ABSTRACT

Research aim: Mental health is often a misunderstood concept in sport. Additionally, little is known about how the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) has impacted the conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness in stakeholders working in English Premier League (EPL) environments. The present study aimed to understand EPL academy support staff’s (n = 8) perceptions, knowledge, and understanding of mental health and mental illness.

Research methods: Researchers employed semi-structured interviews grounded in the Dual-Continua Model of Mental health (Keyes, 2002 Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and engaged in reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021a Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021a). Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern-based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).

Results: Results demonstrated inconsistent conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness. EPL academies were potentially mental health illiterate and lacked clear strategies to treat and prevent mental illness or promote mental health.

Implications: Findings may be attributed to a culture that stigmatizes help-seeking, lack of understanding of the spectrum of mental health, and limited resources offered at club and regulatory body level. Importantly, EPL stakeholders should engage in robust, relevant training in preparation for applied practice; in line with this, the present study has implications for the training of EPL support staff.

Research contribution: This study provides us with a deeper understanding of the mental health literacy of EPL academy support staff and that of their organizations.

摘要

研究目的：心理健康在体育运动中常常是一个被误解的概念。此外，人们对精英球员绩效计划 (EPPP) 如何影响在英超联赛 (EPL) 环境中工作的利益相关者的心理健康和精神疾病概念知之甚少。本研究旨在了解 EPL 学院支持人员 ( n = 8)对心理健康和精神疾病的看法、知识和理解。

研究方法：研究人员采用基于心理健康双连续模型的半结构化访谈（Keyes，2002 凯斯，CLM（2002）。心理健康连续体：从生命的衰弱到繁荣。健康与社会行为杂志，43 (2), 207 – 222。https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197 [Crossref]、[PubMed]、[Web of Science®]  、[Google Scholar]）并从事反思性主题分析（Braun & Clarke，2021a） 布劳恩，V.和克拉克，V. ( 2021a )。可以用TA吗？我应该使用TA吗？我不应该使用TA吗？比较反思性主题分析和其他基于模式的定性分析方法。咨询和心理治疗研究， 21 （1），37-47。https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12360 [交叉引用]、[Web of Science®] 、[Google 学术搜索] ）。

结果：结果表明，心理健康和精神疾病的概念不一致。英超联赛学院可能对心理健康缺乏了解，并且缺乏治疗和预防心理疾病或促进心理健康的明确策略。

影响：调查结果可能归因于一种耻辱寻求帮助的文化、缺乏对心理健康范围的了解以及俱乐部和监管机构层面提供的资源有限。重要的是，EPL 利益相关者应参加强有力的相关培训，为应用实践做好准备；据此，本研究对 EPL 支持人员的培训具有影响。

研究贡献：这项研究使我们对英超学院支持人员及其组织的心理健康素养有了更深入的了解。