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This study investigated the relationship between public stigma, self-stigma, and help-seeking attitudes in a sample of undergraduate student-athletes. Student-athletes appear to be at increased risk for developing mental health issues compared to their non-athlete counterparts (Etzel et al., 2006). However, student-athletes appear to underutilize available mental health services for fear of being labeled as mentally ill as well as other factors (Pinkerton, Hinz, and Barrow, 1989). The purpose of the current study is to explore two facets of stigma as a potential explanation for negative attitudes toward help-seeking and thus the underutilization of these mental health services. Sixty-six student-athletes completed a 10-minute paper-pencil survey. The survey included measures of self-stigma, public stigma, help-seeking attitudes, demographic variables, and an open-ended question regarding barriers to help-seeking. Results indicated that self-stigma mediated the relationship between public stigma and help-seeking attitudes, which replicates the mediated model found in Vogel et al. (2007). Self-stigma appears to explain how negative stereotypes about those who seek help are internalized to form negative attitudes toward help-seeking for student-athletes. Further, student-athletes noted barriers to help-seeking such as lack of time or knowledge of resources as well as fear of being labeled as mentally ill. Implications for research and practice are delineated.
The negative effects of disclosing a history of mental illness and the need for mental health services are well documented in the professional literature (Corrigan, 2005). Being labeled as "mentally ill" can lead to negative stereotypes placed on the individual that lead to prejudice and discrimination (Corrigan, 2004). These negative effects of disclosing psychological disturbances have led to some individuals being hesitant to seek help, even if the individuals or those close to them feel it is needed (Thornicroft, 2006). College students are a vulnerable population due to the likelihood that they will experience their first psychological disturbance during their college years (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Gollust, 2007), making access to mental health care crucial. College student-athletes may be even more at-risk for certain psychological disturbances, based on their unique demands and environmental stressors they face (Pinkerton, Hintz, & Barrow, 1989). College student-athletes appear to be underutilizing the mental health services available to them on college campuses (Watson & Kissinger, 2007). Prior studies have shown that college student-athletes are less likely to seek out mental health treatment than other college students (Watson, 2005). The purpose of this study was to see whether or not college student-athletes would exhibit more negative attitudes than student-nonathletes towards mental illness. This study also compared the attitudes toward seeking psychological help between athletes and non-athletes (using a measure developed for use with student-athletes and student-nonathletes by Watson, 2005). Scales that measure social distance, perceived devaluation and discrimination towards mental illness were used to operationalize stigma towards mental illness. The scales this study used to measure social distance (Martin et al., 2000) and perceived discrimination towards mental illness (Link, 1987) had never been used before in a student-athlete population. The potential roles that athletic identity, race, and gender play in treatment-seeking comfort were also examined.
Introduction: Adolescents and young adults experience a high level of mental health conditions.These disorders appear to be increasing in number and severity. The prevalence rate for 18-25-years-olds is 8.7% in 12 months. Mental health conditions are treatable, yet many people do not seek professional help. Seeking help from a professional source is particularly important for preventing, early detection, treatment, and recovery from mental health conditions. Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to demonstrate the prevalence of depression, explore student-athletes attitudes towards seeking mental health help, understand what factors may influence help-seeking behaviors, and explore the athlete's perceptions of the role that athletic trainers play in the assessment and referral process. Methods: An exploratory, concurrent mixed methods design was used. Survey data from the ATSPPH-SF and PHQ-9 were collected from collegiate student-athletes. A phenomenological approach will guide the qualitative research process. Semi-structured interviews will be audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using an interpretive thematic analytical approach. Study Participants: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes participating at the Divsion III (DIII) level. Results: The prevalence of depression was almost 42% in the study population. There was no relationship between PHQ-9 scores and sex. Attitudes towards seeking help were generally positive. Females tend to have more favorable attitudes than males, but this finding was not statistically significant. There was no relationhship between PHQ-9 scores and ATSPPH-SF scores. Barriers to help-seeking included perceived seriousness, stigma, lack of time, accessibility, prefer to handle issues on own, and cost. Facilitators to help-seeking included perceived and nee-problems that were serious enough to warrant help and a supportive network. Clinical Importance: As we continue to address the mental health crisis, it is imperative to understand what prevents student-athletes from seeking professional psychological help and develop supportive programs to help them overcome these barriers. Certified athletic trainers, coaches, and other athletic personel need to understand the seriousness of untreated mental health conditions and be educated to recognize when an athlete may be struggling with issues beyond their control. Knowing when to refer a student-athlete to a professional is essential in preventing potential unnecessary and irreversible consequences.
Current research has suggested that college student-athletes are at an increased risk for experiencing mental illness but utilize mental health support services at a lower rate than the general college student population. Stigma toward mental illness has been identified as a factor that can influence student-athletes' decision to utilize mental health support services. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between the demographic variables of socioeconomic status, sport played, class, race and gender and levels of stigma toward mental illness and peers that utilize mental health support services. This study also investigated college student-athletes' perceived attitudes toward the benefits and barriers to utilizing mental health support services. The participants in this study were 141 NCAA student-athletes who completed an online survey assessing stigma and attitudes toward peers that utilize mental health support services. Follow-up interviews were conducted with seven participants to gain a deeper understanding of the salient attitudes toward the benefits and barriers to utilizing mental health support services. Analyses were conducted to identify relationships between demographic variables and high stigma levels. Results indicated that there was a significant relationship between sport played, class, and gender and stigma levels within the sample. Also, qualitative analysis indicated that self-awareness was identified as a perceived benefit to utilizing mental health support services, but mental health illiteracy, fear of being labelled, and stigma were perceived barriers to utilizing mental health support services in this sample. Findings from this study have implications for how college athletic departments deliver effective mental health support programs to their student-athletes.
Collegiate athletes experience mental health concerns at similar rates to non-athlete students, however, the student-athlete population underutilizes professional mental health help with only 10% of those in need seeking services. Criticisms of the extant research on studentathlete mental health help-seeking include studies that lack theoretical guidance, and convenience samples who are not experiencing a mental health issue. The aim of this study was to conduct a theoretically driven investigation assessing factors of help-seeking associated with the Health Belief Model and Reasoned Action Approach while sampling student-athletes who identified as currently experiencing a personal or emotional health concern. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate which factors of help-seeking behavior predict the likelihood that a student-athlete will seek professional help, and to identify the differences in help-seeking factors between student-athletes with a lower likelihood of seeking help compared to those with a higher likelihood of seeking help. Participants were 269 NCAA student-athletes who completed an online survey assessing factors related to their help-seeking behavior. A multiple liner regression reveled that perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, and perceived attitudes factors were significant predictors of the likelihood that a student-athlete would seek treatment. Results from a one-way MANOVA showed significant differences between the lower likelihood and the higher likelihood of seeking help group on the perceived seriousness, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, instrumental barriers, stigma-related barriers, and the perceived attitudes factors. Additional information gathered in this study suggests the most frequently reported factors which prevented student-athletes from seeking help include a belief the issues they are experiencing is not that serious, or a desire to seek help from a source other than a mental health professional. Findings from this study have implications for athletic departments, campus counseling centers, and future interventions designed to enhance mental health help-seeking.
Athletes have been found to have more negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help than non-athletes despite experiencing comparable amounts of mental illness. The purpose of the present study was to examine factors that are associated with athletes help-seeking attitudes, including athletic identity and emotional competence. A sample of 144 college student athletes from a small, private Midwestern college in the United States participated in the study. The athletes competed at the NCAA Division III level. Participants were asked to complete the following measures: Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Short Form, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, the Problem Orientation Scale of the Social Problem Solving Inventory for Adolescents, and the Rumination subscale of the Inhibition Rumination Scale. Correlational analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to examine the extent to which athletic identity and emotional competence, as measured by alexithymia, problem orientation, and rumination, predicted attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Results revealed that both athletic identity and the emotional competence variables entered as a block predicted unique variance in the athletes attitudes toward seeking help. Among emotional competence variables, alexithymia had a significant negative bivariate relationship with attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and emerged as worthy of further study. Problem orientation was identified as a significant predictor in the regression models, however, functioned as a suppressor variable and did not have a significant bivariate correlation with attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Findings, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords: Student-athletes, intercollegiate athletics, mental health stigma, help-seeking attitudes, depression, anxiety, life stress, and structural equation modeling.
Athletes experience elevated risk for eating pathology (EP), but evidence lower levels of help seeking for EP than the general population. Indeed, athletes experience general (e.g., stigma) and athlete- pecific (e.g., "push past physical and mental pain" attitude) barriers to help-seeking. Although general mental health help-seeking interventions have improved help seeking outcomes in athlete samples, no study has developed an intervention to increase EP help-seeking among athletes. The current study examined the effects of a 75-minute mental health literacy and stigma reduction intervention among 107 collegiate athletes (54.2% female) randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. All athletes completed measures of help-seeking stigma, attitudes, intentions, and behavior at baseline, post-intervention, and at six-week followup. At post-intervention, the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in attitudes and intentions towards seeking help for EP and general mental health, relative to the control group. No significant differences in perceived social-stigma and self-stigma were found between the groups post-intervention. At six- week follow-up, the intervention group demonstrated higher rates of help-seeking and/or referring a friend for help than the control group. However, sustained improvements in help-seeking attitudes and intentions were not present in the intervention group compared to the control group, apart from EP help-seeking attitudes. Finally, the mechanisms of change underlying the intervention remained elusive; group did not predict post-intervention attitudes and intentions towards EP help- seeking through perceived social-stigma influencing self-stigma. Findings support the effectiveness of a customized intervention to improve EP help-seeking variables among athletes.
This study explored eighteen National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II female student athletes’ experiences and opinions of help seeking for mental health concerns. A mixed methodological design was used. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected to gain an understanding of help seeking barriers for the participant and their beliefs about help seeking barriers for their peers. Results from the qualitative data identified several themes that assisted in understanding help seeking behaviors. Data suggest that there was a lack of motivation when it came to seek mental health services as a whole by the female student athlete population. Time, lack of understanding as to where to get counseling, as well as lack of information as a whole showed to be the most prominent barriers within the female athlete population. There was also a significant finding involving lack of information and the amount of time the participant has been at the university, showing that the longer they were at the university the less information they had about mental health services. Many themes were also collected such as fear of being misunderstood, as well as feeling there is a lack of qualified counselors and a lack of counselors of the respondents’ own gender and race.
"Student-athletes encounter a series of unique stressors associated with their athletic status that can compromise their well-being (Beauchemin, 2012; Brown et al., 2014; Parham, 1993; Valentine & Taub, 1999). There is evidence to suggest that demands on student-athletes' increase their risk for experiencing certain mental and physical distress (e.g., eating disorders, anxiety, depression) (Brown et al., 2014; Etzel et al., 2006; Rice et al., 2016). Further, student-athletes are less likely to seek help from mental health professionals than their non-athlete peers (Watson, 2005). The purpose of this study was to understand the role that communication plays in socializing student-athletes, and how communication influences their perceptions of seeking mental health services. The research questions in this study were the following: 1) What are the memorable messages student-athletes receive that inform their perceptions of seeking mental health services? 2) Which sources who deliver the memorable messages have the greatest impact on student-athletes' attitudes and perceptions of seeking mental health services? This study utilized Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) to conduct and analyze in-depth interviews about Division I student-athletes' experiences and context surrounding the memorable messages received, with the intention of identifying themes that capture the impact the messages have had on their help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. The current body of research provides evidence that memorable messages student-athletes received have positively and negatively influenced their attitudes and behaviors towards seeking professional help. Findings from this current study revealed that, across the two domains that directly answered the research questions, there were five general categories and seven typical categories indicating there were commonalities in the memorable messages received and significant sources who communicated them. All participants identified and recalled specific memorable messages, both positive and negative, regarding seeking mental health services; however, overall student-athletes received a higher frequency of positive messages. The common theme around the positive messages student-athletes received were some variation of "It's ok to not be ok" while the theme around the negative messages received were rooted in sport culture norms such as "Athletes are supposed to be tough" and "You're weak if you need help." The significant sources who most influenced student-athletes' perceptions of seeking mental health services were coaches and family (parents, dad, mom, sister, and uncle)."--Abstract from author supplied metadata