Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/30264
Title: Conceptualising family well-being in elite swimming
Authors: Christoforou, A
Mansfield, L
Blair, R
Rhind, D
Keywords: elite sport;athletes;family;well-being;interpretative phenomenological analysis
Issue Date: 2-Jan-2025
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Citation: Christoforou, A. et al. (2024) 'Conceptualising family well-being in elite swimming', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 0 (ahead of print), pp. 1 - 18. doi: 10.1177/10126902241299121.
Abstract: This paper presents a novel theoretical framework for understanding family well-being (FWB) in elite swimming. It uses qualitative data from longitudinal interviews with families of elite swimmers in Cyprus to show the importance of understanding the impact of FWB on athlete well-being. Adopting an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, a year-long study was conducted to understand the experiences of four Cypriot families with an adolescent swimmer who had Olympic potential. The study employed four rounds of individual interviews with each family member to explore in-depth well-being, family life and elite sporting experiences. The findings revealed that a mutual sense of FWB was characterised by health, emotions and a sense of belonging and worthwhileness. We argue for the need to move from individual accounts of athlete well-being to multidimensional models that help to understand the sociocultural contexts and complex relationships that impact how athletes feel. Our research argues that understanding athletes’ well-being cannot be separated from the environment and communities in which they live and practise their sport, and explores this issue through the family context.
URI: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/30264
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902241299121
ISSN: 1012-6902
Other Identifiers: ORCiD: Anastasia Christoforou https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5743-0063
ORCiD: Louise Mansfield https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4332-4366
ORCiD: Richard Blair https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5530-0770
ORCiD: Daniel Rhind https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2595-4607
Appears in Collections:Dept of Life Sciences Research Papers

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FullText.pdfCopyright © 2025 The Author(s). Christoforou, A., Mansfield, L., Blair, R., and Rhind, D. (2025) Conceptualizing Family Wellbeing in Elite Swimming. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 0 (00) pp. 1-18. DOI:0.1177/10126902241299121 (see: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal-author-archiving-policies-and-re-use).318.51 kBAdobe PDFView/Open


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