Predictors of perceptions of mental illness and averseness to help: a survey of elite football players.

BACKGROUND

Hypermasculinity may impact elite football players' willingness to seek help for mental health problems.

AIMS

This quantitative study sought to identify what set of characteristics, including hypermasculinity, best predicts elite football players' mental health attitudes.

METHOD

The Attitude Scale for Mental Illness, Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services, and Athlete's Perception of Masculinity Scale were self-administered to 112 football players from the NFLPA and the Washington, DC metro area.

RESULTS

Canonical correlation analysis was used to develop a regression model that best predicts elite football players' mental health attitudes. This study found that though the athletes have high levels of hypermasculinity (x = 19.66, SD = 7.43), other factors, including marital status and sport level lessen the effects of hypermasculinity and facilitate positive perceptions of mental illness and receptivity to help.

CONCLUSIONS

Predictors suggest that therapeutic efforts targeted toward family and support networks, as well as intervention strategies for decreasing mental illness stigma are essential to encourage positive mental health attitudes in elite football players.