The Association of Athletic Identity on an Athlete’s Self-Stigma for Seeking Psychological Help
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33043/bxa7r84zKeywords:
athletic identity, self-stigma for seeking psychological help, pre-participation screeningAbstract
Mental health concerns are still a challenge for intercollegiate student-athletes and professionals (e.g., social workers and athletic trainers) working with them. One critical area is the stigma of mental health that may affect an intercollegiate student-athlete whose identity is that of an athlete. Does a student-athlete with moderate to high athletic identity self-stigmatize themselves for psychological concerns which may prevent seeking assistance? This study explored the association between an intercollegiate student-athlete with athletic identity and their self-stigma for seeking psychological help. This quantitative, cross-sectional study included voluntary collegiate student-athletes aged 18 years or older (N=37). Descriptive statistics were utilized to describe the characteristics of the participants. Selected questions from a combination of the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale and the Self-Stigma for Seeking Psychological Help Scale were utilized for this study. Two independent sample t-tests comparing the mean scores between genders reported that 1) there was not a statistically significant association between a male student-athlete considering himself an athlete more than a female student-athlete, and, 2) there was a statistically significant association that male student-athletes having a higher belief that sport is the most important part of their lives than female student-athletes. Three Pearson correlation tests reported 1) a weak, positive correlation between a student-athlete feeling depressed if they were injured and could not compete in sport and feeling inadequate going to a therapist for psychological help; 2) a weak, positive correlation between a student-athlete who consider themselves an athlete would feel worse about themselves if they could not solve their own problems; and 3) a strong, positive correlation between a student-athlete who most of their friends are student-athletes and feeling inferior to ask a therapist for help. This study recommends performing an Athletic Identity Measurement Scale on student-athletes at their pre-participation physical examination which would assist the social worker and/or athletic trainer to identify a student-athlete with moderate to high athletic identity and approaching that student- athlete following an injury for psychological assistance because of the mental health stigma that some student-athletes may hold.
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