Mental health among current college students and student-athletes: Do demographic factors impact symptom presence and help-seeking behavior?

This is a comprehensive study of the mental health and well-being of students and student-athletes at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship of demographic factors on the presence of mental health symptoms and participation in help-seeking behavior. Identifying differences in symptom occurrence based on demographic factors is important as certain uncontrollable factors may impact the stigmatization and lack of proper help-seeking behaviors. A participant pool of 116 participants including 98 students and 18 student-athletes (70 females and 46 males) was evaluated. The qualitative data were gathered via a self-report questionnaire administered through Qualtrics, which included items about demographics (e.g., sexual orientation, gender orientation, race/ethnicity), overall health and well-being, help-seeking behavior, and the mental health measures of anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and resilience. Results overarchingly indicated the lack of significant differences in the severity of mental health symptoms among Caucasian participants and Participants of Color, heterosexual participants and LGBTQIA+ participants, students, and student-athletes. Study findings provide insight into the importance of future mental health research in collegiate athletics, as this vulnerable population is slowly emerging past the stigmatization surrounding mental health and well-being. Future research must be conducted with a larger, more diverse population, as it may allow better generalization to the entire athletic community.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Kinesiology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Thomas, Olivia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Petruzzello, Steven

• Mental Health
• Well-being

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Olivia Thomas

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122008

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F122008