About this Research Topic

Background

There is increasing interest and prioritization of mental health in sport. This has resulted in numerous position stands by leading sporting organizations that draw attention to the importance of athlete mental health for both well-being and performance. However, the environment plays an important role and it is essential to expand existing views and approaches regarding athlete mental health, to address the impact of other stakeholders and factors within the sport environment.

The aim of this Research Topic is to highlight innovative and comprehensive approaches to research and applied practice serving to optimize mental health in sport while increasing our understanding of the environment. In this special issue, we are particularly interested in outlining novel programs, interventions, and strategies aimed at the promotion and the improvement of mental health of different stakeholders within the sport environment, including athletes, coaches, support staff, and leaders. Further, we aim to elucidate the underpinning mechanisms and contributing factors in the creation of healthy environments that allow various stakeholders in sport to be mentally healthy and thrive under the most adverse conditions. Collaborative models have been shown to be effective in both sport and mental health contexts. Papers outlining multi and interdisciplinary approaches or systems to foster mental health and safe sport environments are welcome. In line with more specific calls for action across many nations, suicide awareness, anti-stigma and mental health literacy initiatives that have the potential to impact the broader sport ecosystem are warranted.

It is known that relationships and a sense of security and belonging are key components necessary for optimal mental health. Supportive relationships are more likely to be fostered through the creation of positive and healthy cultures that promote well-being, destigmatize mental illness, and facilitate help-seeking for mental health services. Therefore, educational, leadership, and peer-to-peer programs and interventions within the sport environment that lead to the establishment of positive and psychologically safe in-person and virtual climates are of interest for the special issue. With the ongoing narrative addressing the link between mental health, (un)safe sport, and social (in)justice, pioneering initiatives or efforts that promote mental health through equity, diversity, and inclusion in sport are equally of great interest. Finally, given the necessity to develop ecologically valid tools and methods to assess mental health, psychological safety, and culture in the context of sport, papers outlining contemporary approaches for the adaptation of existing measures or the development of new sport-specific scales are welcome. We would be open to a variety of articles, such as Original research, Systematic review, Methods (Validation of Scales), Review, Mini Review, Perspective, Clinical Trial, Case Report, Community Case Study, Brief Research Report, and Editorial.

Keywords: Healthy Cultures, Psychological Safety, Positive Climate, Multi and interdisciplinary approaches, Anti-stigma and mental health literacy, Education

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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