Noguchi Yoriko, Kuribayashi Chisato, Kinugasa Taisuke
Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Japan High Performance Sports Center, Japan Sport Council, Tokyo, Japan.
Faculty of Physical Education, Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education, Tokyo, Japan.
Front Psychol. 2022 Oct 13;13:821893. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.821893. eCollection 2022.
The optimization of athletes' wellbeing has been increasingly considered essential both in the academic and practical fields of high-performance sports. Various organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee, have highlighted its importance, particularly mental health. Moreover, the increased attention to athlete wellbeing in sport policy debates at the national level has led to the development and implementation of a support system for athletes' mental wellbeing in some countries. Nevertheless, the literature is limited to understanding the case of Japan. Interestingly, only 0.8% of the literature is available on "athlete" and "wellbeing" in Japanese compared to English journals up to 2019. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify (a) the current state of wellbeing of Japanese university student-athletes, (b) the level of knowledge about athlete wellbeing, and (c) the athletes' perception of the availability of wellbeing support in the national sports federations, (d) the athlete experience of support services, and develop the types of national support athletes expect and need from the government and national sports federations in the future. As a pilot study, a total of 100 Japanese university student-athletes (43 male, 57 female) from 17 Olympic and seven Paralympic sports completed an online survey. Consequently, the state of their wellbeing was self-perceived as good in all dimensions (i.e., physical, mental, educational, organizational, social, and financial). Moreover, the results showed low recognition of the term "athlete wellbeing" and a lack of knowledge of the availability and accessibility of appropriate support services. The results also showed that Japanese university student-athletes rarely seek help from experts, while 45% indicated "no one" to talk to. Interestingly, however, most athletes considered each dimension of wellbeing important in relation to their performance development. Based on the results, it is necessary to develop an education program, guidelines, and detection systems and improve information accessibility. Given that this pilot study's validity, reliability, and feasibility were verified, further studies should focus more on the wellbeing of Japanese elite athletes in high-performance sports (i.e., Olympic and Paralympic athletes).
在高水平体育的学术和实践领域，优化运动员的福祉日益被视为至关重要。包括国际奥委会在内的各种组织都强调了其重要性，尤其是心理健康。此外，在国家层面的体育政策辩论中，对运动员福祉的关注度不断提高，导致一些国家制定并实施了运动员心理健康支持体系。然而，相关文献在理解日本情况方面较为有限。有趣的是，截至2019年，与英文期刊相比，仅有0.8%关于“运动员”和“福祉”的文献以日语发表。因此，本研究的目的是确定：（a）日本大学生运动员的福祉现状；（b）对运动员福祉的认知水平；（c）运动员对国家体育联合会提供福祉支持的可获得性的看法；（d）运动员对支持服务的体验，并确定运动员未来期望并需要政府和国家体育联合会提供的国家支持类型。作为一项试点研究，来自17个奥运会项目和7个残奥会项目的总共100名日本大学生运动员（43名男性，57名女性）完成了一项在线调查。结果显示，他们在所有维度（即身体、心理、教育、组织、社会和经济）上自我感觉福祉状况良好。此外，结果表明对“运动员福祉”一词的认知度较低，对适当支持服务的可获得性和可及性缺乏了解。结果还表明，日本大学生运动员很少向专家寻求帮助，而45%的人表示“无人”可倾诉。然而，有趣的是，大多数运动员认为福祉的各个维度对他们的成绩提升都很重要。基于这些结果，有必要制定教育计划、指南和检测系统，并提高信息的可及性。鉴于这项试点研究的有效性、可靠性和可行性已得到验证，进一步的研究应更多地关注高水平体育项目（即奥运会和残奥会运动员）中日本精英运动员的福祉。
