Let's Talk About Mental Health and Mental Disorders in Elite Sports: A Narrative Review of Theoretical Perspectives.

Carolina Lundqvist,Gerhard Andersson

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700829

Carolina Lundqvist, Gerhard Andersson

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700829

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Abstract

The objective of this article is to discuss: (a) the various theoretical perspectives on mental health and mental health disorders adopted in sport psychology, and (b) how the adoption of these various theoretical perspectives in studies might impact upon the interpretations and conclusions in research about the mental health of participants in elite sports. Well-being as a target construct, holistic models, the single continuum or stage models, and Keyes' dual-continuum model of mental health are described, together with a sports psychiatric view of mental health. The strengths and limitations of various mental health perspectives are discussed. We conclude that mental health is a complex construct and that the sport psychology literature, much like the clinical psychology literature, has struggled to reach a consensus regarding a definition or a feasible approach to investigating mental health. For the researcher, it becomes important to make explicit the underlying theoretical perspective adopted and the operationalization upon which conclusions about elite athletes' mental health are based so that an increased knowledge base with high scientific credibility can be established and consolidated over time.

Highlights

In recent years, sport psychology researchers have exhibited an almost explosive growth in interest in the investigation of mental health among elite athletes (Kuettel and Larsen, 2020; Poucher et al, 2021)
Various theoretical perspectives adopted by mental health researchers may impose strengths and limitations in results obtained in studies
Considering the increasing number of articles published in recent years, the view that elite athletes will be immune to mental health concerns seems to have been, until recently, a prevailing view among many researchers, practitioners, and sports organizations (Bär and Markser, 2013; Bauman, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Sport psychology researchers have exhibited an almost explosive growth in interest in the investigation of mental health among elite athletes (Kuettel and Larsen, 2020; Poucher et al, 2021). This interest has, at least partly, been stimulated by the mental health movement found in global health-promotion programs calling for greater responsiveness in society overall (e.g., IUHPE, 2018). In a scoping review, Kuettel and Larsen (2020) found that 81% of mental health studies focusing on elite athletes had been published between the years 2013 and 2018. Concerns have been expressed in the literature about the high prevalence of mental health issues among elite athletes (e.g., Rice et al, 2016; Reardon et al, 2019), and that stigma in the elite sports culture may decrease help-seeking behaviors and lead sports organizations to depreciate mental health issues as unwelcome “weaknesses” not compatible with high-level sports (e.g., Bauman, 2015; Foskett and Longstaff, 2018; Castaldelli-Maia et al, 2019).

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