Robert Hilliard is using an NCAA grant to examine the role that stigma plays in student-athletes' attitudes toward seeking help for mental health services.
What’s the news?
The
cultural stigma related to mental illness and those seeking mental health
services is pervasive. Suicide tends to rate as the second or third highest
cause of death for student-athletes, according to Robert Hilliard, a West Virginia University
doctoral student. Hilliard is using an NCAA grant to examine the role that
stigma plays in student-athletes’ attitudes toward seeking help for mental
health services.
Quotes and Comments
“Student-athletes
are unique in the pressures they experience, even if they aren’t participating
at the Division I level. The combination of demands to perform and expectations
to do well in other areas of their lives can create a fertile ground for
needing to seek mental health services.”
“Approximately one third of student-athletes meet the criteria for anxiety or depression. In a study at one school, more than two thirds of the student-athletes reported poor mental health had impacted their athletic performance in the month leading up to the study.” – Robert Hilliard, doctoral student, College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
Media inquiries may be directed to rchilliard@mix.wvu.edu or 231.578.6731.
Resources
Link to original story:
Target audiences
Parents
Current and potential student-athletes
Coaches
School counselors and administrators
Mental health professionals
-WVU-
ak-kc/12/21/2018
CONTACT: Kimberly Cameon,
College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences
304.692.8580; Kimberly.cameon@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.