2 Responses to Causal Argument- Icedcoffeeislife

1. davidbdale says:

   March 23, 2021 at 8:16 pm

   You might want to focus your Causal argument not on how college athletes develop depression and pathological anxiety, but on how it can be alleviated, Iced.

   Here’s a source that draws a very interesting conclusion from a small study using exercise to improve sleep and, as a result, lower anxiety:
   “anaerobic exercises have a positive impact to reduce state anxiety. Coaches should implement anaerobic exercises to the training regime for reduction of anxiety among athletes . . . Exercise influences multiple physiological and psychological functions in human body, and among them sleep and anxiety are the most important. Sleep and anxiety are bi-directional, with studies reporting that long-term sleep deprivation leads to pathological anxiety while people suffering from anxiety disorders are also sleep deprived.
   https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11332-019-00553-1

   I found it by searching Google Scholar for “”anxiety in collegiate athletes”

   Here’s another finding from that same search:
   “The study revealed that while music therapy and aerobic exercise, when imparted independently, both reduce the state and trait anxiety level in collegiate athletes, the magnitude of reduction increases if combined intervention is used.”
   LINK HERE

   If you want to follow the Causal Argument that depression and pathological anxiety happen NOT TO ALL highly-stressed student athletes, but mostly to a group ALREADY AT RISK before the season begins, you might be interest to read about a group of researchers who studied 420 Div III college athletes “to determine whether the Electronic Pre-participation Physical Examination (EPPE), a proprietary and frequently used tool, is an effective method for depression and anxiety screening in the collegiate athlete population as compared to the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4).” It suggests there’s a good tool to determine in advance who might be at risk and concludes: “Colleges should consider adding additional depression and anxiety screening tools during the pre-participation exam to ensure they identify and treat at-risk student athletes.”
   https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/jmmc/vol3/iss1/3/

   Here’s another interesting Causal Angle generated by that same simple Google Scholar search. Family support can go a long way to mitigating depression and debilitating anxiety among Collegiate athletes. The quote from the Abstract: “Athletes at the collegiate level frequently experience unique stressors that cause them to be at risk for a number of mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety, and substance use. Current research in the field suggests that athletes are not as likely as their non-athlete peers to seek out psychological services for mental health difficulties. Social supports have been shown to impact athletes’ mental health and sport performance. Specifically, family relationships appear to have an influence on athletes’ level of stress and motivation, with positive family relationships showing decreases in athletes’ worry as well as faster recovery following injury.
   https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/3264/

   There were more. Here’s one that investigates whether burnout INCREASES as the season progresses (something one of your sources has already intimated).
   “The purpose of this study was to determine if athletes’ levels of burnout change from the beginning to the end of a competitive season.” It examines the impact of exhaustion, the perception of what qualifies as success, and even coaching techniques as factors in hastening or preventing burnout.
   https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_olink/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=miami1438280166

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2. davidbdale says:

   March 23, 2021 at 8:21 pm

   Please let me know if you find this helpful, Iced.
   I’m delighted to assist students who keep the conversation going.

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