Combining Mental Health and Performance Interventions: Coping and Social Support for Student-Athletes

Abstract

College student-athletes face various stressors that, if not well managed, could become a source of mental health issues. The transactional model of stress and coping proposes that effective coping and social support are important variables to buffer the negative effects of stressors on mental health. The present study aimed to teach college student-athletes coping skills to improve both performance and mental health and increase their social support from coaches and captains. Participants were 88 (M age = 19.8 years, SD = 1.1 years) college student-athletes who played 5 sports at a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I university (51% female, 83% White). Participants were divided into intervention and waitlist control groups and completed the Demographic, Athletic Coping Skills Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaires before and after the 8-week intervention period. The intervention included 5 sessions of mental skills training for performance and coping with life stressors, 2 sessions with coaches for social support, and 4 sessions with captains for social support. Analyses of covariance for each dependent variable were used to compare means between intervention and control groups, using their preintervention values as covariates. Athletic coping skills, F(1, 70) = 9.069, p = .004, and anxiety, F(1, 79) = 5.017, p = .028, significantly improved for the intervention group, compared to the control group. An intervention that teaches student-athletes how to use mental skills both during performance and in other life domains has the potential to improve both athletic coping skills and mental health-related outcomes.

Lay summary: This study combined an intervention to improve college student-athletes’ mental health outcomes with an intervention to improve performance. The intervention included teaching coping skills to student-athletes and increasing their social support within the team. Results showed an improvement in athletic coping skills and anxiety.