Background information

This project aims to investigate mental health of sporting athletes, understand how key psychological variables contribute to mental health outcomes, as well as exploring the facilitative factors and barriers towards their help seeking behaviours.

Athletes are often susceptible to mental health symptoms as a result of the pressure associated within the sporting environment. While the majority of literature has focused on understanding factors contributing to high-level professional performers (i.e., elite athletes), with research investigating non-elite athletes and developing athletes has been often neglected. Having a better understanding of mental health issues that affect sport performers can provide better insight into possible future interventions and help determine the factors influencing mental health help-seeking behaviours.

What will you be asked to do?

Participation will consist of completing an online survey that is exploring mental health and help-seeking behaviours. As part of this survey, you will complete demographic questions about you and your involvement in sport, measures on mental health and knowledge of mental health, mental health help-seeking intention and coping preferences. The survey will also ask open-ended questions about factors that facilitate and barriers to your mental health help-seeking behaviours. It is expected that completing of the surveys will take approximately 30 to 35 minutes to complete. Involvement in this study also provides consent for your contribution to be included in future related research projects or teaching materials.

Involvement in the study

To thank you for your time, participants may enter a prize draw to win one of four $50 Coles e-vouchers after completing the survey and voluntarily providing a contact email address (collected and stored separately to participant responses to maintain anonymity and confidentiality of responses). This prize draw will occur once data collection, which is expected to be completed in December 2024, and winners will be notified via email.

Confidentiality and anonymity of your information

Involvement in this study is anonymous, participation in the study represents implied consent. Please understand that your involvement in this study is voluntary and we respect your right to withdraw from the study at any time. All data collected is anonymous and we have no way of identifying whether you have participated in the study or not. Furthermore, as all data collected is de-identified and there will be no way of linking your involvement with your results. You may discontinue participation in the study without consequence and you do not need to provide any explanation if you decide not to participate or withdraw at any time. If you decide to withdraw your consent after completing the survey, it will not be possible to delete your information as we do have not have the capabilities to link your data to your involvement. If you participate and you are either a university staff and students, your decision to participate or not participate will have no impact on the studies, assessments or grades of any student of the researchers.

How will the results be used?

A brief report of the aggregated results can be requested at the completion of the project, with the report available to you from December 2024. Results of this study may be reported in peer reviewed research articles, conference presentations, and/or possible future data analysis and teaching materials.

Storage and Use of the Data

All the data collected in this research will be kept indefinitely on password protected files. Only the named researchers will have access to data. There will be no identifying information between the data and participants. Your de-identified data may be used for research projects into the future such as being re-analysed or added to online data repositories to answer other research questions. Any other person gaining access to the data, will only be supplied with non-identified data. As such, no individual participation will ever be able to be identified.

Ethical Approval and Support Service

The ethical aspects of this research project have been approved by a Human Research Ethics Committee at Federation University Australia (ethics number: 2024-033). There is a very low risk with participation in the study and it is unlikely that this research will raise any personal or upsetting issues. If an issue arises, you may want to contact your local GP to discuss any mental health issues you are experiencing. Alternatively, you may wish to contact Headspace on 1800 650 890 for further assistance if further issues persist. If you are a Federation University student you also have the opportunity for free student counselling services through student services or call 1300 758 109 for immediate mental health support.

If you have any questions, or you would like further information regarding the project titled (Mental Health and Help-Seeking Behaviours in Young High-Level Athletes), please contact the Principal Researcher, Dr Dominic McNeil of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing: d.mcneil@federation.edu.au or (03) 5327 9445