Mental health and well-being in sport:a pilot educational programme for clubs

Background: The World Health Organisation (2011) estimate that millions of people across the world experience mental health problems, with one in four experiencing a mental illness at some point in their lives.

Purpose: To apply the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1985) to evaluate the effects of the mental health training programme on sports coaches’ perceptions of mental health stigma and knowledge of mental health problems.

Method: A sample of adult coaches (n=135) from a variety of sports was recruited by convenience sampling from those attending the ‘Mood Matters’ pilot programme. Questionnaires were distributed at the beginning and end of the three hour training session. Changes in mental health knowledge, social stigma, and intended behaviour towards mental health were measured using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) and Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS). Other emas Focus group and interviews were conducted with a subsample of participants who received the training


Conclusions: These findings correspond with the TPB (Ajzen, 1985) that sharing knowledge can improve attitudes and intended behaviours towards mental health help seeking, even within a short three-hour intervention. These findings have implications for developing the Mood Matters Pilot Educational Programme and the broader question of how sporting bodies and sports coaches might approach designing mental health education in sport.