Selected Aspects of Mental Health of Athletes

In the field of sports, there is a lot of knowledge about sports injuries, nutrition and regeneration. Much less is known about mental health among athletes. The investigators often think that the incidence of mental problems is low among top athletes. As the main cause of this misconception, the authors attribute the idealization of sports and athletes. Both the professional and the lay public are often of the opinion that only mentally strong individuals can be successful, which of course means that there is no place in the highest level for individuals with mental problems and disorders.

The clinical study will be performed with 400-500 athletes of both genders aged 18 to 40, from Slovenia. The investigators will invite all athletes who have been categorized in the current year and classified into the membership category, i.e. national, international, world or Olympic class (there were 500 at the last categorization) and they compete in various sports disciplines. The study will be designed as a cross-sectional study. For the purpose of the research, the investigators will use a battery of psychodiagnostic questionnaires consisting of five parts: demographics and sport characteristic, depression symptomatic, anxiety symptomatic, eating problems, alcohol use and abuse and resilience characteristics of individual athlete.

Inclusion criteria

• Included in competitive play
• Is a professional athlete or participates in organized professional sports activities

Exclusion criteria

• Present injuries
• Recreational athletes
• Any other significant diseases