Impacts of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic on Depressive Symptoms and Mental Health Among Student-Athletes

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics of Respondents Including Gender, Region of Residence, Level of Education and Type of Primary Sport Played by Athletes

Variable	Categories		N	%
Gender	Females		278	54.0%
	Males		237	46.0%
Region	Northeast		345	67.0%
	South		87	17.0%
	West		56	11.0%
	Midwest		27	5.0%
Education	High School		80	16.0%
		Senior	57	11.1%
		Junior	14	2.7%
		Freshmen	7	1.4%
		Sophomore	2	0.004%
	College		435	84.5%
Sport	Lacrosse		87	16.9%
	Soccer		69	13.4%
	Track and Field		58	11.3%
	Softball		46	8.9%
	Baseball		41	8.0%
	Swimming		31	6.0%
	Football		30	5.8%
	Volleyball		28	5.4%
	Rowing		28	5.4%
	Basketball		26	5.0%
	Other		21	4.1%
	Cross Country		20	3.9%
	Field Hockey		11	2.1%
	Wrestling		5	1.0%
	Fencing		5	1.0%
	Tennis		4	0.8%
	Golf		4	0.8%
	Diving		1	0.2%

Figure 1 Female athletes scored significantly worse than their male counterparts on PROMIS Depression scores (53.65 vs 48.25, p<0.001), however males scored significantly lower than females on VR-12 physical health assessments (40.65 vs 42.58, p=0.006). Female athletes scored significantly lower than male athletes on VR-12 mental health assessments (p=0.016) however both male (47.44) and female (45.63) athletes scored significantly higher than the national average (p<0.001). *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

Figure 2 High-identifying athletes scored significantly worse on VR-12 mental health (45.77 vs 47.43 p=0.029) and PROMIS Depression (52.15 vs 49.88, p=0.006) measures, but matched on VR-12 physical health scores compared to those who did not strongly identify with athletics (42.07 vs 41.15, p=0.062). *p<0.05, **p<0.01.