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This study examined subjective (SWB), psychological (PWB) and social well-being (Social WB) at a global and sport contextual level among ten elite orienteers (6 women and 4 men, median age = 20.4, range 18–30) by employing semistructured interviews. Athletes described SWB as an interplay of satisfaction with life, sport experiences and perceived health combined with experienced enjoyment and happiness in both ordinary life and sport. SWB and PWB interacted, and important psychological functioning among the elite athletes included, among other things, abilities to adopt value-driven behaviors, be part of functional relationships, and to self-regulate one’s autonomy. The ability to organize and combine ordinary life with elite sport, and the use of strategies to protect the self during setbacks was also emphasized. For a comprehensive theoretical understanding of well-being applicable to elite athletes, the need for a holistic view considering both global and sport-specific aspects of WB is discussed.

Although many researchers have examined ill-being (e.g., injury and illness) in dancers, few researchers have examined well-being. In the current study, dancer’s perceptions of the dance motivational climate, dance performance anxiety, dance self-concept, and their relationships to dance well-being were examined. A total of 182 university dance students from five universities completed surveys and a series of multiregression analyses were undertaken to predict well-being. Both dance self-concept and perceptions of a task climate were moderately related to well-being and contributed significantly to elements of well-being: vigor, enthusiasm, confidence, and dedication. An ego climate was unrelated to any of the four dimensions of well-being. Substantial variance was predicted in the various elements of engagement, ranging from 15% to 55%. In particular, two significant interactions indicated that a task climate may have protective effects against anxiety in terms of reducing the detrimental influence that anxiety may have on two forms of well-being: confidence and dedication.

The well-being needs and strengths of para-athletes in a global and sport-specific context were investigated across subjective psychological, social, and physical health and well-being dimensions. Data were drawn from (a) semistructured interviews with Australian para-athletes (n = 23), (b) a focus group with the Australian Paralympic Committee (n = 9), and (c) a confirmatory para-athlete focus group (n = 8). The well-being needs and strengths of para-athletes differed across gender, sport, level of competition, and nature of impairment. Well-being needs were an interaction between physical pain, emotional regulation, lacking purpose outside of sport, and a lack of self-acceptance, especially for athletes with acquired impairments. Well-being strengths were perceived to increase as athletes increased their level of competition, and included personal growth, optimism, strong social support networks, and contributing to multiple communities. The importance of well-being as a multidimensional concept within the global and sport-specific context for para-athletes is discussed.

The present study explored the relationships between the coaching climate, youth developmental experiences (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative) and psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). In total, 202 youth sport participants (M_age = 13.4, SD = 1.8) completed a survey assessing the main study variables. Findings were consistent with Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development. In all analyses, the coaching climate was related to personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative. Mediational analysis also revealed that the development of personal and social skills mediated the relationships between the coaching climate and all three indices of psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Interpretation of the results suggests that coaches should display autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors because they are related to the developmental experiences and psychological well-being of youth sport participants.

Grounded in achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the perceived motivational climate and perceptions of ability to indices of psychological and physical well-being among male adolescents taking part in team sports. Participants were 265 adolescent soccer and cricket players. Reported self-esteem was the lowest among low perceived ability athletes participating in an environment that was perceived to be high in its ego-involving features, but high among athletes perceiving a highly task-involving environment regardless of their perceptions of competence. Contingent self-esteem, physical exhaustion, and reported physical symptoms were positively predicted by perceptions of an ego-involving climate. The results suggest that an examination of variations in the perceived motivational climate may provide further insight into whether sport participation can be health promotive or potentially damaging to athletes’ welfare.