Dissertation
Does intellectual humility contribute to student athlete mental health and well-being?
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Summer 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.008170
Abstract
Research in sport psychology has centered on evaluating interventions aimed at improving athletic performance and the mental well-being of student-athletes. More recent studies have explored a strength-based approach to sport psychology practice by incorporating various positive psychology constructs, such as resilience, gratitude, and mindfulness. The current study aimed to explore the role of a positive psychology construct not yet examined in the athlete population. More specifically, this study used hierarchical linear regression to examine if intellectual humility promotes well-being and reduces depression beyond the known risk factor of maladaptive perfectionism and positive contributions of gratitude among 99 NCAA Division I college student-athletes. Participants completed measures assessing perfectionism, gratitude, intellectual humility, depression, and flourishing. Results indicated that perfectionism was positively related to depression, but that neither gratitude nor intellectual humility predicted variance in depression above and beyond perfectionism. Conversely, perfectionism was not related to flourishing, but gratitude was positively related to flourishing. Intellectual humility predicted additional variance in flourishing above and beyond gratitude. These findings offer new insight into the role intellectual humility might play in improving student athlete well-being. Limitations, practical implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed based on the findings of this study.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Does intellectual humility contribute to student athlete mental health and well-being?
- Creators
- Birant Akbay
- Contributors
- Stacey McElroy-Heltzel (Advisor)Charles J Bermingham (Committee Member)Saba Rasheed Ali (Committee Member)Noel Estrada-Hernández (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations (Counseling Psychology)
- Date degree season
- Summer 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.008170
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- vii, 38 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Birant Akbay
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 07/29/2025
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (page 27-35).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
While college athletes project an image of strength and success, many face hidden mental health challenges. The combined pressures of sports and academics may cause stress, anxiety, and depression. Instead of focusing exclusively on the difficulties faced by these athletes, this study investigates what promotes their overall mental functioning. Preliminary research indicates that positive emotions, such as gratitude, may improve the mental, emotional, and social well-being of this group. This study examines how intellectual humility, a construct in positive psychology, may affect student athletes' well-being. In this study, 99 student athletes, competing at the highest level of collegiate sport, completed surveys about their mental health. Results showed that intellectual humility played a unique role in improving student athlete well-being outcomes above and beyond that which was found in previous research examining the positive effects of gratitude. These findings provide further evidence of the importance of studying the concept of intellectual humility among athletic populations.
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9984948640502771
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