Student-Athletes' Mental Health in the European Sport School Context: A Scoping Review

Citation

Saarinen M, McDougall M, Gjesdal S & Bjørndal CT (2025) Student-Athletes' Mental Health in the European Sport School Context: A Scoping Review. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2024-0029

Abstract
The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of literature exploring adolescent student-athlete mental health in the European sport school context, with particular emphasis on gender. Five databases were searched for relevant literature: PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. In total, 26 peer-reviewed published articles met the inclusion criteria. The review indicated that literature on adolescent student-athlete mental health in Europe is dominated by a preoccupation with mental illness rather than mental health and the use of quantitative and cross-sectional research designs. Many studies reported that student-athletes demonstrated lower prevalence and incidence rates of mental illness symptoms compared to the general youth population. Female student-athletes consistently demonstrated higher prevalence of mental illness symptoms compared to males. Practitioners working with adolescent student-athletes can improve their mental health literacy to understand mental health beyond the confines of mental illness and target key areas of burnout and the female experience of mental health.

Keywords
sport school programs; burnout; gender; female athletes; adolescent athletes

Journal
Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology

• Student-athletes’ mental health in the European sport school context: A scoping review