Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Humans; Male; Female; Depression (epidemiology); Cross-Sectional Studies; Athletes (psychology); Anxiety (epidemiology); Students (psychology)
Abstract
Mental health research exists for student-athletes in the areas of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem prevalence. However, updated prevalence rates and assessment of risks across sports, academic status, and genders are needed. Filling the gaps in research assists in the creation of patient-centered mental health screening and interventions designed for student-athletes. Therefore, the purpose is to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in collegiate student-athletes and differences between sex, academic status, and sport type, and identify associations for risks. Using a cross-sectional design, collegiate student-athletes were surveyed to assess for risks of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. With the use of SPSS, Chi-square analyses and multinomial logistic regressions were used. Student-athletes (22.3%) were at risk for depression, anxiety (12.5%), and low self-esteem (8%). No significant differences were found for sex, academic status, and sport type for depression or self-esteem; however, significant differences occurred for state and trait anxiety by sex. A significant association for depression and anxiety risk was found with females at risk. Depression and anxiety are present within student-athletes, regardless of sport type. Females are at a higher risk; however, all student-athletes would benefit from the creation of validated, patient-centered mental health screenings and psychotherapeutic interventions.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Issue 2, 2023.
Rights
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
APA Citation
Weber, S. R., Winkelmann, Z. K., Monsma, E. V., Arent, S. M., & Torres-McGehee, T. M. (2023). An examination of depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in collegiate student-athletes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1211. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021211