(PS7-100) The Hidden Battle : Shedding Light on Student-Athlete Mental Health Challenges

Abstract Text: The Hidden Battle: Shedding Light on Student-Athlete Mental Health Challenges

Sophia Glinski & Lata K.McGinn, PhD
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Yeshiva University

Collegiate sports cultivate an attitude of unrelenting toughness and “pushing through pain” at all costs. This is compounded by performance pressures (e.g., Edwards & Froehle, 2023; Mountjoy et al., 2023; Sanfilippo, Haralsdottir, & Watson, 2023), fear of failure (Li et al., 2021), overtraining/burnout (Xanthopoulos et al., 2020), and injury (e.g., Mountjoy et al., 2023; Sanfilippo, Haralsdottir, & Watson, 2023; Weber et al., 2023). Athletes must also balance academic and athletic demands (e.g., Edwards & Froehle, 2023; Mountjoy et al., 2023; Weber et al., 2023), adapt to higher competitive levels (Rice et al., 2019), and manage the eventual transition out of sport (Mountjoy et al., 2023; Xanthopoulos et al. 2020).

Studies report both a high risk (e.g., Weber et al., 2023) and high prevalence of untreated mental health conditions among athletes across sports and colleges, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders (e.g., Kegelaers et al., 2022). For example, Weber et al., (2023) found that 22.3% of student-athletes were at risk for developing depression and 12.5% were at risk for anxiety. However, rates vary based on sample size, how college athletes are defined, and the measures used.

It is also well-documented that athletes perform superstitious rituals before a competition (Veillette & Searight, 2021). These rituals may be used to mitigate anxiety or cope with uncertainty (Bartošová et al., 2017; Schippers and Van Lange, 2006) but may also reflect OCD symptomatology (Cromer et al., 2017). However, compared to other mental health conditions, research on obsessive-compulsive tendencies in college athletics is limited.

It is crucial to identify the incidence of mental health conditions in athletes to better target prevention and treatment efforts. The present study aims to replicate and expand upon prior research by including (1) measures specifically validated on college samples and (2) a measure of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

We hypothesize that college athletes will have a similar incidence of mental health conditions, including OCD, compared to the general population. A large, diverse sample of college, varsity athletes across sports and institutions will be recruited from a non-profit that raises mental health awareness among student-athlete communities at over 750 colleges across the country and internationally. Participants will complete a survey about current anxiety, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, perceived stress, resilience, and help-seeking behaviors. Measures will include the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). As part of exploratory analyses, we will examine associations between perceived resilience, appraisal of stressors, reported symptoms, and help-seeking behaviors given that many athletes neither seek or receive psychological services (Edwards & Froehle, 2023). Data will be analyzed using standard parametric procedures.