My research as a postgraduate research student in the PESS department is focused on developing an understanding of the support networks of Irish elite youth basketball players, and the effects of social support on their development and wellbeing. We are currently in the early stages of gathering qualitative data, through semi-structured interviews with athletes playing on Irish national teams from u15 through to u20. These interviews are focused upon the athletes’ lived experiences of support, and what is important to them when it comes to receiving support. Interviews with members of the athletes’ support networks will centre around the perceptions of coaches, parents and administrators pertaining to support networks, and their understanding of their role within those support networks.
Why youth athletes?
While there has been increased research interest in the mental wellbeing of elite and professional athletes over the last number of years (1), there has been far less research attention paid to the mental wellbeing of youth athletes participating in sport at levels classed as elite (2). Considering that the competitive peak for these athletes coincides with the peak onset of mental ill-health, with over 50% of mental disorders occurring prior to the age of 15 and 75% occurring before the age of 25 (3), I believe that research into the development and wellbeing of these athletes is of the utmost importance.
Why is social support important?
Researchers have noted both a lack of social support and poor-quality relationships to be risk factors for symptoms of depression and major depressive disorder (4), as well as low self-esteem and psychological distress (5; 6). These depressive symptoms can lead to a decrease in athletic performance, or in some cases, the athlete quitting the sport (7). Research findings from elite athlete populations indicate that social support is one of the most important factors for improving the mental wellbeing of athletes (8; 9).
Social support appears to have a buffering effect on stressors experienced by athletes, helping to moderate psychological responses to stress that may prove harmful to the athlete’s wellbeing (10). Elite athletes such as those competing at national or international level tend to encounter a greater number of stressors than their non-elite counterparts (11). Another possible explanation for the positive influence exerted by social support on the psychological wellbeing of athletes is the basic psychological needs theory. This posits that the satisfaction of a person’s three basic needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) is vital for ‘ongoing psychological growth, integrity and wellbeing’ (12). A recent review of studies examining the correlation between the satisfaction of athletes’ basic psychological needs and support from coaches, peers and parents noted that it would appear that social support from these members of the athlete support network is positively associated with higher levels of satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness in athletes (13).
What is the goal?
The aim of my research is to use the data gathered from interviews with athletes and members of the athletes’ support networks (parents, coaches, administrators) to develop a hypothesised framework designed to promote wellbeing during the development of elite youth athletes. All components of the framework will be operationalised as variables that can be quantitatively assessed. A sample of current and former elite youth basketball players will be recruited for testing. A path analysis model will be used to test the hypothesised framework. Based upon potential causal relationships between variables that are identified in this testing, we will develop an intervention program and test it in a sample of current elite athletes and coaches. We are anticipating that this intervention program will explore how an awareness of environmental and personality factors interact to lead to outcomes relating to the development and wellbeing of the athletes. This will allow us to implement strategies aimed at positively influencing these outcomes.
- Poucher, Z.A., Tamminen, K.A., Kerr, G. and Cairney, J., 2021. A commentary on mental health research in elite sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(1), pp.60-82.
- Purcell, R., Henderson, J., Tamminen, K.A., Frost, J., Gwyther, K., Kerr, G., Kim, J., Pilkington, V., Rice, S.M. and Walton, C.C., 2023. Starting young to protect elite athletes’ mental health. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(8), pp.439-440.
- Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K.R. and Walters, E.E., 2005. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), pp.593-602.
- Reardon, C.L. and Factor, R.M., 2010. Sport psychiatry: a systematic review of diagnosis and medical treatment of mental illness in athletes. Sports Medicine, 40, pp.961-980.
- Baumeister, R.F. and Leary, M.R., 2017. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Interpersonal Development, pp.57-89.
- Gouttebarge, V., Frings-Dresen, M.H. and Sluiter, J.K., 2015. Mental and psychosocial health among current and former professional footballers. Occupational Medicine, 65(3), pp.190-196.
- Wolanin, A., Gross, M. and Hong, E., 2015. Depression in athletes: prevalence and risk factors. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 14(1), pp.56-60.
- Kuettel, A., Pedersen, A.K. and Larsen, C.H., 2021. To Flourish or Languish, that is the question: exploring the mental health profiles of Danish elite athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 52, Article 101837.
- Purcell, R., Rice, S., Butterworth, M. and Clements, M., 2020. Rates and correlates of mental health symptoms in currently competing elite athletes from the Australian National high-performance sports system. Sports Medicine, 50, pp.1683-1694.
- Freeman, P. and Rees, T., 2010. Perceived social support from team-mates: Direct and stress-buffering effects on self-confidence. European Journal of Sport Science, 10(1), pp.59-67.
- Arnold, R., Fletcher, D. and Daniels, K., 2016. Demographic differences in sport performers’ experiences of organizational stressors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 26(3), pp.348-358.
- Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M., 2000. The” what” and” why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), pp.227-268.
Chu, T.L. and Zhang, T., 2019. The roles of coaches, peers, and parents in athletes’ basic psychological needs: A mixed-studies review. International Journal of
Luke McInerney is a PhD Research Student supervised by Dr. John Perry and Prof. Peter Clough in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick, having graduated from the Sport and Exercise Sciences program in 2023.
Contact: @lllukemm LinkedIn ORCID ResearchGate mcinerney.luke@ul.ie
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