Symptoms and risk factors of depression during and after the football career of elite female players

Birgit Prinz · Jiří Dvořák · Astrid Junge

86 citations0/0 files storedBMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

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Sport Psychology and Performance COVID-19 and Mental Health Psychological Treatments and Assessments

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The mental health of elite athletes has received increasing attention in recent years, but no study has evaluated the career-time prevalence of depression, and very few have analysed risk factors of mental health problems during or after the career. METHODS: 157 (response rate 64.1%) female players who played in the German First League answered an anonymous online survey on details of their football career, stressful and helpful conditions, depression and need of psychotherapeutic support during and after the football career. RESULTS: The career-time prevalence of depression symptoms was 32.3%. Significant differences in the average depression score were observed for playing positions (F=2.75; p<0.05) and levels of play (F=3.53; p<0.01). About half of the players (49.7%) stated 'conflicts with coach/management' as an important reason for their low in moods, followed by 'low in performance/injury' (48.4%) and 'too little support/acknowledgement by the coach' (40.0%). 'Psychological strain/stress' (46.5%) was (after injury) the second most important reason for lows in performance. During their career, almost 40% of players wanted or needed psychological support, but only 10% received it. After their career, the percentage of players wanting or needing psychological support decreased to 24%, of whom 90% received it. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of depression symptoms in combination with low use of psychotherapy during the career shows the need for de-stigmatisation of mental health issues in elite football. Furthermore, it seems very important to educate coaches, physicians, physiotherapists and club managers to recognise and prevent mental health problems of their players.

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References

1977The CES-D Scale 2001The PHQ-9 2003The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 2005Detecting and monitoring depression with a two-item questionnaire (PHQ-2)2003The epidemiology of major depressive episodes: results from the International Consortium of Psychiatric Epidemiology (ICPE) surveys 2004Screening psychischer Störungen mit dem “Gesundheitsfragebogen für Patienten (PHQ-D)“2012Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study 2011Psychological Balance in High Level Athletes: Gender-Based Differences and Sport-Specific Patterns

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2023Athlete mental health help-seeking: A systematic review and meta-analysis of rates, barriers and facilitators 2020The prevalence of depressive symptoms in high-performance athletes: a systematic review 2018Depression and anxiety symptoms in 17 teams of female football players including 10 German first league teams 2018Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Young Athletes Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale 2016“You have to be mental to jump off a board any way”: Elite divers' conceptualizations and perceptions of mental health

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