Examining the incidence of reporting mental health diagnosis between college student athletes and non-athlete students and the impact on academic performance

Abstract

Objective: Compare collegiate athletes to non-athlete students for mental health diagnosis, treatment, and mental health impacts on academic performance. Participants: Students, including club and varsity athletes, from a large Midwestern U.S. NCAA Division 1 university (N = 2167). Methods: American College Health Association (ACHA)-NCHA II (2010–2016) survey data were analyzed using chi square tests for between-groups differences and gender effects on mental health diagnoses, treatment, and academic impacts of mental health. Results: Compared to athletes, non-athletes reported higher rates of anxiety, eating, mood, sleep, and other disorders. Controlling for gender, these differences were not significant. Regardless of gender, athletes sought treatment less often than non-athletes. Athletes reported anxiety, sleep, alcohol/drugs, extracurricular activities and injuries as major academic impediments. Conclusions: Mental health diagnosis rates were lower in athletes, but appeared to be an artifact of gender differences between groups. However, less treatment-seeking and academic impacts mean that ongoing attention to mental health is vital to student-athlete well-being.

Keywords:

• Academics
• athletes
• mental health
• university

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of University of Cincinnati.

Disclaimer

The opinions, findings, and conclusions reported in this article are those of the authors, and are in no way meant to represent the corporate opinions, views, or policies of the American College Health Association (ACHA). ACHA does not warrant nor assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this article.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.