Gender differences in mental health symptoms and risk factors in Australian elite athletes

Abstract

Objectives: To examine gender differences in the reporting of, and contributors to, mental health symptoms. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study of adult athletes within a national elite sporting system (n=523; women=292;56%), who completed a battery of assessments including measures of mental health and adverse life events. Group differences across a range of scores were examined, followed by gender-stratified bootstrapped linear regression and meta-regression on measures where gender differences were observed. Results: Women athletes reported higher rates of mental health symptoms, and lower rates of mental well-being, although there were no differences in general psycho..