Mental health in Swedish student-athletes during the covid-19 pandemic : Research and applied initiatives

• The mental health of elite athletes has received increased attention in the last years. Additional concerns have been raised specifically about athletes’ mental health in association to the Covid-19 pandemic (Stambulova, et al., 2020). Importantly, it has been highlighted that student-athletes already before the pandemic were at high risk of poor mental health, calling for special attention to this group in light of the pandemic (Grubic et al., 2021). The aim of the presentation is to describe data of a study done with Swedish student-athletes and present applied initiatives targeting this group. Athlete-students at sports high schools in Sweden (N = 7’025) completed a web survey study in February 2021 during the ongoing pandemic. The survey included questions about symptoms of depression (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001) and anxiety (GAD-7; Spitzer et al., 2006) as well as self-reported psychological and behavioral changes during the pandemic (Håkansson et al., 2020). Sixteen and 14 percent met criteria of moderate/severe depression and anxiety, respectively. Many student-athletes reported feeling mentally worse during the pandemic (66%) and were worried about their own future in sports (45%). Increased gaming behavior was reported by 29 percent. The results suggest that the mental health of student-athletes in Sweden during the pandemic is compromised. Early signs of distress within this population were reported by teachers, coaches, and sport psychology consultants. Therefore, applied initiatives (e.g., a webpage and a video-recorded presentation) were initiated by the sport psychology section of the Swedish Sports Confederation and will be presented during the seminar.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi -- Tillämpad psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology -- Applied Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Samhällsvetenskap/Humaniora

Social Sciences/Humanities

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)