Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 May 4;6(5):e19007.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019007.

Psychological balance in high level athletes: gender-based differences and sport-specific patterns

Karine Schaal  1 , Muriel Tafflet, Hala Nassif, Valérie Thibault, Capucine Pichard, Mathieu Alcotte, Thibaut Guillet, Nour El Helou, Geoffroy Berthelot, Serge Simon, Jean-François Toussaint
Affiliations

Psychological balance in high level athletes: gender-based differences and sport-specific patterns

Karine Schaal et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: Few epidemiological studies have focused on the psychological health of high level athletes. This study aimed to identify the principal psychological problems encountered within French high level athletes, and the variations in their prevalence based on sex and the sport practiced.

Methods: Multivariate analyses were conducted on nationwide data obtained from the athletes' yearly psychological evaluations.

Results: A representative sample of 13% of the French athlete population was obtained. 17% of athletes have at least one ongoing or recent disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) being the most prevalent (6%), followed by non-specific eating disorders (4.2%). Overall, 20.2% of women had at least one psychopathology, against 15.1% in men. This female predominance applied to anxiety and eating disorders, depression, sleep problems and self-harming behaviors. The highest rates of GAD appeared in aesthetic sports (16.7% vs. 6.8% in other sports for men and 38.9% vs. 10.3% for women); the lowest prevalence was found in high risk sports athletes (3.0% vs. 3.5%). Eating disorders are most common among women in racing sports (14% vs. 9%), but for men were found mostly in combat sports (7% vs. 4.8%).

Discussion: This study highlights important differences in psychopathology between male and female athletes, demonstrating that the many sex-based differences reported in the general population apply to elite athletes. While the prevalence of psychological problems is no higher than in the general population, the variations in psychopathology in different sports suggest that specific constraints could influence the development of some disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Lifetime prevalence (%) of generalized anxiety by type of sport played.
#, significant difference with all other sports (p<0.05). *, significant difference between men and women (p<0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Lifetime prevalence (%) of minor or major depression according to the type of sport practiced.
#, significant difference with all other sports (p<0.05). *, significant difference between men and women (p<0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Lifetime prevalence (%) of all sleep problems according to type of sport played.
#, significant difference from all other sports (p<0.05). *, significant difference between men and women (p<0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lawlor DA, Hopker SW. The effectiveness of exercise as an intervention in the management of depression: systematic review and meta-regression analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 2001;322:763–767. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petruzzello SJ, Landers DM, Hatfield BD, Kubitz KA, Salazar W. A meta-analysis on the anxiety-reducing effects of acute and chronic exercise. Outcomes and mechanisms. Sports Med. 1991;11:143–182. - PubMed
    1. Scully D, Kremer J, Meade MM, Graham R, Dudgeon K. Physical exercise and psychological well being: a critical review. Br J Sports Med. 1998;32:111–120. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wipfli BM, Rethorst CD, Landers DM. The anxiolytic effects of exercise: a meta-analysis of randomized trials and dose-response analysis. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2008;30:392–410. - PubMed
    1. Johnson U. Coping strategies among long-term injured competitive athletes. A study of 81 men and women in team and individual sports. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 1997;7:367–372. - PubMed