Relationships among Student-Athletes’ Identity, Mental Health, and Social Support in Japanese Student-Athletes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of the two studies was to investigate the relationships among student athletes’ identity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study aimed to clarify the relationship between perceived social support from teammates and mental health in student-athletes. Two studies were conducted to investigate and clarify the mental health states of student-athletes in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Study 1, conducted in April 2020, the participants were 402 male student-athletes and we examined the relationships among student-athletes’ identity and mental health. The results of correlational analyses indicated significant negative correlations between the degree of student-athletes’ identity and depression and sports helplessness. In Study 2, conducted in March 2021, the participants were 135 male student-athletes and examined the relationship between perceived social support from teammates, student-athletes’ identity, and mental health. The results indicated a significant correlation between social support, student athletes’ identity, and mental health.

The Collegiate Athlete Perspective on Return to Sport Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Assessment of Confidence, Stress, and Coping Strategies

“…These restrictions not only contributed to a heightened pressure to uphold expectations but also limited student athletes’ ability to de-stress. These findings build off recent quantitative work demonstrating significant correlations between student athlete social support, athlete identity, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 17 , 18 ]. Together, these findings underscore the need to balance concerns over student athlete health and availability with their basic social needs.…”

“…The importance of social support to athlete identity and mental health [ 17 , 18 ] as well as return to sport following orthopedic surgery [ 5 , 6 ] have been noted. In the present study, social support, particularly from teammates who were going through the same experiences, was a commonly cited adaptive coping strategy.…”

“…Adaptive coping strategies have the potential to protect against the added stressors brought on by COVID-19. Two quantitative studies conducted among collegiate student-athletes during COVID-19 indicated that high levels of social support were linked to better maintenance of athlete identity and mental health [ 17 , 18 ]. Semi-structured interviews with college athletes would allow for a deeper understanding of the different coping strategies they have used throughout the pandemic.…”

Social Support and Post-Injury Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among College-Student Athletes

“…Teammates and coaches are another important source of support for injured athletes during recovery from injury, especially for injured college-student athletes who are living away from home. Social support from one’s teammates and coaches may be particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as injured athletes may not be able to see their family/friends in-person during the athletic season or due to the mental health challenges associated with the pandemic itself [ 40 , 41 ]. It is, therefore, crucial that one’s teammates and coaches provide high levels of social support to injured athletes throughout their recovery.…”

Impact of COVID-19 and related emergency measures on mental and lifestyle changes in Japanese college football players

“…Athletic performance can be improved by sleep education, CBT, and prolonged sleep duration interventions 20) . Hagiwara et al (2021) reported on the social identity and mental health in student athletes and found a negative correlation among Japanese student athlete identity, depression, and sports helplessness. Additionally, they found a negative correlation among social support from teammates, depression, and sports helplessness 21) .…”