Mental health literacy, mental health experiences and help-seeking behaviours of Chinese elite athletes: a qualitative study

Danran Bu; Chun-Qing Zhang; Jing-Dong Liu; Zhe Han; Xiang Wang; Zhijian Huang

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1391597

Mental health literacy, mental health experiences and help-seeking behaviours of Chinese elite athletes: a qualitative study

Front Public Health. 2024 May 15:12:1391597. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1391597. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Danran Bu¹, Chun-Qing Zhang², Jing-Dong Liu³, Zhe Han⁴, Xiang Wang⁵, Zhijian Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Education, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Physical Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of General Administration of Sport of China, Hubei Institute of Sport Science, Wuhan, China.
⁵ The Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health, Faculty of Social Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Elite athletes' help-seeking on mental health might be influenced by their mental health literacy (MHL) and mental health experiences. The current study aimed to explore the MHL, experiences and help-seeking behaviours among elite athletes using a qualitative approach.

Methods: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted among 20 Chinese elite athletes, 12 coaches, and 5 team officials. Interview data was analyzed using content analysis.

Results: Seven main themes emerged from the analysis. The current study revealed that Chinese elite athletes suffered from various mental health issues and athletes' MHL levels, help-seeking attitudes and intentions, Chinese sports environments, and Chinese cultural background could impact their help-seeking behaviours.

Conclusion: Support for Chinese elite athletes' mental health and help-seeking requires improvement.

Keywords: Chinese elite athletes; a qualitative study; help-seeking; mental health experiences; mental health literacy.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Athletes* / psychology
China
East Asian People
Female
Health Literacy*
Help-Seeking Behavior*
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Male
Mental Health*
Qualitative Research*
Young Adult

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Hubei Province Social Science Post-Grant Project (grant number HBSK2022YB573), the Rifle Psychological Service Project of Shooting and Archery Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sports of the People's Republic of China (grant number HT2023-10), and the Hubei Provincial Department of Education Philosophy and Social Science Research Project (grant number 23Q157).