Depression in Athletes

Wolanin, Andrew T.; Gross, Michael P.; Hong, Eugene

doi:10.1249/jsr.0000000000000123

Cited by 213 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

117

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…28 29 Injured players had higher scores for depression and anxiety than uninjured players, as previously described (for overview see Ref. 11). Attackers and players playing in more than one playing position had the highest, and midfielder the lowest, average depression score.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…But it is also possible that the stigma attached to mental health issues makes it an under-investigated and under-reported area in top-level football and other elite sport. [6][7][8] Scientific studies on the mental health of athletes are rare, [9][10][11] and their results are inconsistent. Many studies focused on college athletes in the USA, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and few investigated the top-level national athletes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level male and female football players

Junge

Feddermann-Demont

2016

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med

141

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundScientific studies on the prevalence of mental health problems in elite athletes are rare, and most have had considerable methodological limitations, such as low response rate and heterogeneous samples.AimsTo evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level football players in comparison to the general population, and to analyse potential risk factors.MethodsPlayers of all first league (FL) and of four U-21 football teams in Switzerland were asked to answer a questionnaire on player's characteristics, the Centre of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale.ResultsAll 10 women's FL teams, 9 of 10 men's FL teams and 4 male U-21 teams (n=471 football players) took part in the study. The CES-D score indicated a mild to moderate depression in 33 (7.6%) players and a major depression in 13 (3.0%) players. The GAD-7 score indicated an at least moderate anxiety disorder in 6 (1.4%) players. Compared to the general population, the prevalence of depression was similar and the prevalence of anxiety disorders was significantly (χ2=16.7; p<0.001) lower in football players. Significant differences were observed with regard to player characteristics, such as age, gender, player position, level of play and current injury.ConclusionsSwiss FL football players had the same prevalence of depression as the general population, while male U-21 players had a higher prevalence of depression. It is important to raise awareness and knowledge of athletes’ mental health problems in coaches and team physicians, and to provide adequate treatment to athletes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level male and female football players

Junge

Feddermann-Demont

2016

BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med

141

150

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…overwhelming demands of training, pressure to perform well) are connected to stress and depression. Unfortunately, little is known on clinical issues in elite athletes such as depression (Wolanin, Gross, & Hong, 2015) and therefore on sport specific mechanisms in development and therapy of psychological disorders. Thus, practitioners in the field of clinical sport psychology (sport psychologists and therapists) would benefit of a better understanding in this intersection.…”

Section: Stressors Chronic Stress and Depressive Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Explorative Study on Major Stressors and Its Connection to Depression and Chronic Stress among German Elite Athletes

Nixdorf¹,

Frank²,

Beckmann³

2015

APE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although research shows that chronic stress and specific stressful events (e.g. injury, failure) are associated with depressive symptoms in athletes, connections between chronic, major stressors and depressive symptoms are yet unknown. Therefore, the goal of the study was to gain new findings between major stressors and their relations to depressive symptoms and chronic stress. A total of 134 elite athletes provided data in an online survey. In addition to quantitative measurements (current depressive symptoms, and level of chronic stress), possible stressors were assessed qualitatively with an open ended question. By using content analysis to explore stressors, three different types of stressors were categorized: Double burden, sport specific demands, and conditions. Further statistical analysis found these stressors to be associated with dropout intentions, depression and chronic stress. Athletes, who reported sport specific demands (such as high training loads) as major stressors indicated higher levels of chronic stress and depressive symptoms than athletes without major stressors. Further research investigating sources of stress and its association to depressive syndromes in athletes could benefit from considering sport specific factors.

show abstract

“…There is comparatively less research on, but growing interest in, the mental health and psychological wellbeing of elite-level athletes [1–3]. The prevalence of diagnosable psychiatric disorders in this population remains a matter of debate [4]; however, notions that elite athletes are devoid of mental health problems have been increasingly scrutinised by sports medicine practitioners [5]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mental Health of Elite Athletes: A Narrative Systematic Review

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe physical impacts of elite sport participation have been well documented; however, there is comparatively less research on the mental health and psychological wellbeing of elite athletes.ObjectiveThis review appraises the evidence base regarding the mental health and wellbeing of elite-level athletes, including the incidence and/or nature of mental ill-health and substance use.MethodsA systematic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, Cochrane and Google Scholar databases, up to and including May 2015, was conducted.ResultsThe search yielded a total of 2279 records. Following double screening, 60 studies were included. The findings suggested that elite athletes experience a broadly comparable risk of high-prevalence mental disorders (i.e. anxiety, depression) relative to the general population. Evidence regarding other mental health domains (i.e. eating disorders, substance use, stress and coping) is less consistent. These results are prefaced, however, by the outcome of the quality assessment of the included studies, which demonstrated that relatively few studies (25 %) were well reported or methodologically rigorous. Furthermore, there is a lack of intervention-based research on this topic.ConclusionThe evidence base regarding the mental health and wellbeing of elite athletes is limited by a paucity of high-quality, systematic studies. Nonetheless, the research demonstrates that this population is vulnerable to a range of mental health problems (including substance misuse), which may be related to both sporting factors (e.g. injury, overtraining and burnout) and non-sporting factors. More high-quality epidemiological and intervention studies are needed to inform optimal strategies to identify and respond to player mental health needs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0492-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Depression in Athletes

Cited by 213 publications

References 26 publications

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level male and female football players

Prevalence of depression and anxiety in top-level male and female football players

An Explorative Study on Major Stressors and Its Connection to Depression and Chronic Stress among German Elite Athletes

The Mental Health of Elite Athletes: A Narrative Systematic Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About