UC San Diego

This study compares mental health help-seeking attitudes, perceived stress, self-esteem,body image, burnout, and overall mental well-being outcomes between scholar athletes and other students. A mixed-methods cross-sectional study collecting data from questionaries and qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of 60 undergraduate and graduate students aged 18-25. Independent samples t-tests, linear regression models, and correlation tests were performed to compare and predict the effect size of psychological scales among groups based on student status, sex, and type of sport. Qualitative interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis of how institutional, cultural, and interpersonal factors influence mental-health help- seeking among participants. Our findings found that team sport athletes were more favorable towards mental health help-seeking than their individual sport counterparts. There were also differences in personal achievement burnout and overall mental well-being scores between the two scholar athlete groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the perceived stress, self-esteem, body image states, general burnout, or burnout from depersonalization among the groups compared. Favorable mental health help-seeking attitudes were identified a significant predictor of positive overall mental well-being. While most scholar athletes are open to seeking help, team attitudes vary by sport, ranging from being supportive of mental health to it not being a priority. There is a disconnect between awareness surrounding mental health topics and genuine action or prioritization by coaching staffs compared to their athletes. These findings show the need for increasing accessibility and diversity in mental health resources and providers to adequately meet the needs of all college students.