Psychological resilience, stress, coping styles, mindfulness and social support in student athletes: An explanatory sequential mixed research design
Download this article Ergün Kara * and Aydogan Aykut Ceyhan **
(*) Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Faculty of Education, Psychological yunseling and Guidance Antalya Turkey
(**) Anadodolu University, Faculty of Education, Psychologial Counseling Guidance, Eskisenir
Citation
Kara, E., Aykut Ceyhan, A. (2025). Psychological resilience, stress, coping styles, mindfulness and social support in student athletes: An explanatory sequential mixed research design. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 56(2), 136-178. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2025.56.136
Abstract
This study aimed to test the hypothetical model concerning the mediation roles of coping strategies, mindfulness, and perceived social support on the relationship between psychological resilience and perceived stress among student-athletes. Additionally, this study compared the hypothetical model, with a specific focus on gender and sports type (individual sports and team sports) differences. Moreover, interview sessions were conducted to collect qualitative data and gain a deeper understanding of this hypothetical model. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed within the framework of an explanatory mixed research design. In the quantitative data collection phase, data were obtained from 604 student-athletes, while the qualitative data collection phase involved conducting semi-structured interviews with ten student-athletes. Quantitative data were analyzed using Multigroup Structural Equation Models, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through Phenomenological analysis. The study findings partially verified the hypothetical model, indicating that problem-focused coping, mindfulness, and perceived social support mediated the impact of participants’ stress on psychological resilience. Conversely, avoidance-oriented coping did not have a mediating effect on psychological resilience. Furthermore, the resilience model did not differ in terms of gender and sport type. The analysis of the qualitative data unveiled four main themes: stress factors, protective internal factors, protective external factors, and positive results. The findings from these themes supported and confirmed the hypothetical model. It was found that social support, problem-focused coping, and mindfulness influenced the relationship between stress experienced by student-athletes and their psychological resilience. Overall, these findings suggest that supporting student-athletes with psychological factors such as problem-oriented coping with stress, mindfulness, and social support is crucial for optimizing their performance and efficiency.
Keywords: Resilience, Stresss, Coping, Mindfulness, Social Support, Student-Athletes