theory provides sport psychologists, coaches, and
national sport organizations with a model to understand the
impact of resilience on the stress process in sport, and its
relationship with optimal sport performance. Individuals operating
in elite sport should identify and monitor the psychological factors
(i.e., positive personality, motivation, condence, focus, perceived
social support) that an athlete needs to develop to exhibit resil-
ience, and should intervene to attain the optimum levels of, and
balance between, these factors. In addition, it is crucial that
athletesimmediate environment is carefully managed to optimize
the demands they encounter in order to stimulate and foster the
development of psychological factors that will protect them from
negative consequences. Furthermore, educational programs in
challenge appraisal and meta-reective strategies, such as evalu-
ating personal assumptions, minimizing catastrophic thinking,
challenging counterproductive beliefs, and cognitive restructuring,
should form a central part of resilience training (cf. Reivich,
Seligman, & McBride, 2011; Schinke et al., 2004). To help support
these initiatives, athletes should be exposed to various formal and
informal psychosocial training and developmental experiences.
Examples include personal mentoring from previous gold medal-
ists, expert coaching provision, performance enhancement
training, and access to counseling during particularly demanding
periods. Importantly, these opportunities need to be considered
from a developmental and holistic perspective whereby building
resilience is approached in a beginning to endfashion, which
spans the athletic and post-athletic career, and takes into account
intra- as well as inter-personal factors (cf. Wylleman, Alfermann, &
Lavallee, 2004). Finally, from a research perspective, although
resilience intervention studies are required in sport, it is important
that such work is grounded in systematic resilience research
programs rather than piecemeal and incomplete strategies based
on, for example, the mental toughness, hardiness or coping litera-
tures. Such research programs, which should be underpinned by
the conceptual and theoretical advances already made in this area
in general psychology (cf. Fletcher & Sarkar, in press), will provide
the most rigorous and robust platform from which to develop
resilience training in sport.
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... Mental resilience is widely acknowledged as a crucial factor in surmounting adversity and maintaining psychological well-being. Fletcher and Sarkar [5] define resilience as the capacity to use personal attributes to endure stress. Resilience encompasses a range of internal and external elements that empower individuals to adapt successfully to stressful or demanding circumstances. ...
... Autonomy support enhances athletes' feelings of empowerment and control, serving as a protective factor against the emotional exhaustion linked to burnout [20]. Fletcher and Sarkar [5] emphasise that relatedness, or the need for connection, fosters an environment in which athletes exhibit greater resilience to stress. Psychological need satisfaction in sports mitigates burnout and facilitates resilience, creating a dynamic relationship in which resilience serves a protective role against burnout when needs are met. ...
... Moreover, the results underscore the significance of fostering resilience as a protective mechanism against basketball burnout. Research suggests that resilient individuals are better equipped to manage stressors and recover from failure, which can significantly mitigate emotional exhaustion and enhance overall wellbeing [5]. This suggests that interventions aimed at improving psychological resilience could play a critical role in maintaining basketball athletes' motivation and enjoyment in their sport, ultimately reducing the risk of withdrawal or disengagement [46]. ...
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The aim of this study is to explore the degree to which basketball players might be shielded from burnout by their psychological resilience. The investigation assessed the resilience, physical and mental burnout, reduced sense of accomplishment, and depreciation of sport among athletes. The results indicated that reduced levels of burnout elements were associated with increased resilience, highlighting the importance of resilience in supporting athletes' well-being. The findings suggest that maintaining intrinsic motivation and avoiding burnout are contingent upon the fulfilment of essential psychological needs. Resilience and fatigue levels differed based on age, gender, and competition level, highlighting the necessity for tailored therapy. The findings indicate that specific interventions, including psychological training and enhancing social support systems, could enhance resilience and reduce burnout, ultimately promoting a more sustainable and healthier sporting atmosphere. The findings highlight the connection between resilience, psychological needs, and burnout, thereby enhancing existing theoretical frameworks and offering crucial guidance for sports organisations and coaches focused on enhancing athlete well-being.
... This underscores the practical implications of sports in enhancing psychological well-being and preparing athletes for life's challenges. (Fletcher, 2012). Notably, previous studies have shown that different types of physical activity may have variable relationships with outcomes related to mental health (Yan et al., 2017;Koch et al., 2020). ...
... Researchers (Connor & Davidson, 2003;Galli & Vealey, 2008;Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012Gonzalez et al., 2016) have gained insight into how resilience helps athletes return from injury. Psychological resilience may elevate the effectiveness of athletes' rehabilitation process because it helps athletes work toward and accomplish their goals and aspirations. ...
... The current result is also in line with a study by Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), which found that an athlete's psychological resilience is demonstrated by their ability to manage and hurdle any stressors related to the competitive environment, mainly if they can take advantage of these opportunities to improve their performance. Similar results were found in the studies of Codonhato et al. (2018), Pedro and Veloso (2018), and Cevada et al. (2012), which revealed that the resilience of athletes demonstrates innate abilities that shield people from the negative impacts of stressful situations. ...
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Personality traits and resilience are claimed to be active determinants that directly affect the performance of athletes and their orientation toward success. Success orientation in sports can be understood and explained by how their goals influence individuals' motivation and behavior in achievement-related contexts such as sports. This study aimed to determine the influence of Psychological Capital such as personality traits and resiliency in the success orientation of student-athletes at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in La Union, Philippines. A descriptive correlation design was employed to analyze the variables in the study. The three campuses of DMMMSU (SLUC, MLUC and NLUC) was chosen as the locale of the study. A population of 216 student-athletes playing Athletics, Volleyball, Basketball, and Taekwondo are the study's respondents. The results show that in terms of personality traits, the athletes have high levels of extraversion, tough-mindedness, and self-control while their level of psychological resilience is average. The level of success orientation of the athletes in terms of task orientation and ego orientation is also average. Psychological Resilience significantly predicts and contributes to the success orientation of the athletes while personality traits also significantly predict and contribute to the success orientation of the athletes.
... Mental resilience is widely acknowledged as a crucial factor in surmounting adversity and maintaining psychological well-being. Fletcher and Sarkar [5] define resilience as the capacity to use personal attributes to endure stress. Resilience encompasses a range of internal and external elements that empower individuals to adapt successfully to stressful or demanding circumstances. ...
... Autonomy support enhances athletes' feelings of empowerment and control, serving as a protective factor against the emotional exhaustion linked to burnout [20]. Fletcher and Sarkar [5] emphasise that relatedness, or the need for connection, fosters an environment in which athletes exhibit greater resilience to stress. Psychological need satisfaction in sports mitigates burnout and facilitates resilience, creating a dynamic relationship in which resilience serves a protective role against burnout when needs are met. ...
... Moreover, the results underscore the significance of fostering resilience as a protective mechanism against basketball burnout. Research suggests that resilient individuals are better equipped to manage stressors and recover from failure, which can significantly mitigate emotional exhaustion and enhance overall wellbeing [5]. This suggests that interventions aimed at improving psychological resilience could play a critical role in maintaining basketball athletes' motivation and enjoyment in their sport, ultimately reducing the risk of withdrawal or disengagement [46]. ...
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The aim of this study is to explore the degree to which basketball players might be shielded from burnout by their psychological resilience. The investigation assessed the resilience, physical and mental burnout, reduced sense of accomplishment, and depreciation of sport among athletes. The results indicated that reduced levels of burnout elements were associated with increased resilience, highlighting the importance of resilience in supporting athletes’ well-being. The findings suggest that maintaining intrinsic motivation and avoiding burnout are contingent upon the fulfilment of essential psychological needs. Resilience and fatigue levels differed based on age, gender, and competition level, highlighting the necessity for tailored therapy. The findings indicate that specific interventions, including psychological training and enhancing social support systems, could enhance resilience and reduce burnout, ultimately promoting a more sustainable and healthier sporting atmosphere. The findings highlight the connection between resilience, psychological needs, and burnout, thereby enhancing existing theoretical frameworks and offering crucial guidance for sports organizations and coaches focused on enhancing athlete well-being.
... In this context, psychological capital is a vital personal resource that athletes can leverage to navigate adversity and sustain their well-being. When athletes possess robust psychological resources, they are more inclined to perceive challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable threats, thereby fostering sustained motivation, engagement, and performance [52]. Athletes with high self-efficacy are more likely to believe in their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their desired goals, even in the face of setbacks. ...
... This reinterpretation helps prevent the development of a defeatist mindset that can lead to burnout [55]. Finally, resilience equips athletes with the mental fortitude to recover from adversity, adapt to change, and maintain their well-being under pressure, which is critical in the demanding environment of high-level sports [52]. ...
... When confronted with high-stress levels, athletes with more outstanding psychological capital are better equipped to cope by employing adaptive strategies such as problem-solving, positive reappraisal, and seeking help [18]. Additionally, they may experience heightened levels of self-efficacy and optimism, fostering a belief in their ability to navigate challenges, ultimately reducing burnout severity successfully [36,52]. ...
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... Mental toughness is indispensable in both protecting and enhancing athlete engagement, representing a crucial psychological asset for achieving exceptional sporting performance. Research suggests that mental toughness is essential for athletes to cope with difficulties successfully, avoid the effects of stress and maintain their performance development 28 . ...
... Of these, 175 (53.7%) were male participants, a higher rate than females, and the average age of the athletes was between 17 and 22 years old and had about three years of training experience. Sports include: basketball (74), volleyball (36), soccer (63), cricket (47), ice hockey (20), curling (11), team aerobics (47) and others (28). All questionnaire surveys were conducted after sports training sessions. ...
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Athlete engagement is influenced by several factors, including cohesion, passion and mental toughness. Machine learning methods are frequently employed to construct predictive models as a result of their high efficiency. In order to comprehend the effects of cohesion, passion and mental toughness on athlete engagement, this study utilizes the relevant methods of machine learning to construct a prediction model, so as to find the intrinsic connection between them. The construction and comparison methods of predictive models by machine learning algorithms are investigated to evaluate the level of predictive models in order to determine the optimal predictive model. The results show that the PSO-SVR model performs best in predicting athlete engagement, with a prediction accuracy of 0.9262, along with low RMSE (0.1227), MSE (0.0146) and MAE (0.0656). The prediction accuracy of the PSO-SVR model exhibits an obvious advantage. This advantage is mainly attributed to its strong generalization ability, nonlinear processing ability, and the ability to optimize and adapt to the feature space. Particularly noteworthy is that the PSO-SVR model reduces the RMSE (7.54%), MSE (17.05%), and MAE (3.53%) significantly, while improves the R² (1.69%), when compared to advanced algorithms such as SWO. These results indicate that the PSO-SVR model not only improves the accuracy of prediction, but also enhances the reliability of the model, making it a powerful tool for predicting athlete engagement. In summary, this study not only provides a new perspective for understanding athlete engagement, but also provides important practical guidance for improving athlete engagement and overall performance. By adopting the PSO-SVR model, we can more accurately identify and optimise the key factors affecting athlete engagement, thus bringing far-reaching implications for research and practice in sport science and related fields.
... It encompasses a variety of strategies aimed at optimizing mental health and resilience. The integration of sports psychology principles into training programs can have a profound impact on athletes' success [3]. Below are some of the key principles: ...
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İdman idarəçiliyi idmançıların fiziki hazırlığı ilə yanaşı, onların psixoloji vəziyyətini də əhatə edir, çünki performansları əhəmiyyətli dərəcədə psixoloji hazırlıqdan asılıdır. Bu məqalə motivasiya, stressin idarə olunması, özünəinam və psixoloji bərpa kimi idman psixologiyasının prinsiplərini araşdıraraq onların idmançıların performansını optimallaşdırmadakı rolunu vurğulayır. İdman idarəçilərinin psixoloji dayanıqlığı artırmaq üçün fərdi dəstək proqramları təqdim etməkdəki əhəmiyyəti də qeyd olunur. Tədqiqatlar göstərir ki, idman idarəçiliyində psixoloji yanaşmaların inteqrasiyası daha yüksək nəticələr əldə etməyə kömək edir.
... Research suggests that autonomy in Paralympic athletes can be explained by psychological qualities such as hardiness (McLoughlin et al., 2017:422). According to the concept by Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), hardiness is an important component in the life of a person with a disability and corresponds to protection from the potential negative impact of stressors that arise from the behavioral and mental processes of athletes. Higher hardiness in athletes allows them to maintain good motivation and psychological functioning to achieve their goals (Sarkar, 2017:3;Nascimento, 2020:3). ...
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Paralympic sport provides an opportunity for people with disabilities to achieve significant heights of functional capabilities, thereby increasing their ability to personal development and integration into society. The issues of inclusion related to the organization of preparation for competitions from the point of view of studying the psychological characteristics of Paralympians are one of the central problems of modern society. The aim of the study was to study the characteristics of sports motivation and hardiness of Paralympians. The study involved 60 Paralympic athletes, and 3 methods were used: E.A. Kalinin's MSA, Tropnikov's methodology for the motives of sports activity, and the test of resilience in the adaptation of Leontiev, Rasskazova. The peculiarities of sports motivation and hardiness of Paralympians were revealed depending on sex and level of sports qualifications. It is shown that hardiness and control are the key constructs of the motivational system of Paralympians. The conducted research is of particular value for the further development of Kazakhstani sports psychology, which in recent years has begun to pay great attention to Paralympians, studying the characteristics of their sports motivation and hardiness.
Chapter
This chapter examines the effectiveness of integrating traditional and modern motor games in technical sports learning and peer support within physical education. Conducted in a primary school, the study compared traditional and modern javelin throwing using game-based teaching progressions. Pre- and post-intervention evaluations included variables such as technical learning, active participation, and mutual support involving two children with Down syndrome. Traditional games emphasized rituals and collective belonging, while modern games focused on technical efficiency. Results revealed significant improvements in inclusion and participation parameters in Group 1 (traditional games) compared to Group 2 (modern games), particularly for the child with special needs. The study highlights the potential of traditional games in aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 and 10), fostering equality, inclusion, and multisectoral learning. The traditional approach could help promote peer support by reducing inequalities in educational practices.
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Objectives Masculine norms of toughness and self-reliance can discourage help-seeking among elite athletes who are men. Effective ways to leverage masculine norms for help-seeking is a relatively unexplored area in athlete mental health. The study aimed to investigate how masculine health-related values measured by the Intentions Masculine Values Scale (IMVS) affect help-seeking behaviours among male elite rugby players. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 220 Japanese male elite rugby players in the Japan Rugby League One (response rate: 40.6%). Participants completed an online survey assessing help-seeking knowledge, attitudes and behaviours, along with masculine health-related values using the IMVS. Psychological safety within sports settings was evaluated using the Sport Psychological Safety Inventory (SPSI). Multiple regression analyses examined relationships between help-seeking behaviours and IMVS/SPSI. Results The Open and Selfless IMVS value was significantly associated with help-seeking knowledge (β=0.059, p=0.009) and attitudes (β=0.064, p=0.006), increasing recognition of the need for help and willingness to seek it. However, no significant association with actual help-seeking behaviour was found (β=−0.006, p=0.774). The Healthy and Autonomous IMVS value was associated with lower help-seeking behaviour (β=0.060, p=0.010), indicating higher autonomy may inhibit seeking professional support. The SPSI was not significantly related to help-seeking measures. Conclusion Findings highlight critical gaps between intention and actual help-seeking behaviour among male elite athletes. Further research is needed to explore additional cultural and organisational factors that may better explain help-seeking behaviour and inform effective intervention strategies.
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The present case study focuses on the incredible story of Diana Nyad, an endurance swimmer who completed without protective cages the journey from Cuba to Florida when she was sixty-four (64) years old, thereby becoming the first person to complete this challenge. The study analyses her personal history, the developing dynamics of achieving and experiencing setbacks, mental health in her overall pursuit, and the mental health strategies that were determinant in her success. Nyad's achievement highlights the crucial importance of mental resilience in accomplishing extraordinary goals even after numerous unsuccessful attempts over several decades. It stresses the relationship between mental health, physical endurance, and effective coaching in facilitating her accomplishment. Nyad’s narrative illustrates the strength of mental determination, which played essential roles in her achievements with techniques such as visualization, mindfulness, emotional management, and resilience training. The impact of her coaches, especially Bonnie Stoll, highlights the importance of a supportive atmosphere along integrated psychological preparation in athletic preparation. This study proposes that a comprehensive approach can substantially improve performance in endurance sports which includes mental well-being interferences like cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Her achievement also provides insight into the wider implications of resilience, relevant across various domains including business, the arts, and academia. By investigating Diana Nyad's path, this case study enhances the understanding of the psychological aspects of endurance sports, providing valuable insights for athletes, coaches, and mental health professionals.
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This chapter provides a review of current issues in organizational stress in competitive sport. Two main areas are addressed: (a) conceptual and operational considerations, culminating in definitions of stress-related constructs, and (b) theoretical relationships among stress, emotions and performance, based on a meta-model outlining key processes, moderators and consequences. As the chapter progresses, attention focuses on the practical implications and research directions emanating from the literature review.
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The purpose of this study was to explore athletes' perceptions and experiences of resilience. Ten high-level athletes were interviewed regarding the most difficult adversities that they had ever had to overcome in sport. Richardson and colleagues' (Richardson, Neiger, Jensen, & Kumpfer, 1990) resiliency model served its a guiding theoretical framework in the process of data collection and analysis. Inductive analysis (Patton, 2002; Thomas, 2006) was used to explore the data for key themes and patterns of relationships. Five general dimensions emerged that described the resilience experience of the athletes. These dimensions include breadth and duration, agitation, sociocultural influences, personal resources, and positive outcomes. A conceptual model of the resilience process as experienced by the athletes in this study is presented as a preliminary framework for future studies of resilience in sport.