Abstract
Within Canada, there are varying degrees of mental health (MH) support for university student athletes (SA). Although researchers have explored help-seeking among SA, it remains unclear if SA with MH challenges know where to find support. This study examined discrepancies in help-seeking knowledge among SA based on their level of MH challenges. A cross-sectional design included 247 SA (Mage = 20.91, SDage = 2.39 years) who completed the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Surveys in 2020 or 2022 from a large metropolitan university. Self-reported well-being and psychological distress were used to characterize three distinct MH profiles (i.e., flourishing, moderate, and languishing). SA were most likely to seek help from non-clinical sources (e.g., peers, family; 62%). Help-seeking sources did not differ based on profile membership (p = .62). Help-seeking knowledge on-campus was significantly different between profiles (η;2 = .08) with the languishing profile reporting the least knowledge (M = 3.23, SD = 1.48) compared to moderate (M = 4.03, SD = 1.37; p = .01) and flourishing (M = 4.52, SD = 1.28; p < .001) profiles. There were no statistically significant differences between profiles on help-seeking knowledge off-campus (η;2 = .01). Findings highlighted an unfortunate disparity in help-seeking knowledge whereby SA reporting the highest MH challenges (i.e., languishing profile) lacked critical knowledge regarding where to seek professional help, specifically on-campus, when compared to SA with better MH. Further discussion expands on how university settings can improve help-seeking pathways and early support for SA experiencing varying degrees of MH challenges.
