Petersen, B., Schinke, R.J., Giffin, C.E., Larivière, M. (2023). The Breadth of Mental Ill-Health Stigma Research in Sport: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 54(1), 67-90.
Mental ill-health affects athletes at prevalence rates similar to the general population, despite beliefs that athletes are protected by highly physically active lifestyles. Though discussions of stigma are ubiquitous within sport, the research landscape on mental ill-health stigma in sport is unclear. Consequently, we conducted a scoping review overviewing the extant literature and researchers’ approaches to stigma in sport. We collated data from 68 articles and provided interpretations of the emergent trends. Researchers have primarily focused on athlete help-seeking and mental health literacy in relation to stigma. Additionally, future research should clarify the type of stigma under study and explore structural stigma, which remains a significant literature gap. Finally, shifting toward open-ended and inclusive research methodologies can centralize participants’ involvement, incorporating their experiences and leading to progressive understand- ing of mental ill-health stigma. Our findings present future research directions and research suggestions to expand mental ill-health stigma in sport research.
Stigma isthe devaluation of an individual based on a characteristic they possess or are believed to possess.
As a result, athletes indicate that stigma attached to mental ill-health is one of the biggest barriers to help-seeking behaviours, inhibiting athletes’ utilization of mental health services as they seek to prevent any stigma-related repercussions. Athletes’ unwillingness to access mental health 230 services to avoid stigma may lead to ongoing performance detriments or exacerbation of mental ill-health; subsequently, the effects of stigma on help-seeking behaviours feature prominently in sport psychology stigma research.
