Relationships Between Vulnerability and Depression Among Japanese University Athletes

Abstract

In the case of an excessive burden imposed on self, a person with vulnerability he/she perceives unprotected against the load. Vulnerability is defined as"a susceptibility to damage to self, a state that may be fragile or hurt."University athletes may often experience psychological, physical, and social stressors, which may cause vulnerable athletes to exhibit stress responses. Our previous studies of vulnerability among athletes have revealed that women have higher scores than men. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between vulnerability and depression among Japanese university athletes by gender. Method: Participants were 363 university athletes (men = 193, women = 170, mean age = 19.0 years, SD = 1.07). The Athletic Vulnerability Scale (AVS) and Self-Depression Scale (SDS) were used. We analyzed the relationships between these variables using the Pearsonʼs product-moment correlation coefficient by gender. Result & Discussion: The results revealed a significant relationship between the total scores on the AVS and SDS in both men and women (r = 0.26 and 0.32 respectively, p < 0.01). Additionally, in both men and women, the subscale scores on the AVS and SDS were also significantly correlated (men: r = 0.18-0.30, p < 0.01 and 0.05, women: r = 0.22-0.31, p < 0.01). Conclusion: We concluded that vulnerability and depression are closely associated in both men and women athletes, and its relationship differs by gender.

The development and validation of an emotional vulnerability scale for university students

“…A positive correlation was found between vulnerability and depressive symptoms. Since this result is consistent with previous research ( Hayashi, 2002 ; Yamaguchi et al, 2018 ), we believe that the measure developed in this research reflects the construct of vulnerability. Therefore, if one is vulnerable to something happening in one’s daily life, one may experience more depressive symptoms.…”

“…Additionally, Satici et al (2016) revealed a negative relationship between psychological vulnerability and social safety and found social safety to be a significant negative predictor of psychological vulnerability. Additionally, similar to the findings of Yamaguchi et al (2018 , 2019) , who studied the relationship between vulnerability and mental health, Demirci et al (2019) reported that psychological vulnerability is an important factor for mental health and well-being. According to Yelpaze et al (2021) , empirical support for potential factors in the relationship between psychological vulnerability, social connectedness, and well-being is still lacking.…”

“…Regarding validity, the correlation between vulnerability and depression was determined. Previous studies have reported a link between vulnerability and depressive symptoms (Yamaguchi et al, 2018(Yamaguchi et al, , 2019. Therefore, this study also treated depressive symptoms as a component of validity.…”

“…From the above discussion, using the emotional vulnerability scale developed in this study, it is possible to understand participants’ vulnerability in interpersonal relationships and events in daily life. In addition, using this scale can help determine a person’s level of vulnerability and predict possible mental health disorders, as vulnerability is expected to be a precursor to depressive symptoms ( Yamaguchi et al, 2018 , 2019 ). In fact, if adolescents experience hurt as threatening, they recall it repeatedly, which leads to increased stress ( Joseph and Williams, 2005 ).…”

“…Increased vulnerabilities also lead to poor mental health and lack of social support ( Akın and Eker, 2011 ). The negative correlation between vulnerability and self-efficacy has an adverse effect on behavioral motivation ( Kiamarsi and Abolghasemi, 2014 ), and higher levels of vulnerability are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms ( Yamaguchi et al, 2018 , 2019 ). Notably, women are more vulnerable than men ( Yamaguchi et al, 2019 ).…”