Oral Presentations
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Charles Palmer
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Student-athletes at the collegiate level experience high levels of pressure that can impact their mental health. When athletes crack under this pressure, many wonder where to draw the line between healthy and excessive pressures. Despite international examples (e.g. Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open in 2021, Simone Biles withdrawing from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and many collegiate athletes taking their own lives), some backlash still remains towards athletes prioritizing their mental health. The athletic department at the University of Montana currently offers counseling sessions free to student-athletes. However, student-athletes have expressed mental health concerns; yet many of the sessions offered remain unattended. To investigate why athletes are concerned for their mental health, but are not attending counseling, this paper draws on a Qualtrics survey of 22 questions, using the University of Montana as a case study. The survey asked questions regarding the pressures student-athletes feel, how these pressures impact their mental health, and the resources they use to combat them. It was distributed to all ~330 student-athletes at the University of Montana. Athletes were recruited for the survey by the principal investigator and their trainers as they entered their weight-lifting facility, using a QR code, and through an email sent to them by their advisors. The results of the survey and literature from the psychology field of collegiate athlete mental health were combined into a literature review, to get a holistic scope on collegiate student-athlete mental health, not just at the University of Montana. This investigation examined the specific ways pressure is contributing to mental health concerns at the University of Montana, the resources student-athletes are using or not using, the barriers to accessing these resources, and to how we can help high-level athletes combat the negative impacts these pressures may be having on their mental health.
Category
Social Sciences
Student-Athlete Mental Health: University of Montana Case Study
UC 332
Student-athletes at the collegiate level experience high levels of pressure that can impact their mental health. When athletes crack under this pressure, many wonder where to draw the line between healthy and excessive pressures. Despite international examples (e.g. Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open in 2021, Simone Biles withdrawing from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and many collegiate athletes taking their own lives), some backlash still remains towards athletes prioritizing their mental health. The athletic department at the University of Montana currently offers counseling sessions free to student-athletes. However, student-athletes have expressed mental health concerns; yet many of the sessions offered remain unattended. To investigate why athletes are concerned for their mental health, but are not attending counseling, this paper draws on a Qualtrics survey of 22 questions, using the University of Montana as a case study. The survey asked questions regarding the pressures student-athletes feel, how these pressures impact their mental health, and the resources they use to combat them. It was distributed to all ~330 student-athletes at the University of Montana. Athletes were recruited for the survey by the principal investigator and their trainers as they entered their weight-lifting facility, using a QR code, and through an email sent to them by their advisors. The results of the survey and literature from the psychology field of collegiate athlete mental health were combined into a literature review, to get a holistic scope on collegiate student-athlete mental health, not just at the University of Montana. This investigation examined the specific ways pressure is contributing to mental health concerns at the University of Montana, the resources student-athletes are using or not using, the barriers to accessing these resources, and to how we can help high-level athletes combat the negative impacts these pressures may be having on their mental health.