Assessing the Mental Health Needs of Linfield's Student-Athletes
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Emily Kosderka
Subject Area
Health, Human Performance and Athletics
Description
With Linfield’s athletic program making up 32% of the overall student population (2023-2024), it is evident that sports are a major reason for people to attend the school. With this large number of student-athletes at Linfield, the athletic department should ensure that the NCAA’s Mental Health Best-Practices are being implemented with structure to benefit the overall well-being of student-athletes.
The NCAA’s Mental Health Best-Practices provides evidence-based recommendations for supporting and promoting student-athlete mental health. Those recommendations include:
1) Create Healthy Environments That Support Mental Health and Promote Well-Being
2) Procedures for Identification of Student-Athletes with Mental Health Symptoms and Disorders, Including Mental Health Screening Tools
3) Mental Health Action Plans that Outline Referral Pathways of Student-Athletes to Qualified Providers
4) Licensure of Providers Who Oversee and Manage Student-Athlete Mental Health Care. (ncaa.org)
To address whether or not Linfield student-athletes feel that their mental health needs are heard, a needs-based assessment was conducted to better understand student-athletes’ attitudes towards mental health, help-seeking behaviors, and their preferences for mental health services on Linfield University’s campus. The assessment's aim was to provide insight from student-athletes to Linfield leadership figures to determine whether or not the athletic department is meeting the NCAA’s Mental-Health Best-Practices.
Recommended Citation
Naccarato, Mia, "Assessing the Mental Health Needs of Linfield's Student-Athletes" (2024). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 28.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2024/all/28
Assessing the Mental Health Needs of Linfield's Student-Athletes
With Linfield’s athletic program making up 32% of the overall student population (2023-2024), it is evident that sports are a major reason for people to attend the school. With this large number of student-athletes at Linfield, the athletic department should ensure that the NCAA’s Mental Health Best-Practices are being implemented with structure to benefit the overall well-being of student-athletes.
The NCAA’s Mental Health Best-Practices provides evidence-based recommendations for supporting and promoting student-athlete mental health. Those recommendations include:
1) Create Healthy Environments That Support Mental Health and Promote Well-Being
2) Procedures for Identification of Student-Athletes with Mental Health Symptoms and Disorders, Including Mental Health Screening Tools
3) Mental Health Action Plans that Outline Referral Pathways of Student-Athletes to Qualified Providers
4) Licensure of Providers Who Oversee and Manage Student-Athlete Mental Health Care. (ncaa.org)
To address whether or not Linfield student-athletes feel that their mental health needs are heard, a needs-based assessment was conducted to better understand student-athletes’ attitudes towards mental health, help-seeking behaviors, and their preferences for mental health services on Linfield University’s campus. The assessment's aim was to provide insight from student-athletes to Linfield leadership figures to determine whether or not the athletic department is meeting the NCAA’s Mental-Health Best-Practices.
