Historically, resilience was believed to be an intrinsic quality interwoven with personal attributes, enabling individuals to adapt to various stressors and contextual challenges (Wagnild & Young, 1990). In more recent research, resilience has been perceived as a dynamic and multifaceted process rather than a fixed trait. It evolves over an individual’s lifespan, based upon personal and situational factors, rooted in the individual’s capacity to respond effectively to circumstances, events, and environmental influences (Secades et al., 2014). Windle (2011) defines resilience as the agent that empowers individuals to “bounce back” in the face of adversity, enabling the capacity to adapt. Contemporary conceptualizations of resilience include the idea of not just surviving, but thriving following adversity, embracing concepts from the emerging field of positive psychology (Bryan et al., 2019; Smith et al., 2008).
Pedro and Veloso (2018) assert that athletes’ resilience embodies an array of personal skills that act as a protective shield against the adverse effects of stressful events. This resilience equips athletes with better emotional coping strategies, reduced distress, and decreased anxiety (Bicalho et al., 2020). When athletes are able to handle unpleasant emotions in the moment, they are able to perform without the weight of anxiety. Numerous studies have demonstrated strong correlations between resilience, psychological well-being, and enhanced athletic performance (Hosseini & Besharat, 2010; Nezhad & Besharat, 2010). Research consistently affirms that resilience is a necessary skill for athletes to have in order to excel in their sport (Holt & Dunn, 2004; Hosseini & Besharat, 2010).
With the increasing emotional and physical weight placed on youth athletes, research has sought to uncover what builds resilience to help athletes overcome personal life adversity and sport-related stressors. To begin, peer-to-peer support emerges as a fundamental component in cultivating resilience. Social support is negatively associated with stress-burnout, depression and sports helplessness. Positive relationships with teammates also enhance coping mechanisms, reduces distress, and decreases anxiety (Lu et al., 2015; Yi et al., 2004; Hagiwara et al., 2021; Raedeke & Smith, 2004). In fact, in a study done by Yanos (2021), accessing social support was the highest used proactive coping mechanism to overcome high-stress situations. Such social support systems empower athletes to navigate unpleasant emotions and stress more effectively, enabling them to bounce back from adversity. The establishment of strong, supportive relationships among peers within the athletic community contributes significantly to the well-being and resilience of young athletes.
Furthermore, mindfulness programs have been used to increase mental toughness and improve performance outcomes (McManama et al., 2021). Two types of mindfulness programs that have been applied in a sports context include the Mindfulness Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) programme (Kauffman, Glass & Arnkoff, 2009) and Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment Approach (MAC) (Gardner & Moore, 2017). In a systematic literature review (Carraça et al., 2018), MAC and MSPE were found to lead to improved performance in sport, levels of mindfulness, concentration, acceptance, sense of control, awareness of bodily sensations, and decreased stress and anxiety levels (Bernier et al., 2014; Bertollo et al., 2009; Demarzo et al., 2015; Gross et al., 2018; Haase et al., 2015; Sappington & Longshore, 2015). These mindfulness programs differ from traditional psychological skills training, which focuses more so on controlling one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors rather than fostering a mindset in the present moment (Galluci, 2008; Gardner & Moore, 2004). While research on psychological skills training has also indicated improved athletic performance, mindfulness training is unique because it leads to less avoidance and more acceptance of difficult emotions (Rothlin et al, 2020). Diffusion, the process of viewing one’s thoughts separate from their identity, is a positive byproduct of mindfulness that allows individuals to respond rather than react to stressors or high emotion. By having a broader perspective of their inner experience, athletes practicing mindfulness are able to accept inner experiences more easily, without judgment, leading to the increased use of mental strategies such as goal-setting (Rothlin et al, 2020). Benefits of mindfulness training include:
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Increases in mental toughness (Rothlin et al, 2020)
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Ability to not let emotions interfere with performance (Rothlin et al., 2020)
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Control over attention in training and competition (Rothlin et al., 2020)
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Improvements in sports performance (Rothlin et al., 2020)
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Improvements in stress coping in female athletes (Baltzell et al., 2014)
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Increases in non-judgmental awareness of present (McManama O’Brien 2021)
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Decreases in substance use, hostility and psychological distress (Gross et al., 2018)
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Reduced eating concerns and generalized anxiety (Gross et al., 2018)
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Increases in emotional regulation and psychological flexibility (Gross et al., 2018)
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Increases in dispositional mindfulness and emotional regulation (Josefsson et al., 2019)
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Increases in flow states (Scott-Hamilton et al., 2016)
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Increases in confidence, constancy, control and total mental toughness in female adolescents (Walker et al 2016)
While these research-backed benefits demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness programs, it is important to keep in mind that success for these programs should be uniquely and individually defined (Gervis & Goldman, 2020). Because every athlete is composed of their own emotional makeup and personal factors, the positive benefits of developing a mindfulness practice presents differently in each individual athlete.