ABSTRACT

Despite sport managers’ efforts to address mental health, many athletes have increased risks of anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, many athletes do not seek help. Using a mixed-method approach, this study’s purpose was to identify organizational factors that impact an athlete’s willingness to seek help (Phase I) and determine the extent to which these identified factors predict athlete help-seeking intentions (Phase II). Phase I focus group (n = 30 athletes) results indicated that Athlete Culture (sub-themes Businesslike and Toughness) and Coach Connection have the greatest impact on athlete help-seeking. Phase II survey (n = 474 athletes) results indicated through structural equation modelling that Businesslike, Toughness and Coach Connection were associated with help-seeking, while controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and common method variance. Results indicate sport managers that establish genuine relationships with athletes and de-emphasize the sport ethic will better facilitate a help-seeking culture in their organizations.

摘要

尽管体育管理者努力解决心理健康问题，但许多运动员患焦虑症和抑郁症的风险增加了。不幸的是，许多运动员并不寻求帮助。使用混合方法，本研究的目的是确定影响运动员寻求帮助意愿的组织因素（第一阶段），并确定这些确定的因素在多大程度上预测运动员寻求帮助的意图（第二阶段）。第一阶段焦点小组（n  = 30 名运动员）的结果表明，运动员文化（子主题有条理和坚韧）和教练联系对运动员寻求帮助的影响最大。第二阶段调查 ( n = 474 名运动员）通过结构方程建模的结果表明，在控制性别、种族/民族和共同方法差异的同时，商务型、韧性和教练联系与寻求帮助相关。结果表明，与运动员建立真正关系并不再强调体育道德的体育管理者将更好地促进其组织中的求助文化。