Athletic Staff
The National Collegiate Association of Athletics (NCAA) encourages positive mental health and considers mental health to be an increasing area of concern for college athletes. Participation in college sports supports positive mental health in many ways, including facilitating traits such as self-confidence, connectedness, social support, and positive self-esteem.1 However, the sport experience also includes a widespread number of stressors impacting mental well-being. Athletes experience the same stressors that other students experience, with the added demands of sports and added visibility to others through social media. In order to enable student athletes to perform at their best socially, academically, and athletically, an important goal for every athletic department is to cultivate a positive environment for mental health and well-being.2
College athletes have a unique set of demands and challenges associated with being an athlete that can increase psychological distress. They simultaneously experience the demands of being a student and an athlete, thereby balancing athletic, academic, and social demands.3 In addition, sport-related travel and athletics-related time demands place student athletes at a disadvantage in the classroom.4 Student athletes also face exhaustive training sessions, competitive pressures, and the transition from youth to senior sport including the aim for mastery or perfection. These challenges are combined with all of the difficulties of being a student, including leaving home, and transitioning from secondary to tertiary education.5 This unique combination of stressors positions student athletes at an increased risk for mental illness.4 Coaches may be key in facilitating help-seeking among student athletes experiencing mental health concerns and eliminating the barriers therein.1 Therefore as a person involved in the care of athletes, it is important to develop a basic understanding of how to talk about mental health, signs and symptoms, and what resources they can be referred to.
References
1. Ryan, H., Gayles, J. G., & Bell, L. (2018). Student‐athletes and mental health experiences. New Directions for Student Services, 163, 67–79. doi: 10.1002/ss.20271
2. Egan, K. (2019). Supporting mental health and well-being among student athletes. Clinical Sports Medicine, 38, 537-544. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2019.05.003
3. Barnard, J. (2016) Student athletes' perceptions of mental illness and attitudes toward help-seeking, Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 30(3), 161-175, doi: 10.1080/87568225.2016.1177421
4. Kaier, E., Strunk, K., Cromer, L. D., Davis, J. L., & Johnson, M. D. (2015). Perceptions of mental illness stigma: Comparisons of athletes to nonathlete peers. Journal of College Student Development, 56(7), 735-739. Retrieved from: http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.uwyo.edu/docview/1731521968?accountid=14793
5. Kaiseler, M., Poolton, J., Backhouse, S., & Stanger, N. (2017). The relationship between mindfulness and life stress in student athletes: The mediating role of coping effectiveness and decision rumination, The Sport Psychologist, 31(3), 288-298. doi: 10.1123/tsp.2016-0083
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
