PhD in Understanding mental health in elite women's cricket

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Recently mental health of elite athletes has received considerable attention in the media and in sport science research. Whilst this attention is much overdue, there is scant research on mental health in female athletes. Several high-profile female athletes such as Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducana have spoken candidly about their mental wellbeing, yet female athletes are absent from most empirical research. Research that does exist focuses on eating disorders and does not consider a deeper understanding of female athletes' experiences. This narrow focus is surprising considering females are known to be at a heightened risk compared to males for all types of mental illness (Kuetterl & Larsem, 2019). There is a very real danger that research will neglect women's mental health experiences and yet again emphasise the inequalities that are inherent in the sport science field. Indeed, recent research (Perry, Champ, Macbeth, & Spandler, 2021) highlights that there is a need for methodological diversity to advance our conceptual and theoretical understanding of mental health in female athletes. Adopting a holistic approach and examining factors that research has typically shied away from (i.e., menstrual cycle, sociocultural factors, and sexual orientation) has the potential to significantly advance this research area.