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Implementing a scoping review to explore sport officials' mental health

Carter, Tori B.; Gorczynski, Paul; Coady, Christopher J.; Cunningham, Ian J.; Mascarenhas, Duncan R. D.; Grant, Murray; Sullivan, Philip; Webb, Tom; Livingston, Lori A.; Hancock, David J.

Authors

Tori B. Carter

Paul Gorczynski

Christopher J. Coady

Murray Grant

Philip Sullivan

Tom Webb

Lori A. Livingston

David J. Hancock



Abstract

Introduction: Sport officials are tasked with applying rules, maintaining fairness, and ensuring athlete safety. However, sport officials experience anxiety, burnout, and non-accidental violence, with the incidence of these events increasing worldwide. This has led to rising attrition rates among sport officials, with many sport organizations concerned for their operational capacity. The effects of anxiety, burnout, and non-accidental violence might contribute to or be indicative of sport officials' negative mental health outcomes. To develop a clear understanding of how sport officials' mental health is affected by their occupation, it is necessary to identify the mental health outcomes and predictors they experience, and to what extent. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and examine the empirical research and policy documents surrounding sport officials' mental health.

Method: One thousand, two hundred six articles were identified across four databases: PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, and PsycINFO. Next, a policy search was conducted on the respective international governing body websites from English-speaking countries for the 60 included sports. Following screening, 18 studies and one policy document met the inclusion criteria for exploring sport officials' mental health.

Results: Participants (N = 7,941) in the studies were mainly European male soccer and basketball referees. Most studies utilized quantitative inquiry (n = 15) rather than qualitative methods (n = 2) or framework development (n = 1). The research demonstrated that sport officials frequently experienced negative mental health outcomes and predictors including anxiety, depression, burnout, lower mental health literacy, and high levels of stigmatization towards mental health.

Discussion: These outcomes were influenced by gender/sex, age, and experience. There is a need to explore personal and environmental (including occupational) factors that cause or contribute to sport officials' mental health symptoms and disorders.

Citation

Carter, T. B., Gorczynski, P., Coady, C. J., Cunningham, I. J., Mascarenhas, D. R. D., Grant, M., Sullivan, P., Webb, T., Livingston, L. A., & Hancock, D. J. (2024). Implementing a scoping review to explore sport officials' mental health. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, Article 1436149. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1436149

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 17, 2024
Online Publication Date Jul 29, 2024
Publication Date 2024
Deposit Date Jul 29, 2024
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 6
Article Number 1436149
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1436149
Keywords referee, mental illness, well-being, sport policy, health