ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2024
Factors that influence mental health and well-being of high-performance athletes from Olympic or Paralympic sport who have transitioned out of national-level or international-level sport: a mixed methods approach.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2026).British journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Sustainable Career Transitions and Mental Health Support in Elite Sport: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Practices.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Transitioning to life after sport: empowering former college varsity athletes to live more healthfully.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
Transitioning out of elite sports can be a challenging time for athletes. To illuminate the gaps and opportunities in existing support systems and better understand which initiatives may have the greatest benefit in supporting athletes to transition out of elite sport, this study examined the lived experience of retired elite Australian athletes. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, quantitative data were collected via a self-report online survey, while qualitative data were collected via semistructured interviews. In total 102 retired high-performance athletes (M=27.35, SD=7.25 years) who competed in an Olympic or Paralympic recognised sport at the national and/or international-level participated in the online survey, providing data across domains of well-being and athletic retirement. Eleven survey respondents opted in for the semistructured interview (M=28.9, SD=6.9 years) providing in-depth responses on their retirement experiences. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), latent variables were identified from the survey data and associations between retirement support, retirement difficulties, retirement experiences, well-being and mental health were determined. Interview data were thematically analysed. The structural model had good predictive validity for all nine latent variables, describing positive and negative associations of retirement experiences, mental health and well-being. Building an identity outside of sport, planning for retirement, and having adaptive coping strategies positively impacted retirement experiences. Feeling behind in a life stage and an abrupt loss of athletic identity had a negative impact on retirement experiences. Implications for sports policymakers are discussed, including support strategies that could better assist athletes in successfully transitioning from elite sports.
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