A Qualitative Exploration of Thriving in Elite Sport

Abstract

Athletes are often described as thriving in sport; however, extant research on this construct in sport has been divergent. This study aimed to provide the first dedicated exploration of thriving in elite sport performers by considering its characteristics, outcomes, and facilitators. Semistructured interviews (n = 15) were conducted with athletes, coaches, and sport psychology practitioners and were analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Thriving was perceived to comprise a sustained high-level of performance and dimensions of well-being. Furthermore, predominantly positive outcomes of thriving were described, and participants identified a network of personal and contextual enablers that could facilitate thriving.

The positive association between perceived parental responsiveness and self-esteem, anxiety, and thriving among youth rugby players: A multigroup analysis

“…Such an association is likely because players' that generally perceived their parents as responsive to their needs have the opportunity to develop positive self-perceptions leading to optimal wellbeing (Bowlby, 1988;Duchesne & Larose, 2007;Marsh et al, 2018). These results align the recent conceptualization of thriving in sport (i.e., a sustained high-level of performance, and dimensions of wellbeing; Brown et al, 2018). As research shows that thriving in sport is facilitated by contextual facilitators such as high quality relationships (Brown et al, 2017(Brown et al, , 2018, the results of the present study extend such findings by demonstrating the specific association between players' perception of their parents' responsiveness and thriving.…”

“…Sport scholars characterise the joint experience of high performance and optimal wellbeing as thriving (Brown et al, 2017(Brown et al, , 2018. Thriving is a desired end-state of optimal wellbeing that comprises five related components of hedonic (e.g., subjective wellbeing), eudemonic (e.g., goal accomplishment), psychological (e.g., positive self-regards), social (e.g., meaningful and deep connections with others), and health quality (e.g., health, fitness) (Feeney & Collins, 2015).…”

Work-Sports Enrichment in Amateur Runners: A Diary Study

“…cognitive crafting; Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001), which may enrich the sports domain such that a positive mood is maintained during sports. Previous research suggests that such a positive mental state can facilitate thriving in sports (Brown et al, 2018).…”

Sports performers' perspectives on facilitating thriving in professional rugby contexts

“…Within an athletic context, thriving in elite sport performers was recently found to be characterized by dimensions of well-being (e.g., being focussed and in control, having a sense of belonging) and the perception of sustained high-level performance (D. J. Brown, Arnold, Reid, & Roberts, 2018). These findings are in-line with the suggestion that thriving is akin to being fully functioning, wherein individuals can fully access and exercise their human capacities, experience vitality, and display signs of happiness (Ryan & Deci, 2017).…”