ERIC Number: ED633717
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 174
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3795-6742-2
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Protecting the New Student Athlete: Exploring the Mental Health Outcomes of College Esports Athletes and the Supportive Factors of Collegiate Esports Organizations
Lowrey, James
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Notre Dame of Maryland University
Esports teams (competitive video gaming organizations) are proliferating at colleges and universities throughout the United States as colleges seek to attract and retain students with diverse sets of interests. While these teams bolster college recruitment efforts, additional research is needed to explore several potential links between the frequent video game play required of collegiate esports athletes and the mental health outcomes among these student athletes. On the other hand, there are certain emotionally supportive factors, such as institutional resource access levels, feelings of community support, distributed leadership norms, and feelings of respect for diversity, that are distinctive to collegiate esports organizations. These supportive factors may serve to ameliorate the poorer mental health outcomes often seen among other types of esports athletes. More research is needed in this area to guide college administrators toward best practices that will help to support improved mental health outcomes among collegiate esports athletes. With this goal in mind, this study used a quantitative, survey research design to examine the mental health outcomes of collegiate esports athletes. Additionally, this study explored the supportive factors of collegiate esports organizations and examined the impacts of these factors on the mental health outcomes of collegiate esports athletes. This study found that collegiate esports athletes had significantly better mental health outcomes as compared to their non-esports-affiliated peers. In addition, the supportive factor of community support emerged as the most salient predictor of mental health outcomes among collegiate esports athletes. Overall, this study suggests that collegiate esports organizations have a positive impact on the mental health outcomes of collegiate esports athletes, and it provides an evidence-based roadmap for universities to follow as they work to build collegiate esports programs that leverage the important impacts of community support. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: College Athletics, Video Games, Competition, Team Sports, Student Athletes, Mental Health, Social Support Groups, Influences, Community Support, Predictor Variables, Evidence Based Practice
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A