Who is coaching the coach? Knowledge of depression and attitudes toward continuing education in coaches

Background

The rate of depression among collegiate athletes ranges from 16% to 23%, with particularly high findings of prevalence in track and field athletes (34%). Collegiate athletes have also been found to underuse mental health resources. Given this high prevalence of depression and demonstrated reluctance to seek help, it is important to explore the awareness and understanding of depression among the individuals who work most closely with this population.

Objective

To assess coaches’ knowledge and awareness of depression among their athletes and describe their level of interest in receiving continuing education.

Method

All National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I cross-country and track and field coaches were invited to participate in an online survey. The sample consisted of 253 participants, of whom 56 (25%) identified themselves as female and 170 (75%) as male with 14 (±10.4) years of coaching experience. Respondents completed the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP) questionnaire and related questions. Differences in depression knowledge and interest in continuing education were calculated by gender, event specialty, length of coaching experience and certification history using analysis of variance and χ² analysis.

Results

The mean score on the ADAP depression questionnaire was 83%. Significant differences were not observed by gender, length of coaching experience, coaching title or certification history. Distance coaches scored significantly higher on the test than sprints coaches. Coaches estimated that 11% of their former and current student-athletes have struggled with depression. 77% of coaches indicated a ‘strong interest’ in receiving continuing education.

Conclusions

The findings of this study indicate the participating coaches have a good knowledge of depression for individuals without formal education on the topic but may lack depression awareness. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that coaches in the sample found out an athlete was suffering from depression most often by the athlete self-reporting.

Body dissatisfaction moderates weight curves in the inpatient treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and restrictive/binge eating-purging subtype at admission moderates the weight curves of patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) over the course of inpatient treatment.

METHOD

The nature of weight curves, individual differences herein and moderating factors are examined in 92 AN patients by means of multilevel modeling.

RESULTS

The average weight curve of AN patients is characterized by a linear weight increase during treatment that levels off near the end of treatment. Substantial individual differences exist in the shape of patients' weight curves. Patients with stronger body dissatisfaction at admission display a slower linear rate of weight gain over the course of treatment. Neither drive for thinness nor restrictive/binge eating-purging subtype predicted patients' weight curve over the course of treatment.

DISCUSSION

Body dissatisfaction moderates patients' weight curves over the course of inpatient treatment but more research on factors determining weight curves is needed.

Factors associated with use of evidence-based practice strategies in usual care youth psychotherapy

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how therapists providing usual care (UC) psychotherapy are using elements of treatment common to evidence-based practices (EBPs) for children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBPs) and to identify client and therapist characteristics that may be associated with EBP strategies directed toward children and those directed to their caregivers. Results indicate that certain child, family, and therapist characteristics are associated with use of EBP strategies; however, much of the variability in practice was not explained by the variables examined. These findings highlight the complexity of UC psychotherapy and provide directions for future research on implementation of EBPs in UC.

Eating disorders in college

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are serious chronic psychiatric disorders that can result in significant medical and psychologic outcomes. These multifaceted disorders affect the emotions, thinking, behavior, and physical health of afflicted individuals. Symptoms often peak during the years many youth are attending college. The intersection of issues of emancipation, individuation, intimacy, and eating disorders may be part of the reason that researchers report a high incidence of eating disorders in this specialized population. This article presents an overview of eating disorders in the college population and covers psychologic and psychopharmacologic treatment.