Abstract
Mental health disorders represent a significant global issue. In Canada, youth are the most affected demographic, with mental health issues often beginning in the mid-teen years, significantly impacting their physical and psychological development. For youth athletes, additional pressures and challenges may contribute to the exacerbation of mental health issues, including parental, peer, and coach influences, early specialization and strict training requirements, stigma, lack of awareness, and lack of access to information and mental health support services. Parents play a critical role in their children's sports experiences but often feel unprepared to handle mental health concerns. The purpose of this project was to develop mental health resources for elite youth athletes and their parents to be implemented within youth sport organizations. First, we engaged in multiple consultations with members of Youth Athlete and Parent Advisory Groups to identify key topics and issues; these consultations also identified aspects of the resources that would be important for effective communication and uptake of the information (e.g., format, length, practical suggestions and recommendations; availability of additional information for parents and athletes, dissemination strategies). Next, we surveyed available mental health resources and information from sport and public health agencies. Key points and messages were identified for each topic, and materials were developed and reviewed by elite youth athlete advisors and by the Advisory Group Members. The resources are available via a QR code for use by sport organizations to promote awareness about mental health and open access to information for elite youth athletes and parents.
