A qualitative exploration of adversarial growth in elite swimmers

The past few decades have heralded a paradigm shift in the psychology, oncology, and trauma literature. This shift has involved a re–focusing of the empirical lens from the distress and pathology of traumatic experiences to a focus on growth and thriving in response to adversity or traumatic events. Multiple studies have identified that individuals recognise positive changes following their experiences of adversity to the extent that many individuals report development beyond their pre–trauma functioning. These positive changes have been broadly conceptualised as growth, a multidimensional concept, which typically involves an increased appreciation for life, more meaningful relationships, an increased sense of personal strength, a change in priorities, and a richer existential and spiritual awareness. Growth following adversity, or adversarial growth, is still relatively new in sport, and specifically elite sport, and accordingly the purpose of this doctoral research was to explore adversarial growth in elite athletes with a particular emphasis on the experiences of elite level swimmers. The research was grounded in a constructivist paradigm which assumes changing and sometimes conflicting social realities, and seeks to understand people’s constructions of their lived experiences. [Continues.

Sink or swim: adversity- and growth-related experiences in Olympic swimming champions

Objective To explore the adversity- and growth-related experiences of swimmers at the highest competitive level. Of particular interest was the transitional process that the swimmers progress through to positively transform their experiences. Design Eight autobiographies of Olympic swimming champions were sampled and analyzed. Method The books were written by four male and three female swimmers whose ages at the time of their Olympic swims ranged from 14 to 41 years (M = 23.39, SD = 6.04). Informed by a narrative tradition, the autobiographies were subjected to a holistic analysis which involved scrutinizing the form of the structure and style of the narrative, and the content relating to the events and meanings described by the authors. Results The swimmers perceived their adversity-related experiences to be traumatic and initially attempted to negotiate them by maintaining a state of normality through the development of an emotional and embodied relationship with water. This relationship involved the non-disclosure of traumatic adversities and the development of multiple identities. As these strategies eventually proved to be maladaptive and exposed the swimmers to further adversity, the dialog of the autobiographies typically shifted to a more quest-focused narrative with the swimmers seeking meaning in their experiences and looking to others for support. Adoption of these strategies was necessary for the swimmers to experience growth, which was identifiable through superior performance, enhanced relationships, spiritual awareness, and prosocial behavior. Conclusion The findings provide broad support for theories of posttraumatic growth and suggest that assimilation processes may comprise initial phases of the transition between adversity and growth. We discuss a number of practical implications for psychologists and significant others involved with elite swimmers

The dark side of top level sport: an autobiographic study of depressive experiences in elite sport performers

The general and sport psychology research converge to point to a complex relationship between depressive experiences and human performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the depressive experiences of top level athletes and the relationship of such experiences with sport performance. Twelve autobiographies of elite athletes representing eight sports were analyzed. The autobiographical analysis was informed by narrative tradition, using three types of narrative analysis: categorical content, categorical form, and holistic content. The analysis revealed a temporal aspect to the depressive experiences that the athletes reported. Initially, sport represented a form of escape from the depressive symptoms which had been exacerbated by both external stressors (e.g., experiencing bereavement) and internal stressors (e.g., low self esteem). However, in time, the athletes typically reached a stage when the demands of their sport shifted from being facilitative to being debilitative in nature with an intensification of their depressive symptoms. This was accompanied by deliberations about continuing their engagement in sport and an acceptance that they could no longer escape from their symptoms, with or without sport. The findings extend the extant literature by suggesting a reciprocal relationship between depressive experiences and sport performance, and they support the general psychology literature relating to the negative impact of depression on performance. The applied implications of these findings are discussed emphasizing the importance of early identification of depressive symptoms and the adoption of a proactive approach in the prevention and management of symptoms