Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Resources for High-Performance Coaches
Date
2024-03-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
0009-0008-8357-6203
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Coaches are central to stimulating and sustaining participation in recreational sport, as well as enhancing and optimizing athlete performance in high-performance sport (Fletcher & Scott, 2010). With the realization that coaches are performers similar to the athletes they work with (Abrahams, 2022), they require resources to manage their mental health. Coaches who operate in high-performance environments are exposed to a myriad of stressors that can create mental ill-health when the stress is left unchecked (Norris et al., 2017; Olusoga et al., 2019). In line with the WHO’s (2022) conceptualization of mental health, high-performance coaches require resources that not only combat mental ill-health, but also facilitate mental well-being. Mindfulness and self-compassion are two resources being explored in high-performance environments that have shown promising results among athletes (Birrer et al., 2012; Sappington & Longshore, 2015; Cormier et al., 2023; Röthlin et al., 2019), yet have not received the same attention for high-performance coaches. Therefore, the present research aimed to explore mindfulness and self-compassion as resources for high-performance coaches to manage their mental health.
A concurrent mixed-methods design was used where qualitative and quantitative phases occurred at approximately the same time (Creswell, 2011; Kowalski et al., 2022). The strategy of inquiry that guided the qualitative phase was interpretive description, where focus group discussions were utilized to better understand how high-performance coaches (N = 6) describe and perceive mindfulness and self-compassion. Two overarching themes from the focus group discussions became apparent: (1) a sport culture ripe for mental health resources such as mindfulness and self-compassion and (2) mixed descriptions and perceptions of support and uncertainty for mindfulness and self-compassion among high-performance coaches. For the quantitative phase, a cross-sectional nonexperimental study design including an online survey was used to determine the predictive utilities of mindfulness and self-compassion on mental health indicators among high-performance coaches (N = 78). Results from the quantitative phase showed that mindfulness and self-compassion are negatively related to an indicator of mental ill-health, and positively related to an indicator of mental well-being. Self-compassion accounted for unique variance beyond mindfulness among the indicator of mental ill-health, and mindfulness accounted for unique variance beyond self-compassion among the indicator of mental well-being. Results from the present research support the use of mindfulness and self-compassion in tandem for high-performance coaches to combat mental ill-health and facilitate mental well-being. Mindfulness and self-compassion educational and intervention programs should be provided for high-performance coaches, who appear motivated to find strategies to manage their mental health.
Description
Keywords
Sport Psychology, Coaching, High-Performance Coaching, Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, Mental Health
Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Kinesiology
Program
Kinesiology