What is athlete psychological well-being? Constructing concepts with Olympic and Paralympic athletes

Although psychological well-being (PWB) in athletes is receiving increased scrutiny there is some confusion about what constitutes PWB in elite sport. Psychological well-being (eudaimonia) is associated with purpose, growth, and fulfilling one’s potentials (Aristotle, 4c BCE, 1985); however, there are limitations in the conceptual clarity of PWB and in the context of elite sport global frameworks of PWB have been used to study context-specific (athlete) PWB. Important research questions remain as there is little understanding of what athlete PWB is. The objective of this study was to explore contextually relevant components of athlete PWB, to gain insight on the make-up of athlete PWB. Semi-structured interviews and photograph elicitation were employed at two time points with 26 athletes (7 Paralympic; 19 Olympic) from four countries (Canada; Great Britain; Australia; New Zealand) and data was analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019). Eight components of sport specific PWB were constructed to represent athletes’ understandings of PWB in elite sport. The eight components included sport-confidence and self-worth; personal balance; aligned purpose; fulfillment; performance; personal agency; psychologically safe relationships; and psychological adaptability. Developed through an interpretive theoretical process, these components maintain the core aspects of eudaimonia while extending to highlight the contextually relevant components of sport-specific PWB, providing a more meaningful and applicable representation of athletes’ experiences of PWB.