Date
10-14-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.)
Chair
Marilyn Bartholmae
Keywords
flourishing, college athletes, mental health, well-being, physiology
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Wheeler, Derek Aaron, "Exploring Potential Psychological, Behavioral, and Physiological Predictors of Human Flourishing in Division 1 Athletes: Toward a More Comprehensive Mental Health Screening" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8996.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8996
Abstract
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has created numerous task forces and guidelines to address the rise in mental health challenges faced by student-athletes. However, these efforts have largely focused on identifying psychopathology rather than promoting flourishing. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive utility of self-report and objective measures of human flourishing among NCAA Division I student-athletes at initial screening (i.e., preparticipation exam). This retrospective, cross-sectional, correlational study analyzed archival data from 92 student-athletes from 13 different sports. Measures included the Secure Flourishing Index (SFI), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ), and Power Points, an objective measure of Heart coherence. Simple linear regression showed that Power Points significantly predicted SFI scores, explaining 4.8% of the variance (R² = .048, p = .037). Multiple linear regression examined PHQ-9, ASBQ, Power Points, sport type, and gender as predictors of SFI scores. The model was significant and explained 29.4% of the variance (R² = .294, p < .001). Depression was the only significant individual predictor (B = −.124, p < .001). The implications for these results are 1) objective measures should continue to be researched for their predictive utility of human flourishing at initial screening and 2) all universities should at a minimum use the PHQ-9 to assess depression. Finally, this study suggests using the SFI and an objective physiological marker as an adjunct to the initial health screening may provide a more comprehensive, data-driven, strength-based screening model that could potentially enhance early identification and intervention among elite student-athletes.
