Prevalence of clinically elevated depressive symptoms in college athletes and differences by gender and sport

Wolanin, Andrew T.; Hong, Eugene; Marks, Donald R.; Panchoo, Kelly; Gross, Michael P.

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-095756

Cited by 235 publications

(192 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The findings of this study are also supported by the results of Wolanin et al's [4] recent research, from which it was found that levels of clinically relevant depressive symptoms among college athletes are higher than previously thought, and suggested to be comparable to prevalence rate observed in the general population. This finding was obtained using CES-D scores collected from routine spring sport physicals, from a sample of 465 athletes, and achieved a high participation rate from the athletes at that institution.…”

Section: Overall Depression Prevalencesupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Current research into the actual prevalence rate and individual risk factors for college athletes is inconsistent [34,44,46] with varying results and methodology. However, the most recent studies suggest a higher rate of clinically relevant depressive symptoms than previously thought [4] highlighting the need for further investigation in this area. In order to extend the literature on the prevalence and risk factors of depression symptoms in college athletes, this study will replicate aspects of a previous research study in the field [44], while simultaneously building on this research to add to the understanding of the relationship between depression and NCAA sport participation.…”

Section: Current Studymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…A recent study [3] investigating depression rates in current and former college athletes, found that 16.77% of current athletes had Wakefield Depression Scale scores consistent with depression, compared to just 8.03% of former, retired athletes, suggesting that engagement in college athletics may contribute to increased susceptibility to depressive symptoms. This suggestion is further strengthened by the findings of a more recent study, which concluded 23.7% of current college athletes at a single institution displayed clinically relevant symptoms of depression [4].…”

mentioning

confidence: 88%

“…However, this study does represent the largest sample of depression in college athletes for studies of this kind [3,4,44,46], including male and female college athletes from a variety of sports and universities. Moreover, the reported response rate was derived from the total number of Division I athletes.…”

Section: Overall Depression Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This finding was obtained using CES-D scores collected from routine spring sport physicals, from a sample of 465 athletes, and achieved a high participation rate from the athletes at that institution. The current study aimed to draw a representative random sample of the college athlete population by surveying from a number of institutions across the country, and was able to garner significant participation from all four undergraduate academic classes-noted limitations of Wolanin et al's study [4]. Despite the differences in methodology, the similar nature of the findings regarding the prevalence rate of clinically relevant depressive symptoms in college athletes observed in recent research [4], adds to the possibility that the results from the current study may be an accurate depiction of this issue rather than solely the product of self-selection bias.…”

Section: Overall Depression Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Symptoms among NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

Cox¹,

Ross-Stewart²,

Foltz³

2017

JSS

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This study aimed to determine an overall prevalence rate for depression symptoms among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletes while also assessing various risk factors that may increase an athlete's vulnerability to depression. Using a sample of 950 NCAA Division I athletes, it was found that 33.2% of athletes experienced symptoms of depression, contradicting findings from previous studies that have suggested a prevalence rate lower than the general college population. Female athletes (P = 0.00), underclassmen (P = 0.01), recently injured athletes (P = 0.05), and in-season athletes (P = 0.05), were all found to experience higher rates of depression symptoms than other athletes. It was found that 25.7% of athletes did not know how or where to access mental health treatment at their university, and 44.5% had received no mental health education from their athletic department. The results from this study suggest that depression is a more significant issue in college athletics than previously thought, and they highlight the need for continued improvements to be made in both the understanding of mental health issues in college athletics and the services that are provided to athletes.

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Section: Overall Depression Prevalencesupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Current Studymentioning

confidence: 87%

mentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Overall Depression Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overall Depression Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Symptoms among NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

Cox¹,

Ross-Stewart²,

Foltz³

2017

JSS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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A Social Ecological Framework: Counselors' Role in Improving Student Athletes' Help‐Seeking Behaviors

Reich

Milroy

Wyrick

et al. 2021

J of College Counseling

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Student athletes' demands increase their risk for experiencing mental health concerns (Ryan et al., 2018). Risk factors for student athletes include coping with athletic success and failure; balancing dual roles; dealing with identity confusion; and experiencing isolation, injury, career termination, and burnout (Beauchemin, 2012; G. T. Brown, 2014). Using the social ecological model, we review factors that interfere with student athletes' help‐seeking behaviors and propose recommendations for the ways counselors can address these barriers in the roles of educator, advocate, and therapist.

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The progression and mechanisms of mental illness symptoms in university student‐athletes during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Labossière,

Couture,

Laurier

et al. 2023

Stress and Health

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A few studies have examined mental illness symptoms in university student‐athletes during the COVID‐19 pandemic, but the limited use of longitudinal design limits the understanding of the progression of these symptoms and the mechanisms by which they developed. The present research aims to describe the trajectory of variation of mental illness symptoms (anxiety, depression, alcohol consumption disorders, and eating disorders) throughout the pandemic, to test causality between perceived stress and symptoms, and to identify individual characteristics (sociodemographic, perceived stress, and social support) influencing the trajectories of mental illness symptoms. On three occasions during the pandemic, 211 university student‐athletes were surveyed. Latent growth models and random intercept crossed‐lagged panel models were performed. Results indicate that anxiety and depressive symptoms significantly decreased throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic while alcohol consumption disorder symptoms significantly increased and eating disorder symptoms did not change significantly. Second, perceived stress was a significant cause of anxiety and depressive symptoms during this pandemic. Conversely, eating disorder symptoms significantly predicted perceived stress. Finally, average perceived stress and average social support availability throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic, and identifying as a visible minority, significantly predicted the trajectory of depressive symptoms, allowing for the identification of a sub‐population at higher risk. Based on these findings, teaching stress management strategies should be an essential component of programs to prevent mental illness symptoms in university student‐athletes. Reducing environmental stressors and their consequences among this population should also be prioritised.

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Prevalence of clinically elevated depressive symptoms in college athletes and differences by gender and sport

Cited by 235 publications

References 18 publications

Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Symptoms among NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Symptoms among NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

A Social Ecological Framework: Counselors' Role in Improving Student Athletes' Help‐Seeking Behaviors

The progression and mechanisms of mental illness symptoms in university student‐athletes during the COVID‐19 pandemic

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