Abstract
Inadequate levels of perceived safety on campuses have been reported by college students (e.g., Maffini & Dillard, 2021) and connected to college students' mental health concerns (e.g., sleep disturbances; Etopio et al., 2019). Little is known about student-athletes’ (SA) perceptions of safety, particularly related to their racial and gender identities, and how their perception of safety is related to their mental health. We surveyed 213 SAs regarding their safety perceptions on campus, athletic department, and teams, along with anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), and sleep disturbances (PROMIS-SD). White SAs reported higher levels of safety than Black SAs for all three environments and Non-Black SAs of Color at the team level. Perceived safety on campus, athletic department, and teams was related significantly to anxiety (F(3, 209) = 4.70, p = .003, adjR2 = .05), depression (F(3, 209) = 5.08, p = .002, adjR2 = .06), and sleep disturbances (F(3, 209) = 5.25, p = .002, adjR2 = .06). Our findings suggest perceived safety within the SA’s environment vary based on their racial, but not gender identity, and feeling safer on their campuses, athletic department, and team was related to better mental health outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Arnold, Macey L.; Williams, Hunter P.; Harker, Justin; Kiefer, Heather; Yoon, Julian; and Petrie, Trent A.
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"Perceived Safety for Collegiate Student-Athletes: Race, Gender, and Mental Health Outcomes,"
Journal of Athlete Development and Experience: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/jade/vol8/iss2/3
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
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