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‘That’s how I am dealing with it – that isdealing with it’: exploring men athletes’ self-compassion through the lens of masculinity
- Source :
- Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health; March 2022, Vol. 14 Issue: 2 p245-267, 23p
- Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- ABSTRACTDespite the growing body of literature in the field of athletes’ self-compassion over the past decade, studies with a focus specifically on men athletes are limited. In addition, although previous research suggests that differential representations of masculinities may impact men’s self-compassion uniquely, the link between men athletes’ self-compassion and masculinities is understudied. With masculinity-based negative evaluations being the source of many difficult experiences for men athletes, perhaps self-compassion can mitigate the impact of men’s challenges in sport. Thus, our research purpose was to explore men athletes’ lived experiences of self-compassion through the lens of masculinity. We recruited 16 men athletes (Mage = 21.4 years; SD = 3.7) to participate in two semi-structured interviews with a reflexive photography task between interviews. The results of our study are framed within two overlying categories (i.e., masculinity, self-compassion), with multiple themes in each category. Our findings suggest that the men athletes in our study generally represent a version of masculinity that is accepting of non-traditional representations of masculinity (e.g. homosexuality), and they were open and willing to accept and embrace self-compassion, particularly if it helps them improve their sport performance. We conclude that self-compassion can be a useful resource for men athletes, and future research should focus on developing and evaluating the effectiveness of a self-compassion intervention, with considerations given to the potential role of masculinity in men’s difficult sport experiences, tailored specifically for men athletes.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2159676x and 21596778
- Volume :
- 14
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Supplemental Index
- Journal :
- Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health
- Publication Type :
- Periodical
- Accession number :
- ejs58972758
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1920455