Developing Team Resilience In High-Proformance Women's Football

Szabadics, Adrienn (2025) Developing Team Resilience In High-Proformance Women's Football. Doctoral thesis, Buckinghamshire New University (Awarded by Staffordshire University).

Text 20530_Szabadics.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (6MB)

Abstract

Previous research explored the construct of team resilience in high-performance contexts, suggesting that it can be developed, but empirical evidence is limited. This research aimed to address this gap by developing, implementing, and evaluating an evidence-based team resilience intervention in high-performance women’s football. The series of studies involved a needs assessment, including focus groups with five football teams and an expert panel to identify contextual stressors, existing resilience practices, and perceived gaps. Based on these findings, a season-long resilience intervention was co-produced and implemented with a professional women’s football team. A multi-level approach was used to assess resilience, with team resilience measured by the Characteristics of Resilience in Sports Teams Inventory (CREST) and individual resilience assessed by the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). A postintervention process evaluation was conducted with 12 participants. At the individual level, participants’ resilience scores did not demonstrate a statistically significant change over time, suggesting sustained levels of resilience. Conversely, at the team level, the resilient characteristics subscale of the CREST displayed a positive trend at the beginning of the season but thereafter a statistically significant decline was evident. The team vulnerabilities subscale of the CREST showed a statistically significant increase. The process evaluation of participants’ lived experiences of the intervention identified positive impacts and important features for effective intervention design. Finally, the research aimed to examine the insights and experiences of a sport psychologist conducting interventions in a professional sport to highlight challenges faced and strategies for successful interventions. The findings advanced the field of psychology by developing and implementing the first longitudinal multi-level team resilience intervention in high-performance women’s football, revealing temporal changes and their impact for practitioners. Additionally, the findings demonstrated the importance of complementary measures for enhancing insight into intervention effectiveness, along with in-depth practitioner led insights from working in this performance context.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Depositing User:	RED Unit Admin
Date Deposited:	19 Jun 2025 12:01
Last Modified:	19 Jun 2025 12:01
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/20530

Actions (login required)

Edit Item