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Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support
The combined demands on an adolescence in an elite sports high school can negatively affect mental health (eg, stress, burnout, depression, anxiety). Late adolescence is also when elite-striving athletes typically transition from junior-to-senior level programs. In addition, adolescent elite lean sp...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10121048/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37083747 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284725 |
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author | Lundqvist, Carolina Schary, David P. Eklöf, Emelie Zand, Sofia Jacobsson, Jenny |
author_facet | Lundqvist, Carolina Schary, David P. Eklöf, Emelie Zand, Sofia Jacobsson, Jenny |
author_sort | Lundqvist, Carolina |
collection | PubMed |
description | The combined demands on an adolescence in an elite sports high school can negatively affect mental health (eg, stress, burnout, depression, anxiety). Late adolescence is also when elite-striving athletes typically transition from junior-to-senior level programs. In addition, adolescent elite lean sports athletes have an increased risk of suffering from abnormal eating pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived psychosocial needs that young, elite-striving lean sports athletes in sports high schools find essential for their sports careers and transition from junior-to-senior level sports. Eight Swedish elite-striving lean sports athletes (2 men and 6 women; median age 17.0 years, range: 16–18 years) participated in this study and sports represented were athletics (n = 1), gymnastics (n = 3), and wrestling (n = 4). Semi-structured interviews were performed, and data was analyzed by thematic analysis. Results showed integration, both in the present situation and for the future, as an overarching theme perceived as essential for a successful elite sports career over time. Three additional themes were also identified: (a) Psychosocial stress (combined performance demands, diminished social life, sports-related body weight demands, taboo talking about eating disorders, injuries), (b) Protective psychosocial factors (social support and psychological safety, communication and coordination school and sports, self-care/health behaviors), and (c) support needs junior-to-senior transition (career advice and mentorship, individualized support). As a result, elite-striving, lean sports athletes attending sports high schools need additional support to excel in their academic and athletic endeavors. Sports developmental programs continue to provide inadequate support before and during the junior-to-senior level transition. Similarly, despite the continued calls for reducing the stigma of mental health, athletes in sports schools still encounter barriers from coaches and peers, making the subject taboo, particularly surrounding eating pathologies. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10121048 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-101210482023-04-22 Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support Lundqvist, Carolina Schary, David P. Eklöf, Emelie Zand, Sofia Jacobsson, Jenny PLoS One Research Article The combined demands on an adolescence in an elite sports high school can negatively affect mental health (eg, stress, burnout, depression, anxiety). Late adolescence is also when elite-striving athletes typically transition from junior-to-senior level programs. In addition, adolescent elite lean sports athletes have an increased risk of suffering from abnormal eating pathology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived psychosocial needs that young, elite-striving lean sports athletes in sports high schools find essential for their sports careers and transition from junior-to-senior level sports. Eight Swedish elite-striving lean sports athletes (2 men and 6 women; median age 17.0 years, range: 16–18 years) participated in this study and sports represented were athletics (n = 1), gymnastics (n = 3), and wrestling (n = 4). Semi-structured interviews were performed, and data was analyzed by thematic analysis. Results showed integration, both in the present situation and for the future, as an overarching theme perceived as essential for a successful elite sports career over time. Three additional themes were also identified: (a) Psychosocial stress (combined performance demands, diminished social life, sports-related body weight demands, taboo talking about eating disorders, injuries), (b) Protective psychosocial factors (social support and psychological safety, communication and coordination school and sports, self-care/health behaviors), and (c) support needs junior-to-senior transition (career advice and mentorship, individualized support). As a result, elite-striving, lean sports athletes attending sports high schools need additional support to excel in their academic and athletic endeavors. Sports developmental programs continue to provide inadequate support before and during the junior-to-senior level transition. Similarly, despite the continued calls for reducing the stigma of mental health, athletes in sports schools still encounter barriers from coaches and peers, making the subject taboo, particularly surrounding eating pathologies. Public Library of Science 2023-04-21 /pmc/articles/PMC10121048/ /pubmed/37083747 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284725 Text en © 2023 Lundqvist et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Lundqvist, Carolina Schary, David P. Eklöf, Emelie Zand, Sofia Jacobsson, Jenny Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title | Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title_full | Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title_fullStr | Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title_full_unstemmed | Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title_short | Elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
title_sort | elite lean athletes at sports high schools face multiple risks for mental health concerns and are in need of psychosocial support |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10121048/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37083747 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284725 |
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