Suicide and suicidality among collegiate student-athletes: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective: Participation in college athletics has traditionally been presumed to counter poor mental health outcomes including death by suicide. While previously reported incidents generally involve male football players, recent incidents suggest changing trends in frequency, sport, and sex. This research aims to summarize the breadth and limitations of existing research on death by suicide among U.S. collegiate student-athletes. Participants and Methods: This scoping review followed Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. A final sample of 19 research studies were identified through a comprehensive search including APA PsychINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE Complete, SPORTDiscus, and CINAHL databases and Gray Literature sources. Results: Most studied outcomes were suicidal ideation and attempt. Research on assessment of suicide prevention interventions for student-athletes is lacking. Conclusions: The paucity of research found on suicidal behaviors among collegiate student-athletes, including a lack of intervention research, in conjunction with recent trends suggest the need for a renewed focus on this topic.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• scoping review
• student-athletes
• suicide
• university

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the Kent State University.

Additional information

Funding

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