Self-reported prevalence of sleep and mental health disorders in current and former athletes: a preliminary cross-sectional investigation of help-seeking behaviours
Ashley Montero, J. Baranoff, R. Adams, M. Drummond
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Athletes typically report a high prevalence of mental health issues and face significant barriers within the sporting environment that prevent help seeking. However, little is known about how retired or non-elite athletes engage with support; this lack of empirical data is even more pronounced in the case of sleep disorders. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was completed by current and former athletes ( n = 946; 495 women, 444 men, 7 non-binary) from all sports and competition levels in seven countries. Self-disclosed diagnosis history, help-seeking behaviours, and functional impact of sleep and mental health disorders were assessed. Results: Comparable rates of mental health disorders were observed between current athletes (39.3%) and former athletes (42.0%), OR = 1.17, p = .337. Similarly, comparable rates of sleep disorders were observed between current athletes (25.4%) and former athletes (30.9%), OR = 1.20, p = .298. Men reported lower mental health disorder prevalence than women (32.9% vs. 46.3%), OR = 1.82, p < .001. Gender differences were also evident in the types of disorders reported. For sleep disorders, men were less likely to seek assistance from a psychologist than women (8.4% vs. 26.2%), p < .001,φ = 0.23. No differences in help seeking avenues for mental health were observed. Comorbid disorders had more frequent functional impairment than individual sleep or mental health disorders. Conclusions: These self-reported prevalence estimates have significance for practitioners and clinicians. Data indicates the most prevalent types of disorders in these populations and where athletes
期刊介绍:
The Australian Psychologist is the official applied practice and public policy journal of the Australian Psychological Society. As such, the journal solicits articles covering current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology"s contribution to public policy, with particular emphasis on the Australian context. Periodically, Australian Psychological Society documents, including but not limited to, position papers, reports of the Society, ethics information, surveys of the membership, announcements, and selected award addresses may appear in the journal.