Elite female footballers in England: an exploration of mental ill-health and help-seeking intentions

ABSTRACT

Objectives

Mental health research in sport is almost entirely focused on elite male athletes. However, recent research suggests that elite female athletes are at higher risk for mental ill-health when compared to their male counterparts. Given the recent growth of women’s football in England and lack of research surrounding mental health in this population, this study sought to explore the prevalence of, and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and eating disorder symptoms in females competing in the top two tiers of English football.

Methods

An anonymous online questionnaire pack, which measured personal and player characteristics and included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), Brief Eating Disorder Questionnaire (BEDA-Q), and General Help-Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ), was completed between November 2020 and March 2021 by elite female footballers competing in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and Women’s Championship.

Results

A total of 115 players completed the questionnaire (63 from the WSL; 52 from the Women’s Championship). 36% displayed eating disorder symptoms (BEDAQ) 11% displayed moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), and 11% displayed moderate to severe depression symptoms (PHQ-9). Significant associations emerged between starting status, want for psychological support, student-athlete status, help-seeking intentions score, and mental ill-health symptoms.

Conclusion

In summary, elite female footballers in England reported significant mental health symptoms, particularly disordered eating symptoms. Further research should explore the experiences of mental ill-health in this population, focusing on the factors that were important in this study.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• Help-seeking
• elite Women’s football
• disordered eating
• depression
• anxiety

Acknowledgements

The authors highly appreciate the cooperation of all players who volunteered their time to fill in the questionnaire. We express our gratitude to current and former players, particularly Dr. Alex Culvin, for distributing the questionnaire. Additionally, we would like to thank Dr. Astrid Junge for her advice and support surrounding the content of the questionnaire.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Ethics approval

Obtained from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston England.

Patient consent

Obtained.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.No funding is associated with this study.