Physics

Psychological resilience

Sociology

Neuroscience

Perception

Resilience (materials science)

Sport psychology

Developmental psychology

Physical therapy

Psychology

Sociocultural evolution

Anthropology

Athletes

Applied psychology

Medicine

Social psychology

Thermodynamics

The Sport Psychologist

The purpose of this study was to explore athletes’ perceptions and experiences of resilience. Ten high-level athletes were interviewed regarding the most difficult adversities that they had ever had to overcome in sport. Richardson and colleagues’ (Richardson, Neiger, Jensen, &amp; Kumpfer, 1990) resiliency model served as a guiding theoretical framework in the process of data collection and analysis. Inductive analysis (Patton, 2002; Thomas, 2006) was used to explore the data for key themes and patterns of relationships. Five general dimensions emerged that described the resilience experience of the athletes. These dimensions include breadth and duration, agitation, sociocultural influences, personal resources, and positive outcomes. A conceptual model of the resilience process as experienced by the athletes in this study is presented as a preliminary framework for future studies of resilience in sport.

“Bouncing Back” from Adversity: Athletes’ Experiences of Resilience