The Impact of Mental Well-Being on Gpa Among College Athletes

Background and Purpose: College student athletes have been shown to face all the challenges non-student athletes face, while also coping with pressures such as performance anxiety and rigorous athletic-related time restraints unique to their situation as student athletes. These added pressures can contribute to their stress levels and increase their vulnerability to mental health concerns. On the other hand, engagement in athletics can promote good time-management skills and confidence which may positively impact academic outcomes despite the increased demands college athletes face. Participation in sports has been shown to promote psychological resistance, self-efficacy, and grit, which are all positively related to mental well-being. Understanding the balance between the strengths and stressors common to college student athletes is key to supporting their success in both athletic and academic spheres. Given the unique risks and protective factors specific to college athletes, the purpose of this study was to examine how factors related to mental well-being differentially impact student athlete academic success when compared to non-student athletes.

Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 205 student athletes and 205 non-student athletes from division I, II, III universities across the United States. Mental Well-being was measured by the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), and academic success was measured using self-reported college GPA. Covariates included parents’ yearly income, high school GPA, gender, age, and status as athlete or non-athlete. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between mental well-being and academic success.

Results: When controlling for the above, the results from the linear regression revealed that compared to non-athletes, student athlete status predicted higher college GPA. However, better scores on the WEBWMS did not predict higher college GPA (β = 0.04; p < 0.10). Other significant predictors of academic success included high school GPA (β = 0.63; p < 0.001) and parents’ yearly income (β = 0.10; p < 0.05).

Conclusions and Implications: While mental well-being did not predict academic achievement among participants in our study, being a student athlete did. This is particularly interesting given the stereotype that college athletes are simply jocks who are not interested in academic achievement. Our findings challenge these common assumptions and suggest that college athletes may possess traits that positively contribute to improved academic outcomes and highlight the need for additional research. Even though this study is not generalizable given the limitations of its sampling approach, the size and geographical diversity of the sample warrants further attention. Future research may consider whether these results are replicated when isolating athletes from specific sports (e.g., football, basketball, tennis, golf, cross country, etc.). Furthermore, researchers should seek to identify factors specific to college athletes that may be responsible for their significantly higher academic achievement.