Award Date

5-1-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Bradley Donohue

Second Committee Member

Shane Kraus

Third Committee Member

Daniel Allen

Fourth Committee Member

John Mercer

Number of Pages

56

Abstract

Although mental health professionals have indicated their interest in understanding the relationship between sport culture and mental health, this relationship has yet to be examined using psychometrically validated scales. In this study, the Semi-Structured Interview for Consideration of Sport Culture in Therapy Scale (SSICSCTS; see Donohue et al., 2006) was administered to 59 Club and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) athletes. This scale assesses how athletes experience importance (Sport Culture Importance Scale; SCIS) and negative experiences (Sport Cultural Problems Scale; SCPS) in sport culture. Participants were also assessed for psychiatric symptomology using a well-established scale, i.e., the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994). MANOVA results indicated no significant differences between NCAA and Club athletes on SCIS or SCPS scores. As hypothesized, regression analysis revealed that the SCPS significantly predicted SCL-90-R Global Severity Index (GSI) scores, while SCIS was not a significant predictor. These findings suggest that negative experiences with sport culture may contribute to poorer mental health outcomes, whereas the perceived importance of sport culture does not appear to have a significant impact in mental health symptom severity.

Keywords

Assessment; Athlete; Mental Health; Psychiatric Symptoms; Sport Culture

Disciplines

Clinical Psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

760 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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