UAlberta researchers found that elite female athletes often feel a sense of isolation and pressure to take on personal and professional adversity by themselves.
Elite female athletes often feel a sense of isolation and pressure to tackle personal and professional adversity on their own—even while struggling with issues such as bullying, eating disorders, depression and sexual abuse, according to research from the University of Alberta. Researchers at the U of A ed high-performance elite female athletes to better understand the types of adversity they face, and more important, how they overcome it, learn from it and grow. "Through a process of dealing with an event and searching for meaning in that event, individuals can grow in different areas of their lives," said lead author Katherine Tamminen. "It can be changing a sense of priorities in your life, it can be identifying closer relationships in others, or gaining a sense of personal strength; however, growth is not guaranteed." Tamminen, who completed the work as part of her PhD studies in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation , explains that the study focused on female athletes because men and women deal with adversity in different ways, with women more likely than men to report personal growth. For the study, she conducted one-on-one s with five athletes, aged 18 to 23 years, who collectively reported experiencing issues such as bullying, eating disorders, performance slumps, conflict with coaches, sexual abuse and preoccupation with suicide. As "elite" athletes, many reported an overwhelming sense of pressure to succeed and cope with their issues without affecting training or competition—which often led to social withdrawal and feelings of isolation, of "living in a bubble," says Tamminen, now a post-doctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia.
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