“We're forced to be resilient”: exploration of prospective risk and protective factors of resilience among women athletes

Introduction This qualitative study aims to elucidate findings from a larger research portfolio exploring the prospective risk and protective factors associated with resilience among women athletes. Methods Adopting a constructivist approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 women aged 19–46 years (M = 24 years; SD = 7.64), who represented seven sports and played for an average of 12 years (SD = 5.34). Reflective Thematic Analysis was used to analyze and identify patterns within the data that addressed women's perceptions and experiences of resilience in sport settings, potential barriers and facilitators of resilience, and programmatic preferences for new and/or revised resilience-based trainings. Results Three overarching themes and seven subthemes were identified: (1) The system breeds adversity and resilience (sports patriarchy and gender inequality; representation and role models; interpersonal dynamics and environments; resilience has ripple effects); (2) misconceptions and stereotypes of resilience; (3) resilience is a dynamic spectrum of interconnected skills (disconnection to attunement with self and others; avoidance to acceptance of adversity; maladaptive to adaptive coping during adversity). Discussion Findings suggest that traditional resilience models do not account for gendered stressors, structural inequalities, and resilience misconceptions embedded within sports cultures. Results support the need for socio-ecologically informed, gender-responsive approaches to research, clinical practice, and athlete support. Future work should integrate quantitative and qualitative methods into a revised resilience theoretical framework, refine resilience measurement, and prioritize adaptive coping strategies within multi-level frameworks to promote sustainable mental health, well-being, and long-term participation in sport.