Resilience and Well-Being Over the Course of an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Gymnastics Season

Context: Awareness regarding the importance of mental health in athletes has been increasing in recent years. Mental health has been investigated in relation to injury recovery and performance; however, less evidence has examined changes in mental health throughout a competitive season. Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) evaluate the psychological factors of resilience and well-being over a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I gymnastics season and examine changes over 4 time points: preseason, start of the competitive season, midseason, and postseason and (2) examine the relationships between these psychological measures at these 4 time points. We hypothesized that resilience and well-being would remain stable, and higher resilience would be related to a greater sense of well-being at all time points. Design: This study utilized a retrospective chart review. Setting: This study is conducted in a college setting. Patients or Other Participants: Study participants were 17 Division I female gymnasts. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted to evaluate the Brief Resilience Scale and 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index, which gymnasts had completed biweekly from preseason to postseason. Descriptive statistics were reported, a 1-way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine changes across 4 time points, and Pearson product-moment correlations were used to examine the relationships between Brief Resilience Scale and 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index scores. Results: Brief Resilience Scale and 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index scores did not change throughout the season (P = .62, .52). No relationship between the variables was identified at the start of preseason or midseason (P > .17). However, at the start of the competitive season and postseason, resilience was positively correlated with well-being (r = .65, P = .006; r = .82, P = .006). Conclusions: Higher resilience and well-being are related in Division I female gymnasts but do not fluctuate throughout the season. Sports medicine staff and coaches should be aware that there is room to improve resilience and well-being, making additional supports warranted, including coping skills and resilience training interventions.