Collegiate Athletics in Crisis: Proactive and Reactive Measures towards Mental Health Outcomes

A special issue of Youth (ISSN 2673-995X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 16063

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences and Clinical Practice, College of Health Professions and Medical Sciences, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL 33160, USA
Interests: cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome; precision lifestyle medicine; stage-specific exercise prescription; metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD); metabolic and multi-omic responses to exercise (HIIT, MICT, RT); digital health and AI in cardiometabolic health; health disparities in CKM; exercise hemodynamics; network physiology; network system dynamics; lifestyle medicine; adherence science; digital health and AI-assisted lifestyle medicine; renal lipid metabolism and fatty-acid oxidation; exerkines and inter-organ crosstalk; high-intensity interval training; moderate-intensity continuous training; resistance training; endothelial function and arterial stiffness
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Guest Editor
Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, State University of New York, Plattsburgh, NY 12901, USA
Interests: mental toughness; strength and conditioning; psychological well-being; student-athletes; positive psychology; coaching education; collegiate sports

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent tragic events and data from official NCAA reports suggest that student-athletes' well-being is compromised by symptoms of mental health disorders. Indeed, the situation appears to be even worse in the post-COVID-19 era.

While some measures have been taken, there is still stigma and misinformation around mental health and mental illness. Although the famous athletes that have spoken about their mental health struggles have considerably helped to shift people’s opinions, significant work must still be done.

This Special Issue aims to recognize mental health as an integral component of athletic performance, promote mental health sensitivity and awareness, and highlight that we are all contributors to mental health.

However, this Special Issue also aims to provide basic and applied scientific research on the negative (e.g., stress/depression, insomnia and alcohol use), but also on the positive mental health outcomes (e.g., happiness, social acceptance, autonomy) that arise from organized collegiate sports. 

This Special Issue will supplement the existing literature by collecting scientific data on fostering mental health in collegiate athletics. In particular, we invite mental health work on this specific youth age group that addresses the individual level (e.g., mental health needs of the student athlete), the team level (e.g., team environment supportive of the mental health needs of all student athletes), and the organizational level (e.g., policies and programs to support the previous two levels).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Zacharias Papadakis
Dr. Andreas Stamatis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • collegiate athletics
  • mental health
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • NCAA
  • sport psychology
  • organizational psychology
  • NAIA

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 284 KB  
Article
The Impacts of Burnout on Athletic Identity and Attitude towards Sport
by Luiza Sanches Marangoni, Suzanne Pottratz and Nataniel Boiangin
Youth 2023, 3(4), 1121-1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/youth3040071 - 6 Oct 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 14931
Abstract
Sports can be a positive experience for some. However, it can also lead to increased stress and ultimately result in burnout. Previous research has examined burnout in sports. Although, little research has been conducted on how experiencing burnout can affect other factors such [...] Read more.
Sports can be a positive experience for some. However, it can also lead to increased stress and ultimately result in burnout. Previous research has examined burnout in sports. Although, little research has been conducted on how experiencing burnout can affect other factors such as an athlete’s view of their sport and their athletic identity. Collegiate athletes face many responsibilities: school, work, long hours of practice, physical, emotional, and social demands. An accumulation of these factors, combined with the inability to effectively cope with such demands, can lead an athlete to experience high levels of burnout. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential impacts that burnout could have on a collegiate athlete’s attitude towards their sport and their athletic identity. A phenomenological approach was used to examine five participants who scored high on the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire. Participants underwent a 1 h interview that evaluated their attitude towards sport and athletic identity. It was found that there was a meaningful negative change in attitude towards sport; however, no meaningful or permanent change was prevalent when evaluating athletic identity. Full article
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