Factors Contributing to Elite Athletes' Mental Health in the Junior-to-Senior Transition: A Mixed Methods Study.

The goals of this study were to examine factors that may affect the mental health of elite athletes during their junior-to-senior transition and to explore the types and frequency of facilitators and challenges athletes encounter during this transition. Using a cross-sectional, embedded QUAN(qual) mixed methods study design, we surveyed two samples for the study goals. All participants completed demographic data (e.g., gender, age, sports). Sample one (N = 394, Mage = 18.46 years, SD = 2.2) consisted of current transitioning athletes which completed questionnaires on stress, anxiety, depression, well-being, self-compassion, and social support. Mediation and moderation analyses revealed that stress leads to resource depletion, and that self-compassion can be an important resource for young athletes to draw upon to maintain their mental health. Regarding social support results were less conclusive. Sample two (N = 371, Mage = 27.70 years, SD = 8.3) consisted of athletes that have passed the transition. They responded to open questions about helpful strategies and challenges faced during their junior-to-senior transition, which were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results showed that during the junior-to-senior transition, external resources were more frequently mentioned than internal resources when it came to facilitators. Furthermore, external challenges were perceived as hindering more frequently than internal challenges. These findings can guide practitioners by providing potential starting points for improving the mental health of transitioning elite athletes, as well as information on helpful strategies and barriers during the transition

Six-month stability of individual differences in sports coaches’ burnout, self-compassion and social support

Using a three-wave prospective cross-lagged panel design, the study examined six-month stability of burnout, self-compassion and social support among sports coaches in terms of measurement invariance, mean-level change, rank-order stability, and structural stability. The participating coaches (N = 422; Mage = 44.48, SD = 11.03) completed an online questionnaire measuring self-compassion, social support, coach burnout and de- mographics at baseline and two follow-ups at three months and six months. The various forms of stability were assessed using structural equation modeling. There was no significant mean-level change in burnout, self- compassion, or social support, and all three constructs exhibited measurement invariance. Rank-order stability remained relatively high, ranging from 0.78 to 0.94 across the three time points. For all three constructs, co- variances between latent factors were invariant over time, indicating high structural stability. While self- compassion and social support were positively related, both were negatively related to coach burnout. These results confirm the importance of preventing and addressing symptoms of burnout, low self-compassion and poor social support in sports settings

Mental (ill-)health of Swiss elite athletes

Mental health encompasses both mental health problems and well-being (Uphill et al., 2016). In recent years, world-renowned athletes, including Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Naomi Osaka, have directed public attention to the issue of mental health in elite sport by talking openly about their own problems in this regard. Empirical data on levels of well-being and the extent of common mental disorders among current Swiss elite athletes is limited, as previous studies were based on small samples and confined to certain age groups, sports, and/or a single disorder and did not include well-being (e.g., Gerber et al., 2022). In addition, the efforts of Swiss sport federations to support or promote athletes’ mental health have not been investigated or evaluated. A representative sample of Swiss athletes (N = 1003, Mage = 21.69, SDage = 7.09, 54% women, 37% team sports, 10% injured) answered questions about symptoms of mental health problems (i.e., PHQ-9, GAD7, SCOFF, ASSQ; Bender et al., 2018; Hill et al., 2010; Kroenke et al., 2001; Spitzer et al., 2006) and their well-being (MHC-SF). We also asked about the extent of basic need satisfaction (Heissel et al., 2018) and perceived organizational support. Overall, the numbers on symptoms of mental health problems (17% depression, 10% anxiety, 22% eating disorders, 18% sleep disorders) and well-being are comparable to other elite sport samples (Reardon et al., 2019) and the general Swiss population. However, we found large group differences. For example, 52% of women athletes were affected by at least one mental disorder symptom, compared with 30% of men athletes. Injured athletes were most affected in terms of depressive symptoms (28%). The study also shows that need satisfaction and frustration in conjunction with demographic factors is related to well-being and symptoms of mental health problems. Furthermore, the more support athletes perceive from their federations, the better their mental health. We conclude that a substantial proportion of athletes are affected by mental problems and more measures are needed to improve this situation, for example through supporting need satisfaction in the sport setting. References Bender, A. M., Lawson, D., Werthner, P., & Samuels, C. H. (2018). The clinical validation of the athlete sleep screening questionnaire: An instrument to identify athletes that need further sleep assessment. Sports Medicine-Open, 4, Article 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-018-0140-5 Gerber, M., Lang, C., Brand, S., Gygax, B., Ludyga, S., Müller, C., Ramseyer, S., & Jakowski, S. (2022). Perceived recovery and stress states as predictors of depressive, burnout, and insomnia symptoms among adolescent elite athletes. Sports Psychiatry. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1024/2674-0052/a000017 Heissel, A., Pietrek, A., Flunger, B., Fydrich, T., Rapp, M. A., Heinzel, S., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2018). The validation of the German Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale in the context of mental health. European Journal of Health Psychology, 25(4), 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000017 Hill, L. S., Reid, F., Morgan, J. F., & Lacey, J. H. (2010). SCOFF, the development of an eating disorder screening questionnaire. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(4), 344-351. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.20679 Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The PHQ‐9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x Reardon, C. L., Hainline, B., Miller Aron, C., Baron, D., Baum, A. L., Bindra, A., Budgett, R., Campriani, N., Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., Currie, A., Derevensky, J. L., Glick, I. D., Gorczynski, P., Gouttebarge, V., Grandner, M. A., Han, D. H., McDuff, D., Mountjoy, M., Polat, A., Purcell, R. . . . Engebretsen, L. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 667-699. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-100715 Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.109