Exploring Wellbeing and Mental Health of Elite Athletes: A Bioecological Perspective
Authors:   , Brown Georgia 
Published: April 2024

The aim of the thesis was to explore the processes that affect the wellbeing and mental health of elite athletes, to then inform, implement and evaluate a multi-level intervention designed to enhance their wellbeing and mental health. To expand the recent research in the area it is advantageous to explore wellbeing and mental health from an ecological perspective (see Purcell et al., 2019; 2021). Thus, the thesis was underpinned by the bioecological model (i.e., PPCT; Bronfenbrenner 1995; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006), which proposes the interactions (i.e., processes) the individual experiences across the lifespan influence their physical, emotional, and psychological development. The processes and their impact on the development (i.e., positive or negative) are influenced by the characterisers of the person, their environmental context, and time. Providing an insight into the complex processes that affect wellbeing and mental health would allow the thesis to develop and deliver an evidence based and theoretically informed intervention. Therefore, the aims of the thesis was achieved by using the collective case study methodology. Study one used a collective case study to explore the processes that affected the wellbeing and mental health of judo and cycling athletes via observations, semi-structured interviews, self-report diaries, and a researcher reflexive journal. The processes included: (i) the development of trusting relationships; (ii) negative perceptions of self; (iii) attitudinal changes towards wellbeing and mental health; and (iv) the expansion of a resource pool, which impacted athletes’ wellbeing and mental health positively and negatively. The impact of the processes was influenced by person characteristics, the context (i.e., immediate and remote environments), and time. The aim of Study two was to design, implement, and evaluate a theoretical-informed, evidence based, multi-level intervention to enhance the athletes’ wellbeing and mental health. The intervention consisted of an educational podcast series, infographics, and environmental recommendations. The two cases received the intervention differently. That is, judo received a guided intervention (i.e., a series of reflective questions and researcher present within the environment), whilst cycling received an information only intervention (i.e., received all components but no reflective questions and researcher was not present). The findings highlighted the intervention was perceived to increase the athletes’ confidence of help-seeking, ability to manage poor wellbeing and mental health, while also being perceived to provide an opportunity to increase their knowledge of wellbeing and mental health concerns. The intervention was also perceived to be preventive measure of wellbeing and mental health concerns. Furthermore, the study found that were a number of perceived benefits of multi-components and in particular the podcasts and infographics. The benefits of the podcasts included flexibility of listening, easy and informal listening, and the control and ownership. The infographics were as equally well received as they provided concise information, accessibility of critical information, and supporting different ways of learning. Moreover, the researcher reflective journal provided an insight into the design, delivery, and evaluation of the intervention. The reflections included: (i) the feeling of excitement; (ii) the need for collaboration; (iii) the lack of personal stories (iv) the lack of progression; (v) the feeling of hope; and (vi) the relief of gaining feedback. Interestingly, the data highlighted that there was a lack of engagement in the evaluation process from the cycling athletes, which may have been due to the lack of presence from the lead researcher in the cycling environment.