Playing the Game: an Exploration of the Lived Experience of Australian Elite Level Athletes, with a Focus on Their Mental Health and Wellbeing

School of Psychology Playing the Game: An Exploration of the Lived Experience of Australian Elite Level Athletes, with a Focus on their Mental Health and Wellbeing Jemma Bonnie Dessauvagie This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University May 2018 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) – updated May 2015. The proposed research study received human research ethics approval from the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC 00262), Approval Number RD-39-14. Signature: Date: 25 / 05 / 2018 ii iii Abstract Introduction. The current research focused on the exploration of the lived experience of elite level athletes in Australia in order to improve their experience. There is much research on and for athletes however such research has tended to be focused on the development of interventions that can support athletes in their sporting performance. It has been recognised that elite level athletes experience an increased vulnerability to poor mental health, and subsequently, understanding the impact of athletes’ mental health and wellbeing, beyond the competitive domain, has become an increasingly important line of inquiry. The prevalence of mental health concerns among elite level athletes is equivalent to that of non-athlete populations, yet athletes’ mental health concerns tend to be underestimated and underreported. It is hoped this insight will provide an account of the stress and stressors experienced by athletes, contribute to current contemporary understandings of elite athletes’ mental wellbeing, and inform the development of targeted interventions that can support this population on and off the field. Aims. The aim of the current research was to explore the lived experience of Australian elite level athletes from the athlete’s perspective. This was considered important in order to garner a holistic and ecologically valid account of the day to day reality of training, competing, and living as an athlete in Australia. Athletes’ experience of performance on and off the field, supports available, and athletes’ socio-contextual environments were of particular interest. Method. A qualitative research design was employed, embedded in community psychology, contextualism, and social constructionism, to explore athletes’ lived experiences. As an Australian ex-elite athlete, I conducted the current research as an insider researcher. The research was conducted across three phases; 1) engagement with elite level athletes as well as support staff; 2) a single sport study and; 3) an exploration of representations of elite level athletes and sport by print media. iv In total, 23 athlete informants and five support staff informants were engaged in a total of 25 semi-structured interviews across phases one and two. The interview transcripts were analysed via Causal Layered Analysis (CLA). CLA as an analytic tool enables one social phenomena to be viewed with respect to varying levels of conceptual depth and complexity, ensuring phenomena are considered beyond their superficial manifestations. The front page of all 2012 publications of The Australian newspaper were viewed and reviewed in phase three and headlines that pertained to sport or sports people analysed via thematic analysis. Findings. The findings generated from phase one and two of the research revealed an understanding of elite level athletes as inherently human, positioned as vulnerable, fragile, and imperfect. These myths posed a challenge to elite level athletes where a number of social dynamics, systems and structures appeared to actively manoeuvre athletes away from ‘a human’ and closer to being ‘the athlete.’ This presented two dichotomous, yet interdependent, representations of athletes: ‘the athlete’ and ‘the human.’ Athletes appeared to be judged on their capacity to fulfil the expectations of the role of ‘the athlete,’ where making mistakes (being human) was criticised. These assumptions underpin athletes’ on and off field contexts and place limitations on athletes’ agency, autonomy, and control. Phase three presented a snapshot of the social construction of elite level athletes and sport in Australia which were expressed across three dimensions: Focus on winning; Being super human and; Players a pawns. These reflected the attitudes, values, and ideology of Australian sporting culture and presented a series of societal expectations for athletes to negotiate, particularly with respect to victory. Findings further suggest athletes’ skills and sporting prowess are positioned publicly as a gift rather than being earned which serves to devalue athletes’ hard work, training, and effort. v Conclusions. Key interpretations of the current research reflect the integration of the emergent themes across the three separate causal layered analyses alongside the thematic analysis. Overall, the key finding of the current research is that athletes are fundamentally human. Findings speak to a dissonance between how athletes see themselves and how they are seen by others. It was apparent that only athletes and support staff viewed athletes as human. Other actors (i.e., the Australia public) required athletes to live up to the public discourse of ‘an athlete.’ Athletes are not afforded the right, or space, to be merely human. Where athletes’ humanness surfaced it was positioned as problematic and as entertainment. Further, the notion of being watched pervaded athletes’ lived experience. As such, findings extend the notion of performing and performance pressure beyond the context of the competitive domain. vi Acknowledgments “All the talent in the world won’t get you anywhere without your teammates.” – Anonymous This thesis could not have been completed without the assistance and support of many people. First, I am so grateful to the many informants who were so generous in giving up their time to share their experiences. I am particularly indebted to the various athletes, past and present, who so willingly shared their insights, and stories with me. To those athletes, your bravery in recounting some of your darkest and most personal moments in sport was particularly moving and was often my inspiration to keep on keeping on. I would like to acknowledge my supervisory team, Associate Professor Moira O’Connor and Dr. Rebecca Anderson, and thank them for their support, guidance and counsel across the duration of this study. The current research topic was well outside both their particular areas of expertise, and I so appreciate their courage in taking it on. The assistance gained from their many years of research and clinical practice was invaluable. In particular I wish to sincerely thank Moira who not only joined my supervisory team at the halfway point of my research, but was then willing to assume the role of my primary supervisor. Moira, words cannot adequately express what you have done for me in becoming my primary supervisor. Your compassionate and very supportive approach gave me the strength to continue during some very trying times. The support of my fellow PhD comrades was invaluable. Being able to share this journey with all the Hubbites, with all its ups and downs, was such an important part of the experience. No matter how alone I felt in my experiences, I was never alone. There was always someone willing to generously give up their very precious time to talk through my ideas or issues and share their learned wisdom. I extend much gratitude for the comfort, and counsel provided, and myriad coffees shared across the journey. I am particularly grateful for the friendship of Emma whose unwavering support, personally and professionally, endless encouragement, vii and uncanny ability to say exactly what I needed to hear was such an important component of my ‘thrive-al.’ I am so glad for our time as office buddies, and look forward to continuing our very special friendship on the other side. I have the utmost gratitude for the friendship and support of so many beautiful friends outside the Hub. A very special thanks to my bootcamp crew: Thandi, Natto, Wellsy, Waz, Court, Pete, and Kitty-Kat. Training with you every week was, and is, an absolute joy and it was so often the light I needed on my darkest of days. Thank you for your support, friendship, and for putting up with me each week. The friendship forged sweating our way through Ewen Street runs, push up competitions, 1,000 rep nights, and of course ‘death by burpees’ holds a very special place in my heart. To Nell, Lauren, Texas, Luke and Lizzie, PBnJAM, Dani and CM, the Morgansons Amz and Brock, and many more who have ridden every step of this journey with me, I sincerely thank you for your support, encouragement, and for always having a shoulder for me to cry on and a non-judgemental ear for me to rant to. For all the dinners cooked, the wines poured, and for always returning a smile to face, I am forever grateful. I am superbly lucky for such wonderful fr-amily. Finally, very special thanks for the staunch support of my family: my mum Candy, my brother Ben, and my PSD Richard, without which I would be lost. Thank you for always believing in me, particularly on the days I did not believe in myself. To my amazing mum, you are my everything. There is nothing like the comfort of your arms, and there is no wisdom like your words. You have always been in my corner, my champion, and I cannot thank you enough for your unconditional love and support, especially those days I did not deserve it. You always say that you are just being a mum, and while that might be true, I hope you know your incredible role as just a mum.

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