Drawing out the student-athlete voice: Satisfaction with mental health service availability and desired changes
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Since the establishment of interassociation best practices for supporting student-athlete mental health (NCAA, 2016), efforts have begun to evaluate the implementation of these recommendations. For instance, scholars have examined perceived availability of mental health services (Cox, 2015; Moore, 2016), use of pre-participation mental health screenings (e.g., Sudano & Miles, 2017; McGuire et al., 2017), and evaluation of mental health outreach efforts (Kern et al., 2017). However, there has been an absence of research to solicit the student-athlete voice about the state of available services. In a preliminary effort to address this gap, a mixed-methods online survey was developed to explore NCAA student-athletes’ satisfaction with the availability of direct (e.g., individual/group counseling) and indirect (e.g., outreach, educational workshops) mental health services. In an open-ended format, participants (n = 230) were also invited to comment on what changes they would like t o see in the services that are made available to them through their institutions. On a 100-point scale, respondents tended to be more satisfied with the availability of direct mental health services on their campus (M = 74.50, SD = 22.82) and in their athletic department (M = 73.00, SD = 25.73) than with the availability of indirect mental health services on their campus (M = 67.80, SD = 23.82) and in their athletic department (M = 67.61, SD = 25.94). Several themes in desired changes emerged through analyses of the qualitative data, including more athlete-centered services, education about services, proactive points of contact, and shifting the way in which mental health is talked about. As continued efforts and NCAA legislation aim to make mental health services more and more accessible, results will be discussed in terms of engaging the student-athlete voice in the development and implementation of new services and initiatives.
