Alone or in a team?: How sport context and physical activity intensity impact mental well-being during periods of forced inactivity

Abstract Periods of enforced inactivity, such as COVID-19 lockdown, substantially disrupted athletes’ physical activity (PA) routines and posed risks to psychological well-being. This study investigated the combined influence of sport typology (individual vs. team) and PA level (low, moderate, high, according to the IPAQ classification) on subjective well-being in amateur and sub-élite athletes. A total of 563 participants (mean age, 23.0 ± 7.4 years) completed an online survey comprising the WHO-5 Well-being Index and IPAQ-SF. An ANCOVA revealed no main effect of sport type on well-being ( p = 0.58), whereas age ( p = 0.016), BMI ( p = 0.001), and METs ( p < 0.001) were significant covariates. A 3 × 2 ANOVA demonstrated a significant interaction between sport typology and PA level (F(2, 557) = 6.54, p = 0.002). Team sport athletes classified as low active exhibited significantly higher well-being than individual sport athletes ( p = 0.003), whereas individual sport athletes classified as highly active reported greater well-being than their team sport counterparts ( p = 0.031). No differences emerged among moderately active participants. These findings indicate that the psychological correlates of PA are jointly determined by sport context and activity level, whereas team sport athletes appear to derive resilience from social belonging and group identity, individual sport athletes rely on autonomy, self-discipline, and self-regulatory skills. Tailored, context-specific strategies to sustain mental well-being should therefore be prioritized during periods of training disruption.