Skip Section Navigation

In conducting research, our purpose is to (a) add new knowledge and understanding to specific areas of study, and (b) translate what we learn into new and more effective ways of providing services to the athletes, coaches and parents with whom we work. We encourage you to review our past projects to learn more about our work.

2023

Personality as a Predictor of Draft Selection and Performance in Professional Baseball Players
Researchers: Tess Palmateer, M.Sc., & Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Sports organizations have put more resources toward identifying athletes in response to the pressures to be successful (Abbott & Collins, 2004), which is justified given the potential financial benefit a team could experience from a successful draft selection (Durand-Bush & Salmela, 2001). Personality has been found to be related to both academic (Poropat, 2009) and job performance (Judge et al., 2013), and thus researchers began exploring its utility in predicting performance within sport. Research has demonstrated that personality factors are associated with sport performance as measured by coach ratings and objective performance outcomes (e.g., Piedmont et al., 1999), as well as factors/behaviours that are understood to be facilitative for performance, such as problem-focused coping and quality of preparation (Kaiseler et al., 2019; Woodman et al., 2010). Given the potential utility of personality assessment, professional sport organizations have integrated it into their pre-draft procedures. However, it remains unclear whether such data, particularly at the factor level, can add value to draft selection process, over and above that of past performances. The purpose of the present study is to explore if the Big-Five personality traits are related to draft order and predictive of athletes' future performance in professional baseball. Cluster analysis will be used to explore if personality facets cluster in a meaningful way in relation to draft order. Subsequently, multiple regression analysis will be used to explore if personality domains and facets are predictive of performance in the season following the draft, after controlling for performance in the previous season.

2022

Prevalence of Mental Health Stigma in Division I Athletic Department: Implications of Race and Gender
Researchers: Kasey Chambers, M.A., Cameren Pryor, M.S., Nick Magera, M.S., Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Public (PS) and self (SS) stigma are associated with student-athletes' attitudes towards seeking psychological help (Wahto et al., 2016). Further, male (compared to female) college students (Topyaka, 2014) and racial/ethnic minority (compared to white) student-athletes generally hold higher levels of stigma (Tran, 2021). Limited research has looked at stigma across a race by gender interaction within the student-athlete population. Thus, we examined the differences in levels of PS and SS in student-athletes across race (white, Black, non-Black athletes of color [NB-AOC]) and gender (male, female).Participants were 198 Division I student-athletes who completed measures of public (Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help [SSRPH]) and self-stigma (Self-Stigma of Seeking Help [SSOSH] scale) related to mental health. Sample consisted of 71 male and 127 female athletes; 117 white, 42 Black, and 39 NB-AOC athletes. Through factorial ANOVAs, we examined the relationship of gender and race to public and self-stigma. For public stigma, neither the interaction nor the main effects were significant (ps > .05). However, for self-stigma, there was a significant main effect only for gender, F(1, 192) = 8.77, p = .003, η2 = .04. Male student-athletes (M = 25.20, SD = 5.68) endorsed a higher level of self-stigma compared to the female student-athletes (M = 22.76, SD = 4.78). For collegiate athletes, gender, as opposed to race, was the more salient demographic, though only specific to self-stigma. Consistent with past research (Topkaya, 2014), male, compared to female, athletes endorsed more self-stigma. Anecdotally, the increase in elite athletes (e.g. Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, Kevin Love) publicly sharing their mental health experiences may be contributing to all athletes being generally more accepting of mental health. However, at the individual level, male gender roles/expectations, which limit how men may relate to their own psychological well-being, may still be operating.

COVID Prevalence Among Division I Athletes: Implications of Race
Researchers: James Rushton, M.S., Megan Drew M.S., Lindsey Slavin, B.A., Cachet Lue M.S., Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
​​Although approximately 20% of Americans have contracted COVID-19 (Johns Hopkins, 2022), people of color have been disproportionately affected (CDC, 2022). Do athletes experience a similar racial disproportionality? In Fall 2021, 229 Division I athletes responded to questions regarding their COVID-19 experiences, for themselves and their families. Overall, 38.9% had been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 23.6% had become ill; there were similar percentages of White athletes and Athletes of Color becoming infected or ill (AOC; p's > .05 for chi-square tests). For the athletes' families, 20.1% had a member become severely ill or die (White = 16.7%; AOC = 25.2%; χ2 (1, N = 223) = 2.49, p = .115.), and 17.0% said someone had lost their job (White = 15.0%; AOC = 20.4%; χ2 (1, N = 223) = 1.12, p = .291). AOC (12.6% and 9.7%) were more likely than White athletes (0.8% and 2.5%) to not have had enough food and their family not to have been able to pay bills, respectively. Compared to college nonathletes, where COVID infections have ranged from 7.0% to 9.1% (e.g., Goldrick-Rab et al., 2021), rates were far higher for our student-athletes. Higher infection rates for student-athletes may be explained by consistent testing required by athletic departments and frequent exposure to others (e.g., teammates, coaches, staff) through athletic activities. Racial differences in food availability, inability to pay bills, and family illness/death is reflective of the general population and other studies on student-athletes (NCAA, 2021; CDC, 2022). These results demonstrate that being a collegiate athlete seems to increase the likelihood of testing positive for, and becoming ill from, COVID-19, compared to nonathletes; race does not appear related to this prevalence. However, college athlete status does not appear to negate the country's systemic economic and healthcare racial disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted.

A culturally-tailored approach to applying self-compassion to athlete populations
Researchers: Kaleb Cusack, M.S., Tess Palmateer M.Sc., Nick Magera, M.S., & Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Self-compassion has been defined as an individual's ability to extend support to themselves in times of failure and perceived inadequacy (Neff, 2003). It has been found to be an effective intervention outside of sport (e.g., Macbeth & Gumley, 2012), and more recently been integrated into work with athlete populations (e.g., Mosewich et al., 2019; Rodriguez & Ebbeck, 2015). This session will introduce the concept of self-compassion and highlight its efficacy, such as improving psychological and physiological responses to performance failures (Ceccarelli et al., 2019). We will discuss barriers practitioners face when introducing self-compassion to athletes, such as the perception that self-compassion is equivalent to complacency. We will note the need for culturally-tailored approaches and highlight the support for culturally-sensitive work. We will then introduce and lead interventions that could be used with both individual athletes and teams. Our first exercise will introduce the idea of self-compassion in a digestible and sport-specific way. Similar to Neff's (2003) example of how one may treat a "good friend", we will present self-compassion as being a "good teammate" to oneself. To illustrate this point, we will have the audience read a vignette about an athlete in an emotionally difficult situation and consider how a bad teammate and a good teammate may respond to this athlete. Building off that discussion, we will then guide the audience through how they could help athletes develop self-compassion statements incorporating the three core components (i.e., self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) that could be used for common issues faced by athletes, such as performance setbacks, recovering from injury, and experiencing body dissatisfaction. The final component of this workshop will be a discussion on intersectional multiculturalism, highlighting the importance of attending to athletes' identities, background, and values during conceptualization and the application of self-compassion through a series of example cases.

Endorsing Negative Sport Performance and Athlete Mental Health
Researchers: Carmyn Hayes, Dafina Chisolm-Salau, Cachet Lue, Cameren Pryor, and Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
The pressures that college athletes experience to perform (e.g., academically and athletically) may result in psychological distress, including alcohol misuse (Druckman et al.,2015; Martin et al., 2021) and disruptions in sleep (Bolin, 2019), but not in help-seeking. Thus, we examined the extent to which athletes who were struggling with their performances requested sport psychology assistance and reported sleep disruptions and problematic drinking. Participants were 229 Division I athletes (62% women, 2.2% non-binary, 35.6% men; 52.4% White, 20.5% Black, 7.0% Latinx, 4.8% Asian, 3.5% Native American, 2.6% Pacific Islander, 8.7% Bi/Multi-racial) who completed questions regarding their athletic performance (e.g., my current psychological state negatively affects my sport performance - YES/NO), want to work with a sport psychology consultant (SPC) to improve their performances (YES/NO), PROMIS sleep scale, and AUDIT-C. There was a significant relationship between perceiving their psychological state as negatively affecting their athletic performance and wanting to meet with a SPC (X2(1, N = 226) = 26.4, p < .001); of those struggling with their sport performance, significantly more (56.1%) want to meet with an SPC. Through two independent ANOVAs, we found a significant association between their current psychological state negatively affecting performance and experiencing sleep disturbances, F (1, 222) = 11.22, p < .001; athletes who reported being negatively affected were experiencing more sleep disturbances. For problematic drinking, there was no significant relationship, F (1, 224) = 0.57, p = .450. When athletes are experiencing psychological struggles that they believe are affecting sport performances, they also are reporting more disturbances in their sleep, which is a behavioral indicator of such psychological distress. Positively, these athletes also indicate being more likely than not to also want to work with an SPC who they believe can assist them.

Self-Compassion, Body Satisfaction, and Eating Disorders in Male Collegiate Athletes: A Longitudinal Analysis
Researchers: Kaleb Cusack, M.S., Trent Petrie, Ph.D., & Whitney Moore, Ph.D. (Wayne State University)
Petrie and Greenleaf's sociocultural model (2012) proposes that different psychosocial variables contribute to athletes' disordered eating (DE). Among these, body satisfaction (BS) has related directly to lower DE symptoms across samples of men, including male athletes (Chatterton et al., 2017; McFarland & Petrie, 2012). Self-compassion (SC) may further alleviate DE symptoms, specifically through improvements in BS (Turk & Waller, 2020), though these relationships have not yet been tested longitudinally with athletes (Braun et al., 2016). Thus, we examined longitudinally the direct and indirect effects of SC on BS and DE symptomatology among 452 male collegiate athletes; we tested, through SEM, the cross-lagged, temporal relationships among SC, BS, and DE across a four-month time frame. After determining the across time stability of the measurement model, we found that the Time 1 to Time 2 autoregressive paths were significant for each construct: DE (β = 0.29; R2 = .13), BS (β = 0.56; R2 = .32), and SC (β = 0.71; R2 = .51). In testing the cross-lagged paths, Time 1 SC was neither directly related to Time 2 BS (β = 0.02, p = .755), nor indirectly to Time 2 DE (β = -0.002, 95% BCaCI [-0.028, 0.014]) when controlling for Time 1 scores. However, after controlling for Time 1 DE, Time 1 BS directly predicted lower levels of DE at Time 2 (β = -0.12, p < 0.05). Recent research supports the current findings and suggests that the effects of SC on BS and DE symptomatology may be dependent on gender (Pullmer et al., 2019; Yarnell et al., 2015; 2019). These findings add to a substantial body of research identifying BS as a primary antecedent to ED/DE (Chatterton et al., 2017, Stice et al., 2017; 2021).

Mental Health Outcomes of Perceived Safety for Student-Athletes on College Campuses
Researchers: Macey Arnold, Justin Harker, Heather Kiefer, Julian Yoon, Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Lower levels of perceived safety on campus have been connected to college students' mental health concerns (e.g., sleep disturbances; Etopio et al., 2019). Yet, the relationship between perceived safety and mental health concerns for student-athletes (SA) is largely unknown. Participants included 221 SAs (Men = 78; Women = 143; Black = 43; Non-Black Athletes of Color = 59; White = 119). Regarding mental health, they completed the GAD-2 (anxiety), PHQ-2 (depression), and PROMIS-SD (sleep disturbances). SAs responded from 1, not at all, to 5, extremely, regarding their perceptions of feeling safe on campus, within their athletic department, and on their team. For anxiety and depression, SAs were classified as having symptoms (anxiety = 42.4%; depression = 15.7%) or not. We then used two separate logistic regressions to test if perceptions of safety across the three areas were related to having (or not having) symptoms of anxiety or depression. Perceptions of safety on campus were associated significantly with SAs being classified with no anxiety (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.42, 0.89, p = .011) and no depression (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.36, 0.98, p = .040) symptoms; no other safety perception was significant. Through hierarchical regression, we found a significant connection between feeling safe in the athletic department and having fewer sleep disturbances (B = -2.28, SE = .74, p = .002); no other safety perceptions were significant. The SAs who reported feeling safer on their campuses, and within their athletic department, were significantly less likely to have symptoms of either anxiety or depression, or experience substantive disturbances in their sleep. Thus, safety matters and universities and athletic departments should work to create safe and welcoming environments that may contribute to lower levels of mental health concerns and, ultimately, better athletic performances.

Student-Athletes Perceptions of Safety within their Collegiate Environment: Differences Based on Gender and Racial Identity
Researchers: Macey Arnold, Justin Harker, Julian Yoon, Heather Kiefer, Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
College students with marginalized identities have reported inadequate levels of perceived safety on campuses (e.g., Maffini & Dillard, 2021). However, little is known about student-athletes' (SA) perceptions of safety, particularly related to their racial and gender identities. Thus, we surveyed 221 Division I SAs (Black Men = 21; Black Women = 22; Non-Black Men of Color = 18; Non-Black Women of color = 41; White Men = 39; White Women = 80) regarding their perceptions of safety on campus, within their athletic department, and on their team. Each item (e.g "to what extent do you feel safe within campus overall") was rated from 1, Not at all, to 5, Extremely. Through multivariate, and follow-up univariate, analyses, we determined that neither the gender by race interaction nor the gender main effect were significant (p's >.18). However, there was a significant race effect for each safety outcome: campus (F (5, 215) = 4.79, p = .002, ηp2 = .06), athletic department (F (5, 215) = 5.88, p < .001, ηp2 = .07), and individual teams (F (5, 215) = 7.03, p < .001, ηp2 = .10). For campus and athletic departments, White SAs reported higher levels of safety than Black SAs; Non-Black SAs of Color (NB-SAOC) did not differ significantly from either. For team safety, both White and NB-SAOCs scored higher than Black SAs. Our findings suggest that perceptions of safety within the SA's environment vary based on their racial, but not gender, identity. In particular, Black SAs perceived the least amount of safety across all three environments. Thus, future research will need to focus on experiences of SAs with marginalized racial identities and on factors that contribute to perceptions of diminished safety, so that, for all environments, universities and athletic departments can implement systemic changes to address issues of safety.

Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among male collegiate athletes
Researchers: Tess Palmateer, M.Sc., & Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Male athletes experience disordered eating (DE) and can struggle with their body image, often experiencing themselves as being insufficiently muscular or lean. However, relationships between different types of body image concerns and DE have been minimally explored within this population. Thus, we examined the relationship of body dissatisfaction and DE in a national sample of male collegiate athletes who represented all collegiate sports. Via an online survey, athletes (N = 1975; 9.9% Hispanic, 76.4% White, 21.1% Black, 2.5% Asian/Pacific Islander) completed measures of body dissatisfaction (satisfaction with body leanness, with body muscularity, with overall size/shape, with body thinness, and current weight), the EDE-Q Short Form, and demographics as part of a larger study. The athletes' rates of body dissatisfaction across the five domains (leanness, muscularity, thinness, weight, overall) ranged from 31.5-40.4%. We then conducted a hierarchical regression to test the relationship between each of the five body dissatisfaction domains and their EDEQ-SF total score, which served as the measure of DE; we controlled for athletes' BMI and race/ethnicity. BMI was not significantly related to DE symptomology in the final model, however, race was. Compared to White men athletes, Hispanic men athletes reported significantly (p = .002) higher DE (B = -1.36, β = 0.06). The addition of the five body dissatisfaction items at Step 2 was significant (F(5, 1959) = 201.791, p < .001, ∆R2 = 33.5%); three were significantly (p < .001) related to eating disordered symptomology: 1) Overall (B = -1.02, β = -0.19); 2) Weight (B = -1.07, β = -0.22); and 3) Thinness (B = -1.20, β = -.25). Substantive percentages of male athletes are dissatisfied with all areas of their bodies and, with respect to DE symptoms, their levels of dissatisfaction with their weight, level of thinness, and overall body size/shape are most explanatory.

Eating disorder prevalence among female collegiate athletes: Implications of race.
Researchers: Tess Palmateer, M.Sc., Trent Petrie, Ph.D., Whitney Moore, Ph.D. (Wayne State University), & Lindsey Slavin, B.A.
Women athletes are a subgroup at-risk for eating disorders (ED); research with collegiate samples have found prevalence rates of clinical ED concerns as high as 10% (e.g., Anderson & Petrie, 2012). Such research, however, has been limited by sample demographics, specifically around racial identity. Thus, with a national sample of 3886 women collegiate athletes (9.4% Hispanic, 75.9% White, 8.4% Black, 4.1% Asian/Pacific Islander), we determined the prevalence of clinical and subclinical EDs as well as the relationship of racial identity to ED symptoms. The student athletes completed the EDE-Q Short Form and demographics as part of a larger study. The student athletes' ED prevalence rates were: 32.5% (clinical) and 8.0% (subclinical) based on established EDEQ-SF cut-off sores. We then conducted a univariate ANCOVA to examine the relationship of racial identity to EDEQ-SF total score; we controlled for the athletes' BMI. There was a significant main effect for the athletes' racial/ identities (F(4, 3881) = 4.097, p = .007, η2 = .003). Specifically, the Black women athletes (M = 9.480) reported significantly lower disordered eating symptoms than both the White (M = 10.834), and the Hispanic (M = 11.235), athletes. Overall, the ED prevalence rates were higher than has been reported in past research. Such differences may be due to how we measured ED, but likely was influenced by when we collected the data for this study, which was two months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when athletes were home. Athletes' eating scores may reflect the stress and uncertainty they were experiencing in relation to sport and the fact that most were home and may have been struggling with maintaining consistent and healthy eating. Further, the White and Hispanic athletes scored highest on the EDEQ, suggesting that it is important to consider race/ethnicity when examining EDs within athletes.

Athletes' COVID-19 Worry & Psychological Distress: Gender, Race, and Exposure
Researchers: Whitney Moore, Ph.D. (Wayne State University), Trent Petrie, Ph.D., & Lindsey Slavin, B.A.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed U.S. college students' lives when universities closed campuses, forcing them to find alternative housing and to navigate online classes. For college athletes, most also had to cope with the cancellation of sports (Osburn, 2020), and the resultant loss of their athletic identity. This pandemic, and its disruption to athletes' lives, would be expected to increase their worries, particularly in its early phases when little was known about it (Davis, et al., 2020). Purpose: Extending from methodologically limited studies of college athletes' psychological reactions during COVID (Bullard, 2020; Sanborn, et al., 2021), we surveyed NCAA collegiate athletes from across the U.S. to examine their experiences of COVID-19 related events (e.g., quarantining) and how such experiences related to their COVID worry and psychological distress in April/May 2020. Methods: The link to the online survey was emailed to NCAA athletes by the NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and the athletic departments of over 80 NCAA institutions. In April-May of 2020, athletes (N = 5915; women = 3924) completed the online survey once. The survey included measures of their psychological distress (Perceived Stress Scale), COVID-19 worry (adapted from the Children's Worry scale), and their exposure to different COVID-19 related events (developed for this study). To examine exposure to COVID related events by racial, ethnicity, and gender identities, we conducted logistic regressions. We then used a path analysis to examine the relationships between COVID related events, COVID-19 worry, and psychological distress for men and women. Results: Athletes' exposure to COVID-19 events differed significantly by gender, race, and ethnicity. For example, women athletes were 1.16 times more likely to have been quarantined than men, and Black (1.33) and Native American (2.06) athletes were more likely to have been diagnosed with COVID-19 compared to White athletes. Further, 58.7% of women's and 54.5% of men's psychological distress variance was explained, mostly by their COVID-related worry, though athletes' stress also was directly related to the changes that occurred in class delivery (i.e., online format) and indirectly by being quarantined. Conclusions: The general uncertainty and worry about COVID that athletes experienced at the beginning of the pandemic, as well as being exposed to certain events (e.g., being quarantined), explained their psychological distress. As COVID19 continues as a pandemic, athletes will need to learn how to manage ongoing worry and psychological distress.

Impact of COVID-19 on ​College Student Athletes' Health, Performance, and ​Psychological Well-Being​
Researchers: Trent Petrie, Ph.D., Whitney Moore, Ph.D. (Wayne State University), Tess Palmateer, M.Sc., & Lindsey Slavin, B.A.
Student-athletes have been uniquely affected. Not only have they endured the general shutdown of higher education and the broader societal impacts of COVID-19, they have had their sport seasons canceled and identities shaken. Further, when student-athletes return to school, they will be required to take on a level of risk, through their sport participation, that every other college student will be able to minimize through physical distancing and remote learning. Student-athletes will be required to navigate universities' modified learning (and living) environments, and continue to represent their schools through physical activities that will increase their risk of contracting COVID-19. We designed this year-long research project to track student-athletes as they live through these events and thus determine the immediate and longer-term impacts on their coping and psychological well-being, health, and performance. Data from this longitudinal study will be available to all NCAA Division I, II, and III athletic departments so their personnel can understand what their student athletes may be experiencing and make evidence-based decisions on how to care for them as they return to campus and navigate the current realities of COVID-19 and playing collegiate sports. We hope that these reports will promote athletes' psychological, academic, and athletic well-being during this time of uncertainty and challenge. For more information and detailed reports, click here.

Examination of self-compassion's role in the relationship between body satisfaction and disorder eating symptomology
Researchers: Kaleb Cusack, M.S., M.A., & Trent Petrie, PhD.
Among athletes, researchers have started to examine the adaptive and positive aspects of self-compassion in relation to multiple outcomes, such as psychological well-being, lower somatic anxiety and worry, and lower utilization of avoidance-focused coping strategies (Ferguson et al., 2014, 2015; Huysmans & Clement, 2017; Jeon et al., 2016), and have identified it as an adaptive emotional coping strategy (Eke et al., 2020; Mosewich et al., 2019; Reis et al., 2015). Although self-compassion has been explored primarily in samples of female athletes, researchers have supported its utility as a psychosocial resource for male athletes as well (Reis et al., 2019; Wasylkiw & Clairo, 2018; Yarnell et al., 2015). Given the extant research on the positive effects of self-compassion on body satisfaction and lower ED/DE symptoms (Braun et al., 2016; Turk & Waller, 2020), as well as the salience of it in relation to athletes' overall psychological well-being (Reis et al., 2019), we extended this line of investigation to the at-risk group of male collegiate athletes. Specifically, we examined how self-compassion would affect male athletes' body satisfaction and ED/DE symptoms over the course of three to four months. We hypothesized that self-compassion would predict higher levels of body satisfaction over time, and be related, directly and indirectly (through body satisfaction), to lower levels of ED/DE symptomatology; we expected significant relationship to exist from self-compassion to the two outcomes, but not from the outcome to self-compassion.

The Effects of Coach-Created Motivational Climate on Teamwork Behaviors
Researchers: Derek Sokoloff, M.S., M.B.A., & Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Teamwork in sport is a group's effort to complete their goals and mission through their individual and joint behaviors (McEwan & Beauchamp, 2014). Within the realm of sports, findings suggest teamwork behaviors are associated with multiple variables, including team cohesion, collective efficacy, commitment to one's team, satisfaction with both team and individual performance, and enjoyment in one's sport (McEwan, 2019). However, findings are limited in terms of the aspects and conditions that occur before developing teamwork behaviors. This study aims to examine how the individual athlete perceptions of motivational climate act as an antecedent and influence beliefs about teamwork behaviors. Specifically, how the aspects of coach-created motivational climate are associated with: (a) understanding the team's purpose and the ability to plan to achieve the team's mission, (b) implementing designed plans for team success, (c) assessing team performances and environment, (d) creating alterations focused on increasing the probability for team success, and (e) preserving interpersonal relationships by resolving conflicts effectively.

Bodies in Motion for Life: A Long-Term Qualitative Evaluation of an ED Prevention Program with Retired Female Athletes
Researchers: Stephanie Barrett, M.S., Trent Petrie, Ph.D., Dana Voelker, Ph.D.
The Bodies in Motion program is a cognitive dissonance and mindfulness-based eating disorder prevention program designed to address the unique needs of female athletes with regard to their body image, and relationships with food and exercise. This 5-session workshop teaches female athletes to become aware of the societal and sport-specific pressures they face about their bodies, and learn skills (i.e., mindfulness, self-compassion) to help challenge these messages and relate to themselves in healthier and more functional ways. The purpose of this study is to conduct a long-term qualitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the program with female athletes who have transitioned to sport retirement. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve female athletes who have completed the program and retired from their collegiate sport careers to explore their current perceptions of their bodies as athletes and as women, as well as their relationships with food and exercise/physical activity. Thematic analysis of the participants' responses is currently underway, and aggregate findings will be published to help extend current literature on body image and sport retirement among female athletes.

2021

What Facilitates Collegiate Athletes Seeking Mental Health Care? Athletic Trainers' Perceptions
Researchers: Justin Harker, M.S., and Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Like collegiate nonathletes, student-athletes (SAs) experience mental health (MH) concerns (National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA], 2018), but few who report psychological distress actually seek services (Davoren & Hwang, 2014), likely due to internal factors (e.g., stigma) and stakeholder (e.g., coaches) attitudes. To examine this area, we surveyed 534 (Mage = 35.50 years; 64.2% women; 87.3% White) athletic trainers (ATs) regarding how important SA internal factors and stakeholder's attitudes were in facilitating SA help-seeking. We presented ATs with 10 positive beliefs or behaviors SAs' may hold about MH (e.g., being confident that MH treatments work) and 10 key stakeholders in SAs' lives (e.g., head coach, AT, family) and asked them to rate how much they agreed that SAs' beliefs or the stakeholders having a positive attitude toward MH would facilitate SAs seeking help (1, Strongly Disagree, to 5, Strongly Agree). Through two repeated measures ANOVAs, we found significant differences in ATs' perceptions within each set of 10 outcomes (p < .002). Within SAs' beliefs, ATs' viewed information being kept confidential (M = 4.11, SE = 0.05) and being aware that elite athletes had sought MH care as being the most facilitative (M = 4.03, SE = 0.05). Regarding the importance of stakeholders, the ATs viewed athletic trainers as most facilitative (M = 4.59, SE = 0.03); next most facilitative were head coaches (M = 4.33, SE = 0.05), assistant coaches (M = 4.30, SE = 0.04), and teammates (M = 4.28, SE = 0.04). Our data suggest that ATs, through their work with SAs, have come to understand that there are certain beliefs and specific stakeholders that are key in SAs' seeking help for MH concerns. Thus, sport psychologists may target these stakeholders to ensure positive MH attitudes and educate SAs in relation to such key beliefs.

The Current Status of Sport Psychology in Counseling Psychology Training Programs
Researchers: J. Andy Walsh, M.S., M.A., Trent Petrie, Ph.D., others TBD
The purpose of the study is to replicate Petrie & Watkins (1994) and learn more about the involvement and interest in sport psychology that is held by both faculty and students in APA-accredited counseling psychology training doctoral programs by surveying the programs' training directors. We are examining what types of opportunities are already in place for faculty and students in a variety of avenues (e.g., research, practicum experiences) and the openness that the training directors have in allowing faculty and students to pursue these interests if opportunities are not already in place.

Collins, J. R., & Martin, S. B. (2015-2020). Development of leadership, sport, and health in girls attending high school and middle school. Girls in the Game (Fossil) $55,800.00 (FUNDED). High school students involved in the program also received college scholarships (to date > $15,000).

Black Male Collegiate Football Players' Experiences of Racism: A Qualitative Analysis
Researchers: J. Andy Walsh, M.S., M.A., Trent A Petrie, Ph.D., Martinque Jones, Ph.D., Anthony Papathomas, Ph.D., C. Ed Watkins, Ph.D.
African American college athletes historically have endured racism, discrimination, and other racial inequalities (Beamon, 2014; Brooks & Althouse, 2013), particularly at PWIs (Edwards, 2000; Melendez, 2008). These athletes are exploited for their athletic ability and are expected to commit the majority of their time and effort to athletics (Hyatt, 2003), pulling them away from other responsibilities and perpetuating prejudices and racist beliefs across campus (Anglin & Wade, 2007; Beamon, 2014). Critical Race Theory (CRT) provides a framework through which to understand their experiences and empower Black male college athletes (Delgado, 1995). Specifically, the tenets of permanence of racism and storytelling offer insight into the underlying issues perpetuating racism in college sport and the lived experiences of athletes operating within that system. For example, Black student-athletes graduate at far less rates compared to peers (Lapchick, 2011), are more likely than their White counterparts to experience depression and anxiety (AIR, 1989), and are forced to navigate racist remarks and beliefs inside and outside the classroom (Melendez, 2008). Existing literature outlines various avenues through which systems and individuals can better support the needs of these athletes (e.g., diversifying campus leadership, mentorship programs, fostering community engagement; Beamon, 2014; Melendez, 2008, Sadberry & Mobley, 2013). However, research that affords these athletes themselves the opportunity to advocate for what needs to change within college athletics is warranted. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine Black male collegiate football players' lived experiences of racism, racial inequality, and discrimination within the realm of collegiate sport in general, and their team and athletic department in particular. Semi-structured interviews comprised of open-ended questions will be used to explore how these experiences have impacted the athletes' psychological well-being and mental health and what coping resources and social support they have used to manage the potentially adverse effects of their experiences.

Athletes' Perceptions of the Impact of Mental Health on Sport Performance
Researchers: Kelzie E Beebe, Heather Kiefer, Lindsey Slavin, Macey Arnold, & Trent Petrie
The purpose of this research is to explore the beliefs of college student-athletes on how mental health impacts sport performance. Specifically, we will be assessing the percentage of college student-athletes who endorse the belief that mental health impacts athletic performance, and through qualitative analysis, their reasons for why they hold this belief (or do not hold the belief). The results from this study will be a first true attempt to understand how mental health impacts sport performance. The prevalence of mental health concerns among young adults is high and continues to increase (NIMH, 2021; SAMSHA, 2018). Findings suggest that, as a specific subset of young adults, NCAA student-athletes experience these concerns at a similar or greater prevalence than their non-athlete, age-matched peers (Golding et al., 2020; Gouttebarge et al., 2019). However, despite the rising number of college student-athletes who are experiencing mental health concerns, understanding the connection between mental health and sport performance has not been a robust area of study in psychology or sport psychology.

College Student Athletes and Psychological Well-being in Retirement
Researchers: Karolina , M.S., & Trent Petrie, Ph.D.
Retiring from sport can be a challenging and difficult time for college athletes (Smith & Hardin, 2018), and although many former student athletes (SAs) are doing well years after retirement, substantive numbers still struggle with different concerns (i.e. body image, depression, eating; e.g., Papathomas, Petrie, & Plateau, 2018) up to six years after retirement (Wartalowicz & Petrie, 2018). During the transition from competitive sport, athletes may experiences stress and anxiety, lowered levels of self worth, loss of social support, changes in mood, isolation, loneliness, disordered eating and even depression (Lally, 2007; Wylleman et al., 2004). The current study will investigate elite student athletes' psychological health and well-being in the months immediately following retirement, which has been indicated as a critical time period (Stokowski, Paule-Koba, & Kaunert, 2019). Participants will consist of collegiate retiring athletes who are surveyed across two time points: the end of their competitive seasons (baseline) and three months after collegiate careers have ended (Time 2). Separate hierarchical regression models for each outcome (i.e., depressive symptoms, body satisfaction, and satisfaction with life) will be run to examine the extent to which the significant BALANCE (Lavallee, 1999) items predict their Time 2 scores by controlling for baselines scores of each outcome in the regression analysis. Results can inform the development of pre-retirement programming within athletic departments to target the critical period of time post retirement of (1-3 months).