Female collegiate student athletes and the perception, attitudes and experiences of psychological and mental health services

Author

Breonna Bejaran, Humboldt State UniversityFollow

Graduation Date

Spring 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Education

Committee Chair Name

Mary Dingle

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Eric Van Duzer

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Female, Athlete, Collegiate, Mental health, Barriers, Stigmas, Perceptions, Motivations, NCAA, Division II

Subject Categories

Education

Abstract

This study explored eighteen National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II female student athletes’ experiences and opinions of help seeking for mental health concerns. A mixed methodological design was used. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected to gain an understanding of help seeking barriers for the participant and their beliefs about help seeking barriers for their peers. Results from the qualitative data identified several themes that assisted in understanding help seeking behaviors. Data suggest that there was a lack of motivation when it came to seek mental health services as a whole by the female student athlete population. Time, lack of understanding as to where to get counseling, as well as lack of information as a whole showed to be the most prominent barriers within the female athlete population. There was also a significant finding involving lack of information and the amount of time the participant has been at the university, showing that the longer they were at the university the less information they had about mental health services. Many themes were also collected such as fear of being misunderstood, as well as feeling there is a lack of qualified counselors and a lack of counselors of the respondents’ own gender and race.

Citation Style

APA

Recommended Citation

Bejaran, Breonna, "Female collegiate student athletes and the perception, attitudes and experiences of psychological and mental health services" (2020). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 398.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/398