Australian elite sport coaches' mental health literacy of eating disorders, orthorexia, and muscle dysmorphia in athletes: A qualitative study.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 101222431 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6807 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17401445 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Body Image Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: [Amsterdam ; New York] : Elsevier, 2004-
    • Subject Terms:
      Health Literacy* ; Feeding and Eating Disorders*/diagnosis ; Feeding and Eating Disorders*/therapy; Humans ; Orthorexia Nervosa ; Body Image/psychology ; Australia ; Athletes ; Muscles
    • Abstract:
      Athletes have an increased risk of developing eating disorders (EDs) compared to non-athletes. Coaches are in a unique position to identify symptoms and promote timely support; however, research has not yet explored coaches' mental health literacy about DSM-5 EDs and related orthorexia and muscle dysmorphia conditions in elite athletes. Eighteen Australian elite sport coaches from aesthetic, weight-class, and endurance sports participated in individual semi-structured interviews to investigate their mental health literacy of EDs and related conditions. Four themes emerged from the data. Theme 1 (knowledge of EDs and related conditions) highlighted coaches' awareness of maladaptive perfectionism as a key risk factor, limited awareness of EDs without observable weight loss, and conceptualisation of EDs as a nutritional issue. Theme 2 (facilitators to managing EDs) highlighted the helpfulness of building trust with athletes, accessing support staff, emphasising body functionality, and lived experience. Theme 3 (barriers to managing EDs) highlighted coaches' challenges with communicating about body image, responding to denial, and funding constraints. Theme 4 (future ED education and training) highlighted coaches' desire for in-person, interactive training and to support junior-level coaches. These findings may assist in developing tailored educational resources to improve coaches' ability to identify and manage eating-related concerns in athletes.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None.
      (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Athletes; Eating disorders; Elite sport; Mental health literacy; Sport coaches
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20231227 Date Completed: 20240305 Latest Revision: 20240305
    • Publication Date:
      20240305
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.101670
    • Accession Number:
      38150783