Max Bergström

Max Bergström is a PhD candidate and Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), located within the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences. His mandate encompasses research, teaching, and supervision, and he is an integral member of the research group Skills and Performance Development in Sports and School (SPDSS).

Research Focus:

• Talent development environments for women in ice hockey
• Dual-career pathways for elite athletes
• Long-term participation in physical activity across the lifespan
• Gender-specific challenges in elite sport, including menstrual health and parenthood planning

His work is strongly interdisciplinary, bridging sports sociology, gender studies, sports psychology, and public-health perspectives. By leveraging qualitative and quantitative methodologies, Bergström investigates how structural and cultural factors shape the experiences of female athletes in Scandinavian elite sport settings.

Scientific Output & Trends:
Between 2021 and 2025, Bergström has published eleven peer-reviewed articles. Collectively, these papers illuminate the psychosocial and physiological challenges faced by elite female athletes, explore gendered differences in talent development systems, and highlight the delicate balancing act between high-performance sport and major life transitions such as parenthood or higher education.

Dissemination & Outreach:
He actively translates research into practice through conference presentations at venues such as the Hockey Meeting (Laval University, 2025) and the Nordic Winter Sport Conference. Popular-science articles in outlets like Idrottsforskning.se and national Norwegian/Swedish media further expand societal impact.

Collaborations & Supervision:
Bergström collaborates with scholars across NTNU, Mid Sweden University, and international networks. While no specific PhD advisees are named in the text, his teaching and supervisory responsibilities within NTNU’s sociology and sports programs indicate ongoing mentorship of master’s and bachelor students.