Understanding College Athlete Mental Health: Interprofessional Insights from a Division I Athletic Conference

Background

Throughout contemporary society, mental health and wellbeing are viewed as critical components of holistic, biopsychosocial development (Lavelle, 2021). This perspective has gained momentum within the context of sport, with athletes utilizing their social platform to advocate for mental health resources and support (Henriksen et al., 2020). However, the diverse and dynamic needs of many college athletes remain unmet. As college athletes continue to advocate for mental health promotion (Mikkilineni et al., 2023), there is a need to better understand how interprofessional partners across collegiate athletics (e.g., athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, athletic administrators, academic advisors) conceptualize the mental health of college athletes (Hong et al., 2018). By constructing a comprehensive understanding of college athlete mental health, vested partners across collegiate athletics are better positioned to engage as interprofessional teams to develop culturally competent policies.

Method

Within the current study, six focus groups—27 individual collegiate athletics partners from a Division I athletic conference—were conducted. These focus groups included separate groups of athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, athletic administrators, and academic counselors. Participants were asked a series of five questions centered on specific topics of interest, which included defining mental health, mental health awareness, discussing mental health, knowledge about mental health initiatives, and suggestions for mental health resources. Example questions included “How aware are you about mental health?” and “How is athlete mental health promoted within your athletic department?” Data from focus groups were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2019).

Findings

Findings indicate that college athlete mental health was understood as holistic wellbeing and the ability to thrive in daily life. Participants discussed learning about mental health through academic education and training, as well as lived experiences (e.g., COVID pandemic). Participants also believed, in general, more athletes are talking about mental health. Additionally, athletes indicated that they feel most comfortable discussing mental health with their teammates, friends, team’s sport staff (e.g., athletic trainers, coaches, assistant coaches), as well as mental health professionals. These conversations often occurred in the locker room and on team bus rides. However, findings suggest that perceived gender differences may exist concerning the openness of college athletes to discuss mental health. Finally, because of power differentials, there was hesitancy in discussing mental health with head coaches.

Conclusion

Results of this study support an interdisciplinary care model to address college athlete mental health. Specifically, athletic departments can follow best practices outlined in conceptual literature (Beasley et al., 2022; McHenry et al., 2022) to establish interprofessional teams. Furthermore, in defining mental health from a systems perspective, athletics support staff as well as administrative staff are imperative to establishing an organizational culture that prioritizes holistic care of athletes. Thus, mental health education and training can be offered to all members of the athletic department, not only to those who may be working daily with athletes. To support such efforts, study findings support the development of educational resources for the conference office and athletic departments as they progress forward with meeting the dynamic mental health needs of athletes.