DOI
https://doi.org/10.51221/sc.jiia.2024.17.1.8
Abstract
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college athletes in the United States (U.S.) are at risk for diminished mental health, and stigma may be a barrier to these athletes seeking professional mental health care. Coaches can create a team environment that prioritizes athlete mental health and destigmatizes help-seeking; however, this requires coaches to have appropriate mental health knowledge, operationalized as mental health literacy (MHL). Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to explore three different constructs of MHL of NCAA coaches across Divisions I, II, and III. The Multicomponent Mental Health Literacy Scale (MMHLS), which measures MHL within three domains—knowledge, beliefs, and resources—was administered to 544 NCAA coaches across Divisions I, II, and III. Scores in the knowledge-oriented and beliefs-oriented domains were high, however scores in the resources-oriented domain were low. Results suggest MHL education for NCAA coaches may not be effective in increasing knowledge about mental health resources. MHL trainings for NCAA coaches in the U.S. need to explicitly target such knowledge gaps.
Recommended Citation
Beasley, Lauren; Hoffman, Steven; and Sears, Jackson
(2024)
"The Mental Health Literacy of NCAA College Coaches: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Resources,"
Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics: Vol. 17:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/jiia/vol17/iss1/10