Now that They're Out: Experiences of College Athletics Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players

Get your Head in the Game!: A Review of Factors that Impact Collegiate Student-Athlete Mental Health Using a Biopsychosocial-Structural Framework

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Over 500,000 college students compete in the three divisions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) each year. The rates of most mental health issues among collegiate student-athletes approximate the rates among non-athlete college students. In recent years, greater attention has been given to recognizing and treating the mental health concerns of student-athletes. This paper examines some of the specific mental health considerations that may arise when working with student-athletes.

RECENT FINDINGS

Using a biopsychosocial-structural framework, we were able to identify several broad categories of factors that influence the mental health of student-athletes. Within those categories we identified specific diagnoses (such as physical injury), life events (such as early retirement from sport), ways of thinking (including stigma against mental health treatment), and external influences (such as racism and sexism) that impact the mental health of student-athletes. Mental health concerns among college students are common. When working with student-athletes, there are biopsychosocial-structural factors that affect the mental health of student-athletes in unique ways compared to their non-athlete college student counterparts.

Navigating sexual minority identity in sport: a qualitative exploration of sexual minority student-athletes in China

BACKGROUND

Sexual minority student-athletes (SMSAs) face discrimination and identity conflicts in intercollegiate sport, impacting their participation and mental health. This study explores the perceptions of Chinese SMSAs regarding their sexual minority identities, aiming to fill the current gap in research related to non-Western countries.

METHODS

A qualitative methodology was adopted, utilising the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach with self-categorization theory as the theoretical framework. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, and data were collected via semi-structured interviews, documents, and field notes. Sixteen former and current Chinese SMSAs participated in this study.

RESULTS

The study reveals four themes: hidden truths, prioritisation of athlete identity, self-stereotyping, and attempt. The results revealed that while SMSAs were common in intercollegiate sport, their identities were often concealed and not openly discussed. The predominant focus on athlete identity in sport overshadowed their sexual minority identities. Additionally, SMSAs developed self-stereotypes that influenced their thoughts and behaviours. The non-heterosexual team atmosphere in women's teams led to the development of intimate relationships among teammates.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this study could be incorporated into existing sport policies to ensure the safe participation of SMSAs in Chinese intercollegiate sports. This research offers valuable insights for the development and implementation of inclusive policies. Future research in China could investigate the attitudes of coaches and heterosexual student-athletes toward sexual minority identities to inform targeted interventions.

Measuring Allyship: Development and Validation of Two Measures to Assess Collegiate Athlete Department Staff Engagement in LGBTQ Allyship and Ally Behaviors

This pilot quantitative study sought to explore lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) ally engagement by collegiate coaches and athletic department staff. In particular, this study sought to investigate the psychometric properties for two adapted measures: the Ally Identity Scale-Athletic Staff Version and the Engagement in LGBTQ Ally Actions in Sports Scale-Athletic Staff Version. These measures could provide a means to assess the degree to which coaches and athletic department staff identify as allies and engage in actions that support a welcoming and inclusive climate for LGBTQ student-athletes and athletic department staff. The sample for this study was 87 coaches and athletic department staff who completed an online survey. The results of this study provide preliminary psychometric support for two adapted measures and provide insights into the next steps scholars can take in exploring the intersection of LGBTQ identities and collegiate athletics.

Experiences of LGBTQ student-athletes in college sports: A meta-ethnography

This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of LGBTQ student-athletes to identify ways in which athletic staff, coaches, and others can support LGBTQ youth's safe participation in sports. Guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews (PRISMA) and eMERGe reporting guidance. We conducted a meta-ethnography to synthesize qualitative research focused on student-athletes' experiences. Fourteen studies were included in the meta-ethnography published between 1973 and 2022. Four themes were identified: (1) experiences of discrimination and violence; (2) perceived stigma; (3) internalized prejudice; and (4) coping and team support, and they were used to generate a line of argument model, which explains the stress process of LGBTQ student-athletes in the sports. LGBTQ student-athletes experience persistent discrimination in college sports, which poses a significant risk to their mental health. Meanwhile, this study identified that qualitative research on LGBTQ youth sports participation is lacking in many regions of the world and lacks knowledge of the sports participation experience of bisexual, gay, and transgender students. These findings revealed a way for research on LGBTQ-related issues and future policy and practice on LGBTQ youth-related issues in sports.

The experiences of female bisexual student-athletes in China: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Introduction

Many scholars have explored the participation of LGBTQ individuals in sports. However, these studies have either categorized homosexuality and bisexuality together or focused only on lesbian, gay, or transgender individuals. There is a lack of research in the literature on bisexual individuals' sports participation and an even more significant lack of Asia perspectives. Therefore, this qualitative study is aimed to explore the experiences of female bisexual student-athletes in China.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews with four female bisexual student-athletes were conducted and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Results

Three themes and eight sub-themes were identified. Theme 1. what bisexual identity means, and sub-themes: a struggling journey, emotional attraction, and gender role for female bisexual student-athletes; Theme 2. invalid identity, and sub-themes: lesbian mask, unrecognized identity; Theme 3. perceptions of sports context, and sub-themes: the influence of the sports context on sexual fluidity, relative inclusion, and perceived rejection.

Conclusion

This study provides new insights into understanding the experience of female bisexual student-athlete. In addition, the results highlight the importance of the need to study bisexuality as a distinct identity.

The 100 Most-Cited and Influential Articles in Collegiate Athletics

Background

Bibliometric citation analyses have been widely used in medicine to help researchers gain foundational knowledge about a topic and identify subtopics of popular interest for further investigations. There is a lack of similar research in collegiate athletics.

Purpose

To identify the 100 most-cited research publications related to collegiate athletics.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The Clarivate Analytics Web of Knowledge database was used to generate a list of articles relating to collegiate athletics on January 24, 2022. Articles were filtered by the total number of citations, and the 100 most-cited articles were selected. For each article, we identified and analyzed the following: author name, publication year, country of origin, journal name, article type, main research topic area, competitive level, sex of study population, and level of evidence.

Results

Of the top 100 most-cited articles, 63 were related to medicine. In total, 96% of articles were published in the United States, and 80% were published in the year 2000 or later. Of the top 100 articles, 85 were observational; only 5 were experimental. The sport most represented was soccer, followed by football, baseball, and basketball. Of the top 100 articles, 21 were published in a single journal, the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Ten authors published ≥5 of the top 100 most-cited studies.

Conclusion

The majority of top 100 articles were published in the United States after 1999 and primarily focused on medicine-related topics. Soccer was studied by more articles than football, baseball, and basketball. An author's prestige may have influenced the likelihood of citation. The top 100 most-cited studies provide researchers, medical students, residents, and fellows with a foundational list of the most important and influential academic contributions to the literature on collegiate athletics.

Sports Activity Levels of Sexual Minority Groups in Germany

It is widely assumed that LGBT+ people may feel insecure and unwelcome in sports settings, which are often characterized by a binary gender order and a culture of heteronormativity. Previous research also suggests that LGBT+ individuals experience homophobia in the context of sport. Despite these findings, reliable quantitative data on the sports participation levels of sexual minority groups are scarce. The paper addresses this academic void by analyzing sports activity data of sexual minority groups. The 2019 wave of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study is analyzed, which includes a novel LGBT+ boost sample of respondents who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or non-binary with regard to gender. The analysis of this sample shows that sports activity levels (with regard to frequency and duration) of homo- and bisexual individuals are comparable to the heterosexual majority. Although findings show that a high share of homo- and bisexual individuals experience sexual discrimination, discrimination is not associated with lower participation rates in sports. We thus conclude that the domain of sport—although by no means free of discrimination—offers sufficient participation opportunities for LGBT+ people.