(PS13-33) Suicidal Among Student-athletes: Help-seeking Behaviors and the Impact of Suicide Prevention Training

Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college-aged students (CDC, 2024). Concerningly, 11.1% of students report past month suicidal ideation, and 16.5% have a history of suicide attempts (Garlow et al., 2007). College athletes may face additional stressors that increase their risk, such as physical and mental exhaustion during the season (Vetter & Symonds, 2010), and high rates of depression (Wolanin et al., 2015). Additionally, research has found that student-athletes possess higher capability for suicide than non-athletes (Dodd et al., 2021). This capability is a critical factor that can escalate thoughts of suicide to a suicide attempt (Joiner, 2005). However, there is limited research on suicidal ideation, help-seeking behaviors, and exposure to prevention training among student-athletes.

Study Aims: The present study aims to address this gap by examining the frequency of suicidal thoughts, knowledge of prevention strategies, and preferred help-seeking sources among collegiate athletes.

Methods: Participants (N = 81) were current NCAA athletes recruited through social media and email. The study received approval from the Rutgers University IRB, and all participants provided consent.

Results: In the total sample, 39.5% of student-athletes report lifetime suicidal ideation. Among those with ideation, 56.3% experienced suicidal thoughts during college. The majority (63.9%) of student-athletes report feeling comfortable knowing what to do if a teammate told them they were having suicidal thoughts. However, only 35.8% of student-athletes reported receiving suicide prevention training during college; but 86.4% of student-athletes believe the NCAA should require all athletes to learn about mental health and suicide prevention.

The most common sources student-athletes report that they would reach out to if they had thoughts of suicide is their teammates (46.9%), followed by parents/guardians (40.7%).

Those who received mental health or suicide prevention training did not differ in terms of their perception of suicide stigma. They also did not differ from those with no training on several actions they would take in response to a teammate disclosing suicidal ideation: likelihood of making sure they don’t have access to lethal means, having them sign a suicide contract, calling the suicide prevention lifetime with them, taking them to the Emergency Department, having them promise they won’t attempt suicide, and connecting them to the counseling center.

Conclusion: Findings from this study highlight that NCAA student athletes experience high rates of suicidal ideation. However, most athletes do not receive training on suicide prevention, and even those who do receive training do not have increased knowledge about effective suicide prevention strategies or reduced stigma; indicating that the training that is provided to student athletes may not be evidence based. Suicide prevention researchers should seek to develop and disseminate training to collegiate athletic departments in an effort to increase knowledge about suicide prevention and decrease suicide rates among college student-athletes.