To explore and describe the extent and quality of Mental Health Literacy (MHL) resources, information and education currently available within the Australian Football League (AFL) Next Generation Academy (NGA) programs and identify limitations/gaps in existing MHL practices within these programs.
Methods
An exploratory mixed-method descriptive design was utilised in two phases. Phase One consisted of a researcher led MHL audit of publicly available data associated with each NGA program. Phase Two included a web-based open-ended questionnaire distributed to key NGA personnel and focused on mental health practices within the programs. Descriptive statistics were used to present Phase One data and thematic analysis was utilised in Phase Two.
Results
In Phase One, the total mean standardised score for resources on mental health, raising awareness on mental health and culture of support within the clubs were 47% (SD = 16, range 18–89), 51% (SD = 23, range 0–77) and 61% (SD = 27, range of 9–97). In Phase Two, eight participants responded to the questionnaire (44% response rate). Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis: 1) current initiatives and resources within the club; 2) training, education and support for staff; 3) the gender divide.
Conclusion
Mainstream mental health resources do exist within the AFL and there is some support within the professional league. However, these are not effectively tailored for youth elite athletes, nor have they been implemented into NGA programs despite the willingness of staff in supporting the mental health of these athletes.
WeiYHaydenJAKutcherS, et al.The effectiveness of school mental health literacy programs to address knowledge, attitudes and help seeking among youth. Early Interv Psychiatry2013; 7: 109–121.
2.
Mission Australia. Youth mental health report: youth survey 2012–2016. 2017.
3.
ChristensenMSørensenJ. Sport or school? Dreams and dilemmas for talented young Danish football players. Eur Phy Educ Rev2009; 15: 115–133.
4.
BureauS. The prevalence of self-perceived stress and depression in undergraduate NCAA student athletes and student non-athletes. Aletheia2016; 1: 3–12.
5.
ReardonCLFactorRM. Sport psychiatry: a systematic review of diagnosis and medical treatment of mental illness in athletes. Sports Med2010; 40: 961–980.
6.
SwannCTelentaJDraperG, et al.Youth sport as a context for supporting mental health: adolescent male perspectives. Psychol Sport Exerc2018; 35: 55–64.
7.
GulliverAGriffithsKMChristensenH. Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry2012; 12: 157.
8.
JormAFKortenAEJacombPA, et al.Mental health literacy": a survey of the public’s ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Med J Aust1997; 166: 182–186.
9.
PutukianM. The psychological response to injury in student athletes: a narrative review with a focus on mental health. Br J Sports Med2016; 50: 145–148.
10.
PurcellRGwytherKRiceSM. Mental health in elite athletes: increased awareness requires an early intervention framework to respond to athlete needs. Sports Med Open2019; 5: 46.
11.
VellaSASwannCBatterhamM, et al.An intervention for mental health literacy and resilience in organised sports. Med Sci Sports Exerc2021; 53: 139–149.
12.
LiddleSKDeaneFPBatterhamM, et al.A brief sports-based mental health literacy program for male adolescents: a cluster-randomized controlled trial. J Sport Exerc Psychol2021; 33: 20–44.
13.
KutcherSWeiYCostaS, et al.Enhancing mental health literacy in young people. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry2016; 25: 567–569.
14.
SebbensJHassmenPCrispD, et al.Mental health in sport (MHS): improving the early intervention knowledge and confidence of elite sport staff. Front Psychol2016; 7: 911.
15.
RiceSMPurcellRDe SilvaS, et al.The mental health of elite athletes: a narrative systematic review. Sports Med2016; 46: 1333–1353.
KrollTNeriM. Designs for mixed methods research. In: Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pp.31–49.
18.
SchoonenboomJJohnsonRB. How to construct a mixed methods research design. Kolner Z Soz Sozpsychol2017; 69: 107–131.
19.
GhiaraV. Disambiguating the role of paradigms in mixed methods research. J Mix Methods Res2020; 14: 11–25.
20.
UprichardEDawneyL. Data diffraction: challenging data integration in mixed methods research. J Mix Methods Res2019; 13: 19–32.
21.
GreeneJC. Is mixed methods social inquiry a distinctive methodology?J Mix Methods Res2008; 2: 7–22.
22.
JohnsonRBSciAB. Dialectical pluralism and mixed research. Am Behav Sci2012; 56: 751–754. DOI: 10.1177/0002764212442494
23.
BuchholtzN. Planning and conducting mixed methods studies in mathematics educational research. In: KaiserGPresmegN (eds) Compendium for early career researchers in mathematics education. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2019, pp.131–152.
24.
MoffattSWhiteMMackintoshJ, et al.Using quantitative and qualitative data in health services research – what happens when mixed method findings conflict?BMC Health Serv Res2006; 6: 28.
25.
MorseJMNiehausL. Mixed method design: principles and procedures. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2009.
26.
GuestG. Describing mixed methods research: an alternative to typologies. J Mix Methods Res2012; 7: 141–151.
27.
GreeneJCCaracelliVJGrahamWF. Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation designs. Educ Eval Policy Anal1989; 11: 255–274.
28.
LiddleSKDeaneFPVellaSA. Addressing mental health through sport: a review of sporting organizations’ websites. Early Interv Psychiatry2017; 11: 93–103.
29.
FongAJJonesJMFaulknerG, et al.Exploring cancer centres for physical activity and sedentary behaviour support for breast cancer survivors. Curr Oncol2018; 25: e365–e372.
30.
JonesNRJonesAvan SluijsEM, et al.School environments and physical activity: the development and testing of an audit tool. Health Place2010; 16: 776–783.
31.
PriceRJHawkinsRDHulseMA, et al.The football association medical research programme: an audit of injuries in academy youth football. Br J Sports Med2004; 38: 466–471.
32.
BuchananEAHvizdakEE. Online survey tools: ethical and methodological concerns of human research ethics committees. J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics2009; 4: 37–48.
33.
BraunVClarkeV. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol2006; 3: 77–101.
34.
TremblayMSBarnesJDGonzalezSA, et al.Global matrix 2.0: report card grades on the physical activity of children and youth comparing 38 countries. J Phys Act Health2016; 13: S343–S366.
35.
PierceDLiawSTDobellJ, et al.Australian Rural football club leaders as mental health advocates: an investigation of the impact of the coach the coach project. Int J Ment Health Syst2010; 4: 10.
36.
GershE. Supporting mental wellbeing in community sport: a toolkit for sporting organisations. Melbourne: VIC, 2019.
37.
International Olympic Committee. Action plan to strengthen safe sport/safeguarding across the Olympic movement to protect the physical and mental well-being of athletes. Lausanne, Switzerland: IOC-International Olympic Committee, 2021.
38.
Government UK. Policy paper: mental health and elite sport action plan. London, UK: Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, 2018.
39.
FergusonHSwannCLiddleS, et al.Investigating youth sports coaches’ perceptions of their role in adolescent mental health. J Appl Sport Psychol2019; 31: 235–252.
40.
Vargas-TonsingTGuanJ. Athletes’ preferences for informational and emotional pre-game speech content. Int J Sports Sci Coach2007; 2: 171–180.
41.
MountjoyMRhindDJTiivasA, et al.Safeguarding the child athlete in sport: a review, a framework and recommendations for the IOC youth athlete development model. Br J Sports Med2015; 49: 883–886.
42.
MountjoyMBrackenridgeCArringtonM, et al.International Olympic committee consensus statement: harassment and abuse (non-accidental violence) in sport. Br J Sports Med2016; 50: 1019–1029.
43.
WaltonCCPurcellRRiceS. Addressing mental health in elite athletes as a vehicle for early detection and intervention in the general community. Early Interv Psychiatry2019; 13: 1530–1532.
44.
HenriksenKStambulovaNB, et al.Creating optimal environments for talent development: a holistic ecological approach. In: BakerJCobleySSchorerJ (eds) Routlegde handbook of talent identification and development in sport. Milton Park: Routledge, 2017, pp.271–285.
45.
FaucettEAMcCraryHCMilinicT, et al.The role of same-sex mentorship and organizational support in encouraging women to pursue surgery. Am J Surg2017; 214: 640–644.
46.
HerrmannSDAdelmanRMBodfordJE, et al.The effects of a female role model on academic performance and persistence of women in STEM courses. Basic Appl Soc Psych2016; 38: 258–268.
47.
AkesdotterCKenttaGElorantaS, et al.The prevalence of mental health problems in elite athletes. J Sci Med Sport2020; 23: 329–335.
48.
BangasserDACurtisAReyesBA, et al.Sex differences in corticotropin-releasing factor receptor signaling and trafficking: potential role in female vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology. Mol Psychiatry2010; 15: 896–904.
49.
SchaalKTaffletMNassifH, et al.Psychological balance in high level athletes: gender-based differences and sport-specific patterns. PLoS One2011; 6: e19007.
50.
GulliverAGriffithsKMMackinnonA, et al.The mental health of Australian elite athletes. J Sci Med Sport2015; 18: 255–261.
51.
Riecher-RösslerA. Sex and gender differences in mental disorders. Lancet Psychiatry2017; 4: 8–9.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
