The NCAA recently released the latest research on student-athlete health, highlighting some of the mental health concerns of student-athletes. To talk about what this means for college sports, the NCAA Social Series hosted a conversation on this topic with Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer. Robin Schorfield, Southern California Director of Culture, Human Services, and Sports Psychology; and Prim Siripipat, host of the podcast “The Next Chapter” and former tennis player at Duke University.
“I think the NCAA has done a great job of breaking down barriers between sports administrations,” Schorfield said. “But we’re at a point where we need to look at the environment that our student-athletes exist in and figure out how to further integrate this by doing more environmentally friendly initiatives.”
The NCAA has developed several educational resources, including “Mental Health Best Practices: Understanding and Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Wellness.” This resource was designed with input from a diverse membership group and industry voices to help schools support and address the mental health needs of their students and athletes. However, recent research shows that schools can improve how they communicate about mental health resources.
“Despite the many mental health resources available at our member schools, there are still student-athletes who are unaware of these resources,” Hainlein said. “This means our member schools can tell their players, ‘Look, this is what we’re doing to eliminate stigma for people seeking mental health care and promote an environment that improves overall mental health. This shows that we can better inform people of the following.”
Recently released data showed that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play a major role in the mental health of student-athletes. Rates of mental fatigue, anxiety, and depression have changed little since fall 2020 and remain 1.5 to 2 times higher than those identified before the pandemic.
“Student-athletes are very goal-oriented and they have this structure, this somewhat protective structure…that structure has been removed,” Hainlein said. “As a society, we are seeing the dramatic impact COVID-19 has had on the physical and mental health and well-being of society as a whole, and there is no doubt that it is also negatively impacting student-athletes. There’s no room.”
“It was hitting everyone across the board because we had to create new norms,” ​​Siripipat said. “When you’re talking about student-athletes, and the purpose for many of them is sports, and they’re completely deprived of their outlet, their vehicle, their social support, their identity, it’s through sports.” , makes a lot of sense as to why this house completely fell apart. Sports are often the foundation that sustains these athletes. ”
NCAA law requires member schools to make mental health educational materials, services and resources available to student-athletes throughout the year. These should be consistent with best practice documentation.
Other resources developed by the NCAA include the NCAA Diverse Student-Athlete Mental Health and Well-Being Summit (to discuss specific mental health challenges faced by student-athletes of color and potential solutions); Contains the final report of the event (which brought together industry experts and stakeholders). address those issues). Mental Health Workshop Planning Toolkit. There are also interactive modules for student-athletes, coaches, and administrators.
Following the Diverse Student-Athlete Mental Health and Well-Being Summit, the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safety and Medical Aspects of Sports commissioned the Mental Health Advisory Group to recommend updates to existing NCAA mental health materials. did. This group includes membership representatives, student-athletes, and industry professionals.
For more on student-athlete mental health, check out the latest NCAA Social Series on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or SoundCloud.