(24) THE PREVALENCE OF AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DEPRESSIVE AND STATE- TRAIT ANXIETY SYMPTOMS IN DIVISION I COLLEGIATE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES

Purpose: A high prevalence of collegiate athletes experience some form of mental health issues during their athletic career. Research has mainly focused on collegiate football players or has utilized participants from a variety of sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors associated with mental health issues, specifically anxiety and depression, in division one collegiate track and field athletes. We hypothesized that there would be multiple risk factors associated with the prevalence of mental health issues.

Methods: Sixty-Eight total, 43 female and 25 male, Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) track and field athletes who were on the active roster and/or competing during the 2021-2022 season completed the study (average age: 20.8 years). All participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the NRS-11 (a self-reported measure to evaluate pain in the past week) to assess factors that may be associated with symptoms of depression. Symptoms of depression were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale (CES-D). Anxiety was measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The number and proportion of athletes reporting symptoms of depression were calculated with differences between gender, race, collegiate class, history of injury, diagnosed depression, and pain levels analyzed using Chi-square tests. Average scores of state- and trait-anxiety were compared between gender, race, collegiate class, history of injury, diagnosed depression, and pain levels using independent t-tests. Spearman correlations were used to explain the relationship between symptoms of depression and state- and trait-anxiety and pain. Statistical significance was set at an alpha of < 0.05.

Results: Ninety-five percent of participants reported experiencing symptoms of depression. Symptoms of depression were strongly correlated with state-anxiety, trait-anxiety, and pain (P< 0.01). State- and trait-anxiety were highly correlated with each other (P< 0.01) as well as with pain (P< 0.01, P< 0.05, respectively). Due to the high rates of depression symptoms, there were no significant differences between risk factors and prevalence of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence for an urgent need for further investigation into the mental health of track and field athletes. Further studies on why track and field athletes are at increased risk of experiencing symptoms of depression are also warranted. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Due to the high prevalence of depressive symptoms found in NCAA track and field athletes, it is suggested that interventions are needed to identify and reduce psychological stressors in this specific population in addition to providing preventative measures such as educating athletic staff/athletes and providing more accessible mental health resources.

Acknowledgements: none