College Student-Athletes' Attitudes Toward Help-Seeking Behavior and Expectations of Counseling Services

Student-athletes experience mental health problems, but they often encounter barriers to seeking help. This study reports findings from the pilot phase of Athletes Connected (AC), a new research and practice program at the University of Michigan addressing mental health and help-seeking behaviors among collegiate student-athletes. Members of the AC team gave presentations consisting of contact- and education-based interventions to every varsity athletic team at a large Division I Midwestern university, along with pre- and postsurvey questionnaires to measure their efficacy. The presentations included an educational overview of mental health, two videos highlighting former student-athletes’ struggles with mental illnesses, and a discussion at the end with the former athletes portrayed in the videos. A total of 626 student-athletes completed the pre- and postsurveys. Results indicated significant increases in knowledge and positive attitudes toward mental health and help-seeking. These results suggest that brief contact- and education-based interventions may be helpful in reducing stigma and promoting help-seeking behavior among college student-athletes.

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The Role of Stigma and Referral Source in Predicting College Student-Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Psychological Help-Seeking

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.2015-0025 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 85-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Rachel S. Wahto ◽

Joshua K. Swift ◽

Jason L. Whipple

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Student ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Online Survey ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Referral Source ◽

Public Stigma ◽

Help Seeking Attitudes ◽

College Student Athletes

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the relationships between public stigma, self-stigma, and mental health help-seeking attitudes in college studentathletes, and (b) test whether referral source would have an impact on student-athletes’ willingness to seek mental health help. Participating college student-athletes (n = 43) completed an online survey including measures of stigma (public and self), attitudes, and willingness to seek mental health help. The results indicated that public stigma and self-stigma predicted a significant proportion of variance in attitudes (66%) above and beyond gender and treatment-use history. In addition, student-athletes were more willing to seek help when referred by a family member compared with a coach (d = 0.89), a teammate (d = 1.05), or oneself (d = 1.28). The results have important implications for helping student-athletes seek mental health help when there is a need.

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The Relationships Among Self-Compassion, Stigma, and Attitudes Toward Counseling in Student-Athletes

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.2018-0027 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 374-389 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert C. Hilliard ◽

Lorenzo A. Redmond ◽

Jack C. Watson

Keyword(s):

College Student ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Self Compassion ◽

Attitudes Toward Counseling ◽

College Population ◽

The Relationship ◽

College Student Athletes

Although factors involved with help-seeking have been widely studied in the general college population, college student-athletes have received less attention. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of self-compassion on the relationship between public and self-stigma, and how self-stigma was associated with attitudes toward seeking counseling. A sample of 243 student-athletes from NCAA Divisions I and III participated in the study. Using structural equation modeling, self-compassion was not found to moderate the relationship between public and self-stigma. However, public stigma was positively associated with self-stigma, and self-stigma was negatively associated with attitudes toward counseling. A multigroup analysis did not find differences between males and females for the model. The results of this study have implications for professionals who work with college student-athletes and suggest that efforts should aim to reduce stigma and examine alternative factors that might improve attitudes toward mental health help-seeking.

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The Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Student-Athletes and the Relationship With Resilience and Help-Seeking Behavior

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.2017-0043 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 421-439 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Breanna Drew ◽

James Matthews

Keyword(s):

Help Seeking ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

Psychological Resilience ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Help Seeking Behavior ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

Cross Sectional Design

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms within student-athletes and to examine protective factors which may act as a buffer against mental ill-health. A cross-sectional design was employed. A sample of 185 student-athletes (M = 20.77; SD = .50; 35% female) agreed to take part. Participants completed measures of depression, anxiety, psychological resilience and formal and informal help-seeking behavior. Thirty one percent of student-athletes reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Student-athletes who reported requiring professional help for problems were more likely to record moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. Student-athletes who did not seek informal support were more likely to report symptom levels for depression outside the normal range. Higher resilience scores were associated with lower symptom reporting for both depression and anxiety. Practical implications for supporting student-athletes’ mental health across institutional, interpersonal and intrapersonal levels are discussed.

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Sport-Related Concussion Reporting and Coach-Athlete Attachment Among Collegiate Student-Athletes

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology ◽

10.1123/jcsp.2017-0029 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 268-281 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jeffrey J. Milroy ◽

Stephen Hebard ◽

Emily Kroshus ◽

David L. Wyrick

Keyword(s):

Attachment Theory ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Student Athletes ◽

Sport Participation ◽

Care Seeking ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

Help Seeking Behavior ◽

Group Interventions ◽

Seeking Behavior ◽

The U.S

Between 2001 and 2015, 3.4 million traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurrences in the U.S. were accounted for by sport participation. It is estimated between 12% and 60% of athletes delay seeking care after sustaining a concussion. Differences in sport-related concussion (SRC) reporting have been attributed to several different factors. Whereas prior research related to SRC reporting behavior focus on normative and competitive pressures to continue play, less attention is given to the interpersonal context in which reporting takes place. Grounded in attachment theory, this study investigated relationships between coach-athlete attachment and help-seeking behavior. Findings suggest that as coach-athlete anxiousness increases, not reporting increases. and as coach-athlete secureness increases, not reporting decreases. Logistic regression analyses indicate that secure coach attachment significantly predicts greater likelihood of SRC reporting. These findings underscore the important role coach-athlete relationships may have on care-seeking behaviors of student-athletes and can inform individual and group interventions promoting SRC reporting.

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