A qualitative exploration of how lifetime stressor exposure influences sport performers’ health, well-being, and performance

References

• American Psychological Association. (2019a). Sport psychology. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/sports.
   Google Scholar
• American Psychological Association. (2019b). Clinical psychology. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/clinical.
   Google Scholar
• Anderson, C. (2010). Presenting and evaluating qualitative research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(8), 141. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj7408141
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., Edwards, T., & Rees, T. (2018a). Organizational stressors, social support, and implications for subjective performance in high-level sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 39, 204–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.08.010
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., & Fletcher, D. (2012). A research synthesis and taxonomic classification of the organizational stressors encountered by sport performers. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 34(3), 397–429. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.34.3.397
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., & Fletcher, D. (2021). Stressors, hassles, and adversities. In R. Arnold, & D. Fletcher (Eds.), Stress, well-being, and performance in sport (pp. 31–62). Taylor & Francis.
   Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., & Daniels, K. (2017a). Organisational stressors, coping, and outcomes in competitive sport. Journal of Sports Sciences, 35(7), 694–703. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1184299
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., & Hobson, J. (2018b). Performance leadership and management in elite sport: A black and white issue or different shades of grey? Journal of Sport Management, 32(5), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2017-0296
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Arnold, R., Ponnusamy, V., Zhang, C.-Q., & Gucciardi, D. F. (2017b). Cross cultural validity and measurement invariance of the organizational stressor indicator for sport performers (OSI-SP) across three countries. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 27(8), 895–903. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12688
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Auerbach, R., Abela, J., & Ringo Ho, M. (2007). Responding to symptoms of depression and anxiety: Emotion regulation, neuroticism, and engagement in risky behaviors. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(9), 2182–2191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.11.002
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Barnes, F., Fletcher, D., & Neely, K. (2021). Stress-Related growth in elite sport performers: Qualitative differentiators in psychosocial mechanisms. The Sport Psychologist, 35(4), 293–304. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.2020-0015
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Biggin, I., Burns, J., & Uphill, M. (2017). An investigation of athletes’ and coaches’ perceptions of mental ill-health in elite athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 11(2), 126–147. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2016-0017
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019a). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, and Health, 11(4), 589–597. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019b). To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and sample-size rationales. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(2), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1704846
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
   Google Scholar
• Breznitz, S. (1983). The denial of stress. International Universities Press.
   Google Scholar
• Byrne, D. (2021). A worked example of Braun and Clarke’s approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Quality & Quantity, 56, 1391–1412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y.
   Google Scholar
• Calkins, S. D., & Hill, A. (2007). Caregiver influences on emerging emotion regulation: Biological and environmental transactions in early development. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 229–248). The Guilford Press.
   Google Scholar
• Cazassa, M., Oliveira, M., Spahr, C., Shields, G., & Slavich, G. (2020). The stress and adversity inventory for adults (adult STRAIN) in Brazilian Portuguese: Initial validation and links with executive function, sleep, and mental and physical health. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 30383. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03083
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Compare, A., Zarbo, C., Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., & Marconi, C. (2014). Emotional regulation and depression: A potential mediator between heart and mind. Cardiovascular Psychiatry and Neurology, 2014, 324374. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/324374.
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Day, M., & Wadey, R. (2017). Researching growth following adversity in sport and exercise: Methodological implications and future recommendations. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 9(4), 499–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2017.1328460
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Day, M. C., & Martinelli, L. A. (2016). The complexities of narrating athletic injuries. Qualitative Methods in Psychology Bulletin, 22, 14–21.
   Google Scholar
• El Ghoch, M., Soave, F., Calugi, S., & Dalle Grave, R. (2013). Eating disorders, physical fitness and sport performance: A systematic review. Nutrients, 5(12), 5140–5160. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu5125140
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Epel, E. S., Crosswell, A. D., Mayer, S. E., Prather, A. A., Slavich, G. M., Puterman, E., & Mendes, W. B. (2018). More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 49, 146–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.001
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Fletcher, D. (2019). Psychological resilience and adversarial growth in sport and performance. In E. O. Acevedo (Ed.), The Oxford encyclopedia of sport, exercise, and performance psychology (pp. 731–756). Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Fletcher, D., Hanton, S., & Mellalieu, S. D. (2006). An organizational stress review: Conceptual and theoretical issues in competitive sport. In S. Hanton, & S. D. Mellalieu (Eds.), Literature reviews in sport psychology (pp. 321–374). Nova Science Publishers.
   Google Scholar
• Freeman, P. (2021). Social support. In R. Arnold, & D. Fletcher (Eds.), Stress, well-being, and performance in sport (pp. 240–258). Taylor & Francis.
   Google Scholar
• Galli, N., & Reel, J. (2012). It was hard, but it was good’: A qualitative exploration of stress-related growth in division I intercollegiate athletes. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4(3), 297–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2012.693524
   Google Scholar
• Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (2020). Measuring well-being in sport performers: Where are We Now and How do we progress? Sports Medicine, 50(7), 1255–1270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01274-z
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gorczynski, P., Currie, A., Gibson, K., Gouttebarge, V., Hainline, B., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., Mountjoy, M., Purcell, R., Reardon, C. L., Rice, S., & Swartz, L. (2020). Developing mental health literacy and cultural competence in elite sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(4), 387–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1720045
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gough, B., & Madill, A. (2012). Subjectivity in psychological science: From problem to prospect. Psychological Methods, 17(3), 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029313
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gouttebarge, V., Castaldelli-Maia, J., Gorczynski, P., Hainline, B., Hitchcock, M., Kerkhoffs, G. M., Rice, S. R., & Reardon, C. L. (2019). Occurrence of mental health symptoms and disorders in current and former elite athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 700–706. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100671
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Greene, J., Caracelli, V., & Graham, W. (1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed method evaluation designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11(3), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737011003255
   Google Scholar
• Hammen, C. L., Rudolph, K. D., & Abaied, J. L. (2014). Child and adolescent depression. In E. J. Mash, & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child psychopathology (pp. 225–263). The Guilford Press.
   Google Scholar
• Hanna, P. (2012). Using internet technologies (such as Skype) as a research medium: A research note. Qualitative Research, 12(2), 239–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794111426607
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hayward, F., Knight, C., & Mellalieu, S. (2017). A longitudinal examination of stressors, appraisals, and coping in youth swimming. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 29, 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.12.002
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Howells, K., & Fletcher, D. (2015). Sink or swim: Adversity- and growth-related experiences in Olympic swimming champions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 16, 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.004
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Howells, K., & Fletcher, D. (2016). Adversarial growth in Olympic swimmers: Constructive reality or illusory self-deception? Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 38(2), 173–186. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2015-0159
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Jordana, A., Turner, M., Ramis, Y., & Torregrossa, M. (2020). A systematic mapping review on the use of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) with athletes. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1836673
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Knight, C. J., Harwood, C. G., & Sellars, P. A. (2018). Supporting adolescent athletes’ dual careers: The role of an athlete’s social support network. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 38, 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.06.007
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lam, J. C. W., Shields, G. S., Trainor, B. C., Slavich, G. M., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2019). Greater lifetime stress exposure predicts blunted cortisol but heightened DHEA responses to acute stress. Stress and Health, 35(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2835
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Levitt, H., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J., Frost, D., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology: The APA. Publications and Communications Board Task Force Report. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
   Google Scholar
• Levitt, H., Motulsky, S., Wertz, F., Morrow, S., & Ponterotto, J. (2017). Recommendations for designing and reviewing qualitative research in psychology: Promoting methodological integrity. Qualitative Psychology, 4(1), 2–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000082
   Google Scholar
• Lundqvist, C. (2021). Well-Being and quality of life. In R. Arnold, & D. Fletcher (Eds.), Stress, well-being, and performance in sport (pp. 131–148). Taylor & Francis.
   Google Scholar
• Madigan, D., Rumbold, J., Gerber, M., & Nicholls, A. (2020). Coping tendencies and changes in athlete burnout over time. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 48, 101666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101666
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Malterud, K., Siersma, V., & Guassora, A. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753–1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mannay, D. (2021). Visualising pasts, futures, and the present: How can creative research methods enable reflection, reflexivity, and imagination? In B. C. Clift, J. Gore, S. Gustafsson, S. Bekker, I. C. Battle, & J. Hatchard (Eds.), Temporality in qualitative inquiry: Theories, methods, and practices (pp. 127–141). Routledge.
   Google Scholar
• Marshall, A. E. (2019). Timeline drawing methods. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in health social sciences (pp. 1183–1199). Springer Singapore.
   Google Scholar
• Mayer, S. E., Prather, A. A., Puterman, E., Lin, J., Arenander, J., Coccia, M., Shields, G. S., Slavich, G. M., & Epel, E. S. (2019). Cumulative lifetime stress exposure and leukocyte telomere length attrition: The unique role of stressor duration and exposure timing. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 104, 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.002
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mazzer, K. R., & Rickwood, D. J. (2015). Mental health in sport: Coaches’ views of their role and efficacy in supporting young people’s mental health. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 53(2), 102–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2014.965841
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mazzetti, A., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2012). Evaluating a visual timeline methodology for appraisal and coping research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85(4), 649–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.2012.02060.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease. Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840(1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09546.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McLoughlin, E., Arnold, R., Fletcher, F., Spahr, C. M., Slavich, G. M., & Moore, L. J. (2022). Assessing lifetime stressor exposure in sport performers: Associations with trait stress appraisals, health, well-being, and performance. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 58, 102078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102078
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• McLoughlin, E., Fletcher, D., Slavich, G. M., Arnold, R., & Moore, L. J. (2021). Cumulative lifetime stress exposure, depression, anxiety, and well-being in elite athletes: A mixed method study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 52, 101823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101823
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nelson, R. (1977). Irrational beliefs in depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 45(6), 1190–1191. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.45.6.1190
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
   Google Scholar
• Pegg, S., Ethridge, P., Shields, G., Slavich, G., Weinberg, A., & Kujawa, A. (2019). Blunted social reward responsiveness moderates the effect of lifetime social stress exposure on depressive symptoms. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13, 178. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00178
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Poucher, Z., Tamminen, K., Kerr, G., & Cairney, J. (2019). A commentary on mental health research in elite sport. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2019.1668496
   Google Scholar
• Rice, S., Walton, C. C., Gwyther, K., & Purcell, R. (2021). Mental health. In R. Arnold, & D. Fletcher (Eds.), Stress, well-being, and performance in sport (pp. 167–188). Taylor & Francis.
   Google Scholar
• Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2000). Interpersonal flourishing: A positive health agenda for the new millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4(1), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0401_4
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sappleton, N., & Lourenço, F. (2016). Email subject lines and response rates to invitations to participate in a web survey and a face-to-face interview: The sound of silence. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 19(5), 611–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2015.1078596
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schnur, J. B., Montgomery, G. H., & David, D. (2010). Irrational and rational beliefs and physical health. In D. David, A. Ellis, & S. J. Lynn (Eds.), Rational and irrational beliefs: Research, theory, and clinical practice (pp. 253–265). Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Slavich, G. M. (2019). Stressnology: The primitive (and problematic) study of life stress exposure and pressing need for better measurement. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 75, 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.08.011
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Slavich, G. M., & Irwin, M. R. (2014). From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: A social signal transduction theory of depression. Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 774–815. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035302
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Slavich, G. M., & Shields, G. S. (2018). Assessing lifetime stress exposure using the stress and adversity inventory for adults (adult STRAIN).  Psychosomatic Medicine, 80(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000534
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Slavich, G. M., Stewart, J. G., Esposito, E. C., Shields, G. S., & Auerbach, R. P. (2019). The stress and adversity inventory for adolescents (adolescent STRAIN): Associations with mental and physical health, risky behaviors, and psychiatric diagnoses in youth seeking treatment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(9), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13038.
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sly, D., Mellalieu, S., & Wagstaff, C. (2020). "It’s psychology Jim, but not as we know it!”: The changing face of applied sport psychology. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 9(1), 87–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000163
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Smith, B. (2018). Generalizability in qualitative research: Misunderstandings, opportunities and recommendations for the sport and exercise sciences. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 10(1), 137–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2017.1393221
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Smith, B., & Sparkes, A. C. (2009). Narrative inquiry in sport and exercise psychology: What can it mean, and why might we do it? Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2008.01.004
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Sullivan, M. J., Thorn, B., Haythornthwaite, J. A., Keefe, F., Martin, M., Bradley, L. A., & Lefebvre, J. C. (2001). Theoretical perspectives on the relation between catastrophizing and pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 17(1), 52–64. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002508-200103000-00008
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1501_01
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Toussaint, L., Shields, G. S., Dorn, G., & Slavich, G. M. (2016). Effects of lifetime stress exposure on mental and physical health in young adulthood: How stress degrades and forgiveness protects health. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(6), 1004–1014. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105314544132
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Trainor, L., & Bundon, A. (2021). Developing the craft: Reflexive accounts of doing reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 13(5), 705–726. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1840423.
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Triplett, K. N., Tedeschi, R. G., Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., & Reeve, C. L. (2012). Posttraumatic growth, meaning in life, and life satisfaction in response to trauma. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 4(4), 400–410. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024204
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Turner, M. (2016). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), irrational and rational beliefs, and the mental health of athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01423
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar