A letter to my younger self: Understanding talented athletes’ experiences of and future recommendations for seeking help for mental health difficulties

IF 3.9 2区心理学 Q2 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

Psychology of Sport and Exercise Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-05 DOI:10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.103017

Ella McLoughlin , Rachel Arnold

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Researchers have suggested that athletes are at-risk for mental health difficulties partly due to the stressors they encounter. Despite this, athletes may not acknowledge nor seek support for their mental health problems. The aim of this study is to explore talented athletes' experiences of seeking help for mental help difficulties, and their perceptions of the psychological services offered. Utilizing letter to self-methodology, 16 talented athletes (11 female; M_age = 25.27, SD = 7.95) were asked to write a letter to their younger self outlining their experiences of seeking help for mental health difficulties. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and five themes were generated: (1) Athletes have a tendency to bottle up feelings as a way to protect themselves; (2) Unable to identify signs and symptoms of mental ill-health; (3) Availability of sport psychology support has improved, but it is still insufficient; (4) Athletes are individual and should be treated as so; and (5) The sporting environment should attempt to develop cultural competency. Following this, a composite version of the letter was developed and presented to a selection of the original sample (n = 9). Member reflection interviews were then completed (M_duration = 63.07 min; SD = 11.15) to explore their responses to the letter. This study provides insight into athletes’ current and desired mental health support. From the findings, a set of recommendations are forwarded to strengthen the provision of mental health support and provide athletes with earlier and tailored support.

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给年轻的自己的一封信：了解有才能的运动员在心理健康问题上寻求帮助的经历和未来的建议。

研究人员表示，运动员面临心理健康问题的风险，部分原因是他们遇到的压力源。尽管如此，运动员可能不承认或寻求支持他们的心理健康问题。摘要本研究旨在探讨天赋运动员心理困难求助的经历，以及他们对心理服务的感受。采用“给自己写信”的方法，要求16名有天赋的运动员（11名女性；Mage = 25.27, SD = 7.95）给年轻时的自己写一封信，概述他们寻求心理健康问题帮助的经历。运用反身性主题分析法对数据进行分析，得出五大主题：(1)运动员倾向于将自己的情感隐藏起来以保护自己；（二）不能识别精神疾病体征和症状的；(3)运动心理支持的可得性有所提高，但仍然不足；(4)运动员是个体，应被视为个体；(5)体育环境应努力培养文化胜任力。在此之后，信件的复合版本被开发并呈现给原始样本的选择（n = 9）。然后完成成员反思访谈（持续时间= 63.07分钟；标准差= 11.15），以了解他们对这封信的反应。本研究提供了洞察运动员当前和期望的心理健康支持。根据研究结果，提出了一套建议，以加强心理健康支持的提供，并为运动员提供早期和有针对性的支持。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Psychology of Sport and Exercise 医学-心理学

CiteScore

6.40

自引率

5.90%

发文量

172

审稿时长

69 days

期刊介绍： Psychology of Sport and Exercise is an international forum for scholarly reports in the psychology of sport and exercise, broadly defined. The journal is open to the use of diverse methodological approaches. Manuscripts that will be considered for publication will present results from high quality empirical research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, commentaries concerning already published PSE papers or topics of general interest for PSE readers, protocol papers for trials, and reports of professional practice (which will need to demonstrate academic rigour and go beyond mere description). The CONSORT guidelines consort-statement need to be followed for protocol papers for trials; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the CONSORT checklist. For meta-analysis, the PRISMA prisma-statement guidelines should be followed; authors should present a flow diagramme and attach with their cover letter the PRISMA checklist. For systematic reviews it is recommended that the PRISMA guidelines are followed, although it is not compulsory. Authors interested in submitting replications of published studies need to contact the Editors-in-Chief before they start their replication. We are not interested in manuscripts that aim to test the psychometric properties of an existing scale from English to another language, unless new validation methods are used which address previously unanswered research questions.