ABSTRACT
The worldwide appeal of sports-whether soccer, the NFL, tennis, street basketball, skiing, pickup stickball, curling, etc.-has never been clearer since the interruption of sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. People were willing to make tremendous accommodations and endure heightened risk to play or watch sports. Across local communities, parents encourage their children to get involved in organized sports, and coaches see sports as a great vehicle for youth development or, at times, furthering their own prominence. For a variety of reasons, youth sport has become an arena for pressured performance, leading to or exacerbating mental health problems in child and adolescent "athletes." In this chapter, with coaches as our particular audience because of their critical role, we focus primarily on sport-related anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and substance misuse. We review the range of symptoms and experiences that fall under each of these categories and consider how they present in childhood and adolescence. We want coaches (and other caregivers) to confidently identify early signs of dysfunction, sensitively and competently broach the subject with all involved, and refer youth athletes to appropriate mental health services as needed, thereby serving as catalysts for mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The worldwide appeal of sports-whether soccer, the NFL, tennis, street basketball, skiing, pickup stickball, curling, etc.-has never been clearer since the interruption of sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. People were willing to make tremendous accommodations and endure heightened risk to play or watch sports. Across local communities, parents encourage their children to get involved in organized sports, and coaches see sports as a great vehicle for youth development or, at times, furthering their own prominence. For a variety of reasons, youth sport has become an arena for pressured performance, leading to or exacerbating mental health problems in child and adolescent "athletes." In this chapter, with coaches as our particular audience because of their critical role, we focus primarily on sport-related anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and substance misuse. We review the range of symptoms and experiences that fall under each of these categories and consider how they present in childhood and adolescence. We want coaches (and other caregivers) to confidently identify early signs of dysfunction, sensitively and competently broach the subject with all involved, and refer youth athletes to appropriate mental health services as needed, thereby serving as catalysts for mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)