The propensity of psychological strategies used by collegiate soccer players at risk for anxiety and depression

ABSTRACT Psychological strategies (PS) developed for performance enhancement are common in therapeutic approaches for mitigating mental health risks; however, associations between common PS used by collegiate athletes and such risks are relatively unexplored. Collegiate soccer players (N = 72) completed the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression scale (CES-D). Results indicated collegiate athletes categorically not at risk for anxiety or depression used PS more, while those at risk reported using debilitative strategies. The lack of emotional control in practice explained the most variance in predicting BAI (29%) and CES-D (36%) scores, while negative thinking in competition explained the most variance in BAI (30%) and CES-D (35%) scores. Findings are discussed in terms of familiarizing athletes with the range of PS and their relevance for mitigating mental health risk triggers in the age of COVID-19.