Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Investigating the Correlation Between Mental Health and Athletic Performance

Many factors can lead to inconsistency within an athlete's performance. One factor that often gets overlooked is mental health. The goal of this project is to examine more in-depth how athlete's can suffer physically from psychological distress. Often times athletes' mental health goes overlooked due to the societal stigma that places athletes' on a higher performance "pedestal" to have these types of issues. This project reviews different articles and investigations that further debunk this theory based off of different methods of research. Most of the data collected was examined through surveys and later applied for further research. Contrary to popular belief, there has been a rise in mental health issues within the student-athlete population. The findings of this project indicate that more often than not, athletes tend to suffer in silence rather than seeking help from outside sources. The purpose of this project is to bring awareness to this growing problem and to provide resources for athletic departments, coaching staff, and others who interact with athletes regularly.