,
Tobias Lundgren,
Göran Kenttä,
Johanna Ihalainen,
Maarit Valtonen,
Raimo Lappalainen
Psychological flexibility skills (PFS) have shown to be an important aspect of wellbeing among the general population, however, there is a gap in research exploring flexibility skills among athletes. The present study examined the effects of PFS on young athletes’ (n = 106, M = 19.9) psychological wellbeing, symptomatology, and gender differences. Data was investigated using correlations and linear regression analyses. Higher PFS was associated with subjective wellbeing, recovery experiences, self-esteem, and lower levels of perceived stress, and depression symptoms (r = 0.30-0.53). Among the PFS, value-based actions acted as the strongest predictor for mental wellbeing and symptoms. In addition, avoidance of distressing thoughts and emotions related to sport was a significant predictor for self-esteem, symptoms of stress and depression but not for subjective wellbeing and recovery experience. Also, our results highlighted gender disparities, with female athletes reporting higher stress and depressive symptoms, while males exhibited better mental wellbeing, psychological recovery, self-esteem, and higher psychological flexibility skills. Overall, engagement in value-based actions may enhance athletes’ mental wellbeing. Further, it might be important to pay attention to individual differences related to gender both when assessing psychological flexibility skills and when applying interventions aimed at enhancing mental wellbeing among athletes.
| Published in | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14 |
| Page(s) | 43-55 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Psychological Flexibility, ACT, Athletes, Mental Wellbeing, Gender
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APA Style
Ronkainen, H., Lundgren, T., Kenttä, G., Ihalainen, J., Valtonen, M., et al. (2024). Psychological Flexibility Skills and Mental Wellbeing in Athletes: An Exploration of Associations and Gender Differences. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 13(2), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14
ACS Style
Ronkainen, H.; Lundgren, T.; Kenttä, G.; Ihalainen, J.; Valtonen, M., et al. Psychological Flexibility Skills and Mental Wellbeing in Athletes: An Exploration of Associations and Gender Differences. Psychol. Behav. Sci. 2024, 13(2), 43-55. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14
AMA Style
Ronkainen H, Lundgren T, Kenttä G, Ihalainen J, Valtonen M, et al. Psychological Flexibility Skills and Mental Wellbeing in Athletes: An Exploration of Associations and Gender Differences. Psychol Behav Sci. 2024;13(2):43-55. doi: 10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14,
author = {Hannaleena Ronkainen and Tobias Lundgren and Göran Kenttä and Johanna Ihalainen and Maarit Valtonen and Raimo Lappalainen},
title = {Psychological Flexibility Skills and Mental Wellbeing in Athletes: An Exploration of Associations and Gender Differences
},
journal = {Psychology and Behavioral Sciences},
volume = {13},
number = {2},
pages = {43-55},
doi = {10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.pbs.20241302.14},
abstract = {Psychological flexibility skills (PFS) have shown to be an important aspect of wellbeing among the general population, however, there is a gap in research exploring flexibility skills among athletes. The present study examined the effects of PFS on young athletes’ (n = 106, M = 19.9) psychological wellbeing, symptomatology, and gender differences. Data was investigated using correlations and linear regression analyses. Higher PFS was associated with subjective wellbeing, recovery experiences, self-esteem, and lower levels of perceived stress, and depression symptoms (r = 0.30-0.53). Among the PFS, value-based actions acted as the strongest predictor for mental wellbeing and symptoms. In addition, avoidance of distressing thoughts and emotions related to sport was a significant predictor for self-esteem, symptoms of stress and depression but not for subjective wellbeing and recovery experience. Also, our results highlighted gender disparities, with female athletes reporting higher stress and depressive symptoms, while males exhibited better mental wellbeing, psychological recovery, self-esteem, and higher psychological flexibility skills. Overall, engagement in value-based actions may enhance athletes’ mental wellbeing. Further, it might be important to pay attention to individual differences related to gender both when assessing psychological flexibility skills and when applying interventions aimed at enhancing mental wellbeing among athletes.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Psychological Flexibility Skills and Mental Wellbeing in Athletes: An Exploration of Associations and Gender Differences AU - Hannaleena Ronkainen AU - Tobias Lundgren AU - Göran Kenttä AU - Johanna Ihalainen AU - Maarit Valtonen AU - Raimo Lappalainen Y1 - 2024/04/29 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14 DO - 10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14 T2 - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JF - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences JO - Psychology and Behavioral Sciences SP - 43 EP - 55 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7845 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.pbs.20241302.14 AB - Psychological flexibility skills (PFS) have shown to be an important aspect of wellbeing among the general population, however, there is a gap in research exploring flexibility skills among athletes. The present study examined the effects of PFS on young athletes’ (n = 106, M = 19.9) psychological wellbeing, symptomatology, and gender differences. Data was investigated using correlations and linear regression analyses. Higher PFS was associated with subjective wellbeing, recovery experiences, self-esteem, and lower levels of perceived stress, and depression symptoms (r = 0.30-0.53). Among the PFS, value-based actions acted as the strongest predictor for mental wellbeing and symptoms. In addition, avoidance of distressing thoughts and emotions related to sport was a significant predictor for self-esteem, symptoms of stress and depression but not for subjective wellbeing and recovery experience. Also, our results highlighted gender disparities, with female athletes reporting higher stress and depressive symptoms, while males exhibited better mental wellbeing, psychological recovery, self-esteem, and higher psychological flexibility skills. Overall, engagement in value-based actions may enhance athletes’ mental wellbeing. Further, it might be important to pay attention to individual differences related to gender both when assessing psychological flexibility skills and when applying interventions aimed at enhancing mental wellbeing among athletes. VL - 13 IS - 2 ER -
Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden
Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland 5Finnish Institute of High Performance S
Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, Jyväskylä, Finland
Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
