A Descriptive Look at the Mental Health Literacy of Student-Athletes

Abstract

Mental health literacy (MHL) is a significant component in understanding mental health disparities in vulnerable populations. Due to the unique structure and pressures of American college sport, attention to student-athletes’ MHL is critical, especially now that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is requiring member institutions to offer mental health services to their athletes. Utilizing online surveys of both athletes ( N = 205) and non-athlete students ( N = 205), this paper offers a descriptive look at the MHL of student-athletes. We found that both athletes and non-athlete students had above average levels of MHL, but high rates of mental health stigma. With a foundation in contact theory, the paper provides recommendations on how to utilize student-athletes’ mental health knowledge to decrease mental health stigma and increase MHL campus wide.

Supporting the mental health of postsecondary student-athletes: Implications from literature for the Canadian context.

“…Although this gap is decreasing (Barnard, 2016), student-athletes still underutilize mental health support (Donohue et al, 2018), which indicates that barriers remain to accessing support. Specifically, athletes have been less likely to access mental health support due to factors such as (a) stigma, (b) personal beliefs and knowledge, (c) identity factors, (d) status and reputation, and (e) service constraints (e.g., Beasley & Hoffman, 2023; Chew & Thompson, 2014; Harris & Maher, 2022; Yoon & Petrie, 2023).…”

“…Lastly, a lack of knowledge and awareness about the symptoms of mental health concerns was also a barrier to accessing services for student-athletes (Yoon & Petrie, 2023). However, Beasley and Hoffman (2023) found that student-athletes did have high mental health literacy but instead lacked the practical skills to utilize this knowledge to seek support.…”

“…Athletes who identify as men have been found to be less willing to seek mental health care support (Moreland et al, 2018). It is suggested that men experience higher levels of perceived stigma in comparison to women (Beasley & Hoffman, 2023); not wanting to be viewed as the “weak link” is a barrier to accessing mental health support (Delenardo & Terrion, 2014). Instead, men often internalize their struggles rather than seek mental health support (Harris & Maher, 2022).…”

“…Stigma. A barrier to student-athletes seeking support is a stigma towards help-seeking (Beasley & Hoffman, 2023;Beauchemin, 2014;Harris & Maher, 2022). Numerous forms of stigma exist within university athletics, such as public stigma (i.e., perceived negative attitudes that others hold against the individual for engaging in certain behaviours; Wahto et al, 2016).…”

Fat Phobia Among Youth Sport Coaches

“…Overwhelmingly, weight-based bias impacts individuals across various settings including education, healthcare, and general societal functioning (Puhl & Suh, 2015), which later impacts successful navigation of help-seeking behaviors and further psychological concerns (Peterson et al, 2012a(Peterson et al, , 2012bPuhl et al, 2014). For youth and adolescents, educators and coaches are therefore positioned as critical partners in response, prevention, and intervention for bias to reduce the perpetuation of negative mental health outcomes, including eating disorders (Beasley & Hoffman, 2023).…”