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Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Kinesiology

Supervisor

Hall, Craig

Abstract

The general purpose of this dissertation was to examine eudaimonic well-being in sport. This dissertation was divided into three studies. Study 1 was designed to develop a sport-specific eudaimonic well-being measurement tool (EWBSS; Eudaimonic Well-Being in Sport Scale) and included three phases. During Phase 1, 19 items were created by two investigators and five of these items were selected by five experts to represent eudaimonic well-being in sport. Phase 2 assessed the factorial validity and reliability of the EWBSS on a large sample (N = 400) with competitive level athletes from various individual and team sports with results demonstrating initial evidence for both factorial validity and reliability. Phase 3 further tested the factorial validity, nomological validity, convergent validity, and reliability of the EWBSS with two independent samples (i.e., competitive and recreational athletes). The findings provided support for the psychometric properties of the EWBSS in competitive athletes and partial support for the validity and reliability of the EWBSS in recreational athletes.

The purpose of Study 2 was to investigate the association between motivation and eudaimonic well-being, based on self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985). The relationship between motivation and eudaimonic well-being was tested using a latent variable model through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Three hundred ninety-nine athletes (Mage = 25.08, SD = 7.35) from 15 different individual and team sports completed a questionnaire package. Integrated, identified, and external regulations positively predicted athletes’ eudaimonic well-being, while introjected regulation and amotivation negatively predicted athletes’ eudaimonic well-being. Additionally, intrinsic motivation was not a significant predictor of eudaimonic well-being.

Study 3 investigated the effectiveness of an imagery intervention on eudaimonic well-being in soccer. Five female varsity level soccer players (Mage = 19.80, SD = 1.64) participated in the study. Each athlete engaged in eight individual imagery sessions (i.e., intervention phase) aimed at increasing eudaimonic well-being. Visual and statistical analyses revealed a small increase in eudaimonic well-being for two participants. Post-intervention interviews showed that the imagery intervention was perceived by all participants as beneficial for their well-being at both sport-specific and general levels.

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