Hapig Marcia, Zurstiege Guido, Mayer Jochen, Thiel Ansgar, John Jannika M
Department of Social Sciences of Sport, Institute of Sports Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Department of Empirical Media Research, Institute of Media Studies, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Oct 8;6:1446680. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1446680. eCollection 2024.
Recently, the stereotype of elite athletes' invulnerabilty has begun to be challenged by an increasing number of elite athletes who talk openly about struggling with mental health. Relatedly, previous research has focused primarily on specific incidents like the media's portrayal of personal disclosures. The purpose of this study was to expand this perspective and give a systematic overview of media coverage related to elite athletes' mental illness by examining more than one decade (2010-2023) of German print media reporting. Specifically, we were interested in changes over time and between broadsheet and tabloid press regarding content-related and formal aspects.
Based on a systematic search and screening process in eleven German newspapers and magazines, 699 print media articles were analyzed with a codebook, forming a framework of content-related (reported mental disorder; central thematic focus; sources of comments and quotations; perspectives on the high-performance sports system) and formal categories (article genre; elements of responsible journalism). Univariate analyses and binary logistic regression models were used to examine changes over time (2010-2016 vs. 2017-2023) and differences between types of press (tabloid vs. broadsheet press) regarding content-related and formal characteristics.
The results indicate an enhanced awareness towards the topic of mental illness and those affected in recent years within German print media. This was demonstrated by the increased integration of responsible reporting elements, the inclusion of diversified perspectives and the considerate selection of content. Despite this positive trend over time, the findings also suggest that media reporting in the tabloid press bears an increased risk for inappropriate storytelling, focusing primarily on personal tragedies.
As personal fate of prominent figures like elite athletes will always meet great interest in the public, it is of utmost importance that the media report responsibly and promote critical thinking in society. The study shows the media's willingness to question conventional ideals embedded in the sports culture and take a more critical approach to the topic of mental illness in high-performance sports. By demonstrating a greater understanding of the importance and the seriousness of the issue, the media might also contribute to improved mental health awareness in society.
最近，精英运动员无懈可击的刻板印象开始受到越来越多公开谈论心理健康问题的精英运动员的挑战。相关地，以往的研究主要集中在特定事件上，比如媒体对个人披露的报道。本研究的目的是拓展这一视角，通过审视德国平面媒体超过十年（2010 - 2023年）的报道，对与精英运动员精神疾病相关的媒体报道进行系统概述。具体而言，我们关注的是随着时间推移以及在严肃报纸和小报之间，在内容相关和形式方面的变化。
基于对11份德国报纸和杂志的系统搜索和筛选过程，使用编码手册对699篇平面媒体文章进行分析，形成一个内容相关（报道的精神障碍；核心主题焦点；评论和引语来源；对高性能体育系统的看法）和形式类别（文章体裁；负责任新闻报道的要素）的框架。单变量分析和二元逻辑回归模型用于检验随着时间推移（2010 - 2016年与2017 - 2023年）以及不同类型媒体（小报与严肃报纸）在内容相关和形式特征方面的变化和差异。
结果表明，近年来德国平面媒体对精神疾病主题以及患者的认知有所增强。这体现在负责任报道要素的更多融入、多样化视角的纳入以及内容的审慎选择上。尽管随着时间推移呈现出这一积极趋势，但研究结果也表明，小报媒体报道存在不当叙事风险增加的情况，主要聚焦于个人悲剧。
由于像精英运动员这样的知名人士的个人命运总会引起公众的极大兴趣，媒体进行负责任的报道并促进社会批判性思维至关重要。该研究表明媒体愿意质疑体育文化中根深蒂固的传统观念，并对高性能体育中的精神疾病主题采取更批判性的方法。通过展示对该问题重要性和严重性的更深刻理解，媒体也可能有助于提高社会的心理健康意识。
