Niu Mana, Sport, Media and the Australian Diaspora

Young Pacific Male Rugby Players’ Perceptions and Experiences of Mental Wellbeing

“…These findings reinforce the evidence, with Horton [1], Hokowhitu [101], Uperesa [102], and Teaiwa [47] highlighting that the hypermasculine stereotypes placed upon Pacific male athletes are often internalised, embodied, and become a part of Pacific male athletes’ identity and psyche. Teaiwa [47] illustrates that Pacific male athletes are at the forefront of elite rugby and marketed in a hypermasculine manner through the use of terms like ‘warriors’ and ‘beasts’, which both glorifies and demonises athletes’ masculine and athletic traits as ‘primitive’.…”

“…Whilst these hypermasculine traits can be beneficial in the world of elite sports and are held in high esteem within some Pacific cultures, they can be harmful when it comes to emotional expression, mental wellbeing, and help-seeking for mental health challenges [18,32,33,47,103]. Recent studies assert that hypermasculine views towards emotional expression and mental wellbeing often increase internalised stigma towards depressive moods, restrict ways of coping, and promote the masking of emotions, all of which increase the risk of self-harm and suicide [1,12,104].…”

“…Recent studies assert that hypermasculine views towards emotional expression and mental wellbeing often increase internalised stigma towards depressive moods, restrict ways of coping, and promote the masking of emotions, all of which increase the risk of self-harm and suicide [1,12,104]. Placing less emphasis on the limiting hypermasculine caricatures that currently underpin what it means to be a Pacific male athlete and promoting culturally appropriate value-based traits, such as altruism, resilience, support, and service, could have widespread benefits for how young Pacific male athletes view their own masculinity and their attitudes towards emotional expression, mental wellbeing, and help-seeking [47,102].…”

“…Many stressors remain for athletes who do secure professional playing contracts, coupled with the reality that a career in either code of professional rugby is short-lived, averaging three to four years per player [46]. Alongside highly publicised expectations and familial responsibilities, this often unpredictable and high-pressure environment can hamper mental wellbeing for some athletes [1,47].…”

Pacific Youth: Local and Global Futures

“…Many stressors remain for athletes who can secure professional playing contracts, on top of the fact that a career in both codes of professional rugby is often short, averaging three to four years per player (Price 2007). Alongside greatly publicised expectations and familial responsibilities, this uncertain and high-pressure environment can hamper the mental wellbeing of some athletes (Horton 2014;Teaiwa 2016).…”